ECB to introduce new '100-ball' format

What's the story?

In a major development that could potentially define the future of cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is said to be holding secret talks to introduce a new format of the game that will feature 100 balls in an innings.

The board's CEO, Tom Harrison, said: “This is a fresh and exciting idea which will appeal to a younger audience and attract new fans to the game. Our game has a history of innovation and we have a duty to look for future growth for the health and sustainability of the whole game.

In case you didn't know...

There hasn't been a more major shake-up to the game since the time of the Twenty20, the now-hugely popular format of the game, established in 2003. Introduced for their inter-county championship by the ECB, the tournament took off on a massive scale and was absorbed into international cricket as early as 2005.

A T10 tournament (10-overs-a-side) did take place recently, in UAE towards the end of last year, but there had been no talks of shrinking the game further at the domestic level, from the existing T20 format.

The heart of the matter

The new format will feature a '100-balls-a-side', with the traditional six-ball overs being 15 in number (adding up to a total of 90 deliveries). The ten extra deliveries will form an additional over.

The person who has been chosen to be the MD for the new tournament, ECB Chief Commercial Officer Sanjay Patel said: “This is 100-ball cricket, a simple approach to reach a new generation. Based on 15 traditional six-ball overs, the other 10 balls will add a fresh tactical dimension. Crucially, this will also help differentiate this competition from Vitality Blast and other T20 competitions worldwide, maintaining our game’s history of successful innovation."

What's next?

A five-week tournament has been proposed, featuring six teams - Southampton, Birmingham, Leeds, London, Manchester, Cardiff and Nottingham, and will be held in 2020.

Author's take

With the specifics of the proposed format vague and unclear at the moment, it is difficult to say much about how a 100-ball format will drive more audience. The 10-ball over, although a seemingly interesting idea on paper, elicits various questions - where and how will the over be fitted in, and how open will the audience be in adopting a new format that has 20 deliveries fewer than the current, most-popular form of the game.

Only time will tell.