The bowlers got some revenge with Pakistan seamer Aamer Yamin claiming four wickets in four balls for Bengal Tigers and Indian spinner Pravin Tambe, 47, playing for Watson’s Sindhis team, taking four wickets in an over including a regulation hat-trick – on the way to figures of 5-15, the first five-wicket haul in a T10 match. Among Tambe’s Kerala Kings victims were Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan and Kieron Pollard for ducks.
I can hear the naysayers commenting that this is just not cricket. Really, 10-over cricket? Come on! Well, get ready, as it is very likely to be the future official format for Olympic and Commonwealth Games because it is perfectly structured to cater to television broadcast interests and schedules.
Many countries are likely to be more interested in this format of the game than any other. It would be perfect for schools, not just around Australia but around the world, to take on this style of game due to the time frame. Just put in a concrete pitch in a ground somewhere and they are good to go.
Australia and South Africa got a rain-enforced taste of the 10-over game last weekend.Credit:AAP
A typical T10 game has three overs in the powerplay. Five bowlers can bowl a maximum of two overs. In the first T10 tournament last year the average winning score was 115. Some teams passed 130.
I had no idea how this game is played, so I went into the analytics and found some surprising results. Interestingly, left-arm quicks conceded nine runs an over, while the right-arm quicks averaged more than 16 runs an over. Leggies went at nine an over and next best were slow left-arm orthodox, who went at 11 an over.
The average strike rates for batsmen surged to 182 runs per 100 balls faced and they average a boundary every four balls. Results favoured the team batting second with 10 teams from 13 matches winning batting second.
Knowing all of these analytics, I was starting to think as a coach, do we retire batsmen if they are struggling? Bowlers get taken off if they bowl badly, so why not batsmen?
Do we not try to catch a ball if an opposing batsman is struggling with his hitting? Do we have integrity issues if we deliberately not try to catch a batsmen? Obviously winning is what the game is about but at what cost? I already hear the cynics and the PC soldiers complaining about that “culture thing” again.
From all the documentation last year’s tournament was a huge success. TV ratings were huge and more than 156 million people around the world watched the four-day tournament. Digitally, on ESPNCricinfo, more than 57 million followed the ball-by-ball commentary.
Season two will be even bigger with 29 matches played over 12 days, with a staggering projection of 390 million people watching. The T10 League will be broadcast not only in the sub-continent, but in North America and UK.
Sponsorship for this year’s event has increased 50 per cent and will reach close to $2 million. There are eight franchises in the T10 League, each valued at $800,000. The salary cap for each franchise is $700,000 for 16 players.
This format of the game is big business and cannot be ignored and is ICC approved. The anti-corruption unit and WADA teams are also here in full force.
Many of the days at Sharjah have been sold out and trust me when I say this, T10 cricket is here to stay.
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