BBL 2020-21: New rules for Australia’s premier T20 competition

BBL 2020-21: New rules for Australia’s premier T20 competition

Cricket is well and truly underway with action resuming in nearly every major Test-playing nation after a lengthy break due to coronavirus pandemic.

After the successful completion of the Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League and the Indian Premier League, fans are ready to witness their favourite players battling it out for the supremacy in the 2020 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).

Australia's premier T20 competition will start from December 10 and will become the first T20 league in the world to welcome back fans in the stadium.

The opening match will feature Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers whereas the final will be played on February 6, 2021.

Sixers will be defending their crown as they won the competition in 2019 with a win over Melbourne Stars.

The 61-match competition will last over 50 days and to keep the interest going of the fans as well as the players, Cricket Australia (CA) have introduced several new regulations.

In this article, Roto Wire explains in detail about the new rules which will likely to intensify the competition on the field in the BBL 2020.

Use of neutral venues

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, CA has decided to host few matches on a neutral venue. The move is likely to favour some teams whereas it might decrease the chances of using home advantage in important fixtures for the others.

Power Surge

Batting powerplay is perhaps the most exciting period during any limited-overs match. To increase the importance of the fielding

Cricket is well and truly underway with action resuming in nearly every major Test-playing nation after a lengthy break due to coronavirus pandemic.

After the successful completion of the Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League and the Indian Premier League, fans are ready to witness their favourite players battling it out for the supremacy in the 2020 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).

Australia's premier T20 competition will start from December 10 and will become the first T20 league in the world to welcome back fans in the stadium.

The opening match will feature Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers whereas the final will be played on February 6, 2021.

Sixers will be defending their crown as they won the competition in 2019 with a win over Melbourne Stars.

The 61-match competition will last over 50 days and to keep the interest going of the fans as well as the players, Cricket Australia (CA) have introduced several new regulations.

In this article, Roto Wire explains in detail about the new rules which will likely to intensify the competition on the field in the BBL 2020.

Use of neutral venues

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, CA has decided to host few matches on a neutral venue. The move is likely to favour some teams whereas it might decrease the chances of using home advantage in important fixtures for the others.

Power Surge

Batting powerplay is perhaps the most exciting period during any limited-overs match. To increase the importance of the fielding restrictions even further, CA has introduced a feature with the title of the 'Power Surge'. The authorities have decided to split the batting powerplay into two parts. The mandatory part will be the first four overs of any innings whereas the last two overs will be decided by the batting side depending on their own requirements as per the situation. The rule is likely to increase uncertainty for the bowling side, in particular, while defending where the batting side can use the rule it in the last two overs of the innings to swing the match in their favour.

X-Factor Player

In this year's BBL, teams will be allowed to use a substitution under the rule called the 'X-Factor Player'. The team will be able to replace a player who has not faced more than six deliveries while batting or bowled more than a single over with their 12th or 13th player named in the original matchday squad.

Bash Boost

Bash Boost is another regulation introduced by the CA for the upcoming edition of the BBL. The rule has been created to give incentives to the teams for their attacking batting or impressive bowling in the first half of the second innings. The rule suggests that a batting team chasing the target will get a bonus point if they have an equivalent 10-over score of their opposition or better whereas the fielding side will get the point if the team batting second is behind their opposition after the first 10 overs in comparison.

Difference in point system

For BBL 2020, CA has announced that teams will get three points for a win instead of two points in the previous editions.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Azeem Siddiqui
Passionate sports follower in the field of sports journalism for more than five years. Loves writing about cricket, football, and tennis.
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