BBL introduces new 'Powerplay' rule to speed up matches
What's the story
The Big Bash League (BBL) has announced a major rule change aimed at speeding up matches. The new regulation will see umpires enforce 'Powerplay' conditions on teams that fail to bowl their 20 overs in the stipulated time. This is part of a broader effort by Cricket Australia (CA) to keep games moving quickly and deliver a better product in the league.
Rule implementation
Bowling teams get countdown timer
Under the new rules, each innings will have a countdown timer.
The bowling teams will have 84 minutes in the BBL and 78 minutes and 45 seconds in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
If they fail to complete their overs within this time, full Powerplay conditions will be enforced for the remainder of the innings.
This is a significant change from previous seasons.
Strategic advantage
Batting teams also get more powerplays
The new rules also give batting teams an edge in case of over-rate breaches.
Along with the four-over Powerplay at the start of innings and a two-over Power Surge, the batting side will now get more than six overs where only two players can be outside the fielding restriction circle.
This was seen during Brisbane Heat's record chase of 258 runs last season when Perth Scorchers couldn't complete their overs on time.
Penalty simplification
New rules are simpler version of old ones
The new rules are a simplified version of the old ones, which had two penalties and countdown timers for over-rate breaches.
The first penalty required teams to bring an extra player inside the fielding restriction circle when the innings timer hit zero.
Powerplay conditions were then enforced when a second timer expired.
Cricket Australia's operations and scheduling boss Peter Roach said these different penalties had been confusing for fans and broadcasters.
Official statement
Roach and Dobson welcome the changes
"We're really happy with the in-game penalties, which have been well received by players, coaches and fans," Roach said.
He added that they wanted to keep the big penalty at the end as teams would want to get through their overs before that penalty.
Cricket Australia's Big Bash Leagues general manager Alistair Dobson also welcomed these changes, saying they've never been a league that stands still and are always ready to improve for fans, broadcasters and players.