Nowadays, In a blink of an eye, we have a new league popping up in different parts of the world. With the success of IPL and the wacky ‘The Hundred’, We now have a new phenomenon called The Sixty Cricket coming which has a twist of its own and it is like no other.
Have you ever heard a cricket rule where Cricket Fans can vote on when free hits occur and early sixes unlock an extra powerplay over? Well, in the new 60-ball tournament that the West Indies and Caribbean Premier League have adopted we are going to such crazy rules that may not bring us quality cricket but top-quality entertainment.
The success of various regional T10 contests that have been held around the West Indies served as inspiration for the 6ixty in part. It also aims to advance the women’s game by expanding on the groundwork laid by the exhibition games for women’s T10 that were played right before the CPL playoffs in 2019.
Three women’s teams and six men’s CPL teams will take part in the inaugural 6ixty this year, which will run from August 24 to August 28 just before the start of the Carrebian Premier League season. The teams and player rosters for both the men’s and women’s editions of the event will be much the same as those for the CPL and Women’s CPL.
Each men’s team will play three games, while each women’s team will play four. There will be a total of 12 men’s games and seven women’s games played. The first-placed team in the league will face the team that finished fourth in one semifinal of the men’s playoffs, and the second-placed team will play the third-place team in the other semifinal, with the final to follow. The top two teams from the league stage will compete in the final of the women’s version, which will follow directly from the league stage.
The competition will be held four times a year, with one of these quarterly events potentially taking place outside of the West Indies, according to the organizers.
As interesting as the dates and calendar seem, what is more fascinating are the rules that are involved in ‘The 6ixty’. The league seems to have taken inspiration from ‘The Hundred’ which went over and beyond the cricketing confinements and went on to make rules that look like a different game altogether that is played with resources involved in a cricket game.
Let’s take a look at rules that seem overly interesting in ‘The 6ixty’:
- Each batting team has six wickets – at the fall of the sixth wicket, they are all out.
- Each batting team has two powerplay overs. They can unlock the third powerplay by hitting two sixes in the first 12 balls. This extra powerplay over can be taken at any time between overs 3-9.
- There will be 30 balls bowled from one end before the action switches to the other end for the final 30 balls.
- The 30 balls will be delivered as five separate overs, with no bowler being able to bowl more than two overs for the innings.
- If teams do not bowl their overs within the allotted time i.e., 45 minutes, a member of their team is removed from the field for the final six balls.
- Fans will vote for the timing of a ‘mystery-free hit’ where a batter can’t be dismissed by the bowler.
Well even as the league will be finished off in just a span of 5 days, it is interesting to learn about the potential buzz it can create. The West Indies players are known as shorter format specialists and with a commitment of such fewer days, we may see many big names coming up to play the league. The T20 legend Chris Gayle, who also captains St Kitts & Nevis Patriots franchise is named the ambassador of the league. Players from Pakistan, South Africa, and Ireland are amongst few who already have enrolled themselves in the maiden season.
Well, after how ‘The Hundred’ played and the success it is reaching, it won’t be surprising to see The 6ixty also following a similar path. It is not just T10 cricket, it is much more and is tasteful. It won’t be surprising to see a mixed response from the audience who, day by day, are getting exhausted of watching cricket but are also enjoying the monetary prospect of it with the rise of different fantasy games making their way up as a source of entertainment and revenue.
The 6ixty will be marketed as an exportable, internationally stageable product, according to the goal statement for the new competition that is available on its website. We have seen a lot of countries taking initiative to launch their own league but this one from the Caribbean Island hits it out of the park. It has the most innovative rules we have seen in cricket that engage with the audience. Let’s see how it goes. There is no doubt the league is for sheer entertainment and commercial purpose and it will be easier for everyone if we accept it ASAP and enjoy what it has to bring for us 🙂
