Opinion has been sharply divided since the Big Bash League announced its new innovations: Power Surge, X-Factor and Bash Boost. Some have called them just gimmicks, others genuinely good ideas. Marcus Stoinis thinks they are “exciting” and will make captains and coaches busier than before, simply because “there’s going to be a lot more tactics” involved in each game.
“I think it’s exciting, I think it will be good for the competition,” Stoinis, the Melbourne Stars allrounder, said at a media interaction on Saturday. “Like everything new, they are bound to be some teething problems or some people who don’t like it. But, look, that’s part of the way we are going; we’ve got to adapt, we’ve got to look to create a better game, or a more exciting game, for viewers at some stage as well. The Big Bash is such a great competition and this could add to it.”
Adaptability will be the key, but it might require quite an overhaul in terms of team strategies and match planning.
“I’m going to have to figure out how to try and be there for that second powerplay,” Stoinis said with a laugh. “But that’s the interesting part – there’s going to be a lot more tactics, the captains are going to be busy, the coaches are going to be a bit busier; we’ll give them a bit of c**p about it, saying once the game starts they just sit there around the boundary and don’t do so much. So we’ll get them involved.
“I hope the rule changes work well for the game and excite the fans. I understand the purpose of them, I don’t think we can afford to get too attached to anything when it comes to Twenty20 cricket and the progression of our sport”
“You will see people batting a little bit differently. And then they have got the point that’s available after the first ten overs as well. So you can’t cruise from that four-to-ten-over mark waiting for the powerplay. There’s definitely going to have to be a bit more communication going back and forth. There will probably be a few floaters in the batting order, people specifically going out there for those sorts of things.”
The new rules, which are only applicable to the Big Bash League, will definitely make the viewing experience different than the older version, but Stoinis said he was happy to “go with the flow”.
“I hope the rule changes work well for the game and excite the fans. I understand the purpose of them, I don’t think we can afford to get too attached to anything when it comes to Twenty20 cricket and the progression of our sport,” he said. “So I am all for it. I am just going with the flow and I am excited about the competition.
“Yes, it is quite different. I can see also that it is going to overlap into one-day cricket a lot more. I mean, just now in the IPL, like how many scores there were over 200 in 20 overs – it’s actually unbelievable cricket being played at the moment. So we raise the bar, lift the ceiling of what’s possible in one-day cricket. I think it’s going to be continually harder and harder to probably play all three formats. Just because, probably, the aggression you need, or the different types of deliveries you’re going to be bowling in white-ball cricket or Twenty20 cricket, so it’s going to be a challenge.”