Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) have jointly unveiled a whole new format – THE 6IXTY, a new 60-ball tournament.
The inaugural edition will be played between August 24 and 28 at Warner Park in St Kitts & Nevis. It will also witness six men’s and three women’s teams competing with a new set of playing conditions.
The official Twitter handle of CPL made the announcement on social media through posts and a teaser video that featured West Indies legend, Chris Gayle.
“60 balls, 6 men’s teams, 3 women’s teams, radical new rules. Join us as we see the CPL teams compete in @6ixtycricket #CricketsPowerGame #6ixtyCricket #CPL22,” the CPL wrote in the tweet.
60 balls, 6 men's teams, 3 women's teams, radical new rules. Join us as we see the CPL teams compete in @6ixtycricket #CricketsPowerGame #6ixtyCricket #CPL22 https://t.co/i8TGhUFafz
— CPL T20 (@CPL) June 22, 2022
Cricket’s newest format is largely a T10 competition but has quite a few different and fresh rules. According to the official website of CPL, fans will get to see the following exciting new rules:
• 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 a 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 5 separate overs, with no bowler being able to bowl more than 2 overs for the innings.
• If teams do not bowl their overs within the allotted time, 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
“The 6ixty has come about because of a close collaboration between CPL and CWI, which is the way forward. I am really excited about the innovation, excitement and entertainment that it is going to bring to the fans,” said Ricky Skerritt, CWI president.