BBL 2020-21: What is a bat flip in the Big Bash League?

Ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Big Bash League (BBL) made a radical change by doing away with the usual toss and replacing the coin with a bat. Captains have called ‘hills’ or ‘roofs’ and ‘flats’ at toss since the eighth edition of Australia’s premier T20 competition.

BBL 2020-21 is upon us, and we will again see colourful bats being thrown in the air to decide the course of play. While the change did see people complaining of the game veering away from its purest form, stakeholders stated that the BBL seeks to attract the attention of youth and wants people hooked from the very first event of the match.

“For me, it’s a great moment which reflects about BBL is about...Some people don’t like change, but I’d also challenge people to say when was the last time anyone watched the coin toss or really focused on it to a great extent," Kim McConnie, Cricket Australia’s head of the Big Bash League, had told the ABC.

"Now we are making it much more relevant to families – we are creating a moment which is much more fitting with kids,” she added.

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BBL wanted a bat that was of symmetrical weight, said Kookaburra executive

The specially designed blades are made by Kookaburra

There was another school of thought which rubbished the change by saying that the bat flip would be unfair and less reliable as compared to the flip of a coin. McConnie, though, rebutted the claims and said that Kookaburra makes sure the bats bring equity and fairness to the table.

“I’ve got it from great authority at our Kookaburra friends that this is a tested and weighted bat to deliver that equity,” she said.

Shannon Gill, Kookaburra’s head of communications, elaborated that they make the bats of symmetrical weight.

“The BBL charged our bat-maker, Lachan Dinger, with the job of coming up with a bat that was of symmetrical weight...Lachie has done the job, though, and Kookaburra is excited to be part of a concept that will stir childhood memories of cricket in the backyard, schoolyard or on the beach,” Gill was quoted as saying on the International Cricket Council (ICC) website.

The 10th edition of the KFC Big Bash League fixtures will commence from Thursday (December 10). The Hobart Hurricanes take on defending champions Sydney Sixers in the opening fixture at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart.