With the advent of the bat flip instead of the coin toss to decide which captain gets to choose if their side bats or bowls first, The Cricketer have brought together five ’innovations’ the Big Bash has brought to cricket.
The Big Bash has drawn both support and criticism since it started because of its willingness to ‘innovate’. Be this the dazzling kits or the names of the teams, the Big Bash has made a great deal of effort to connect to an audience it reckons it had lost – children.
With the advent of the bat flip instead of the coin toss to decide which captain gets to choose whether their side bats or bowls first, The Cricketer thought it sensible to look at some of the gimmicks…sorry…’innovations’ that the Big Bash has brought to cricket. We will start with the bat flip.
The introduction of the bat flip as a replacement for the coin toss was announced on Monday, and the primary aim appears to be to make the coin toss “more relevant to families”, according to Cricket Australia’s Head of Big Bash League Kim McConnie. Apparently, coins are not relevant to families.
Captains will now be calling “hills” or “flats” rather than “head” or “tails” as a specially-modified Kookaburra bat will be tossed…again, sorry…flipped.
Will it last? Who knows, but it probably will if it allows more room for sponsorship.
Brett Lee flips a bat before it was even a thing in the Big Bash
Some of you may not know that ‘Zing Bails’ is the name of those bails which light up when they are dislodged from the wicket. They were first introduced to the Big Bash in 2012, and have been used ever since. Such was their success that they even made an appearance in the 2017/18 Ashes.
Though approved by the ICC and introduced to international cricket in 2013, they have not been without controversy.
In 2014, during a match between the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder, David Hussey survived a run out because the zing bails fell back into the groove having been dislodged by the direct throw from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Ricky Ponting, who was commentating, said he had never seen it happen with traditional bails.
Zing bails make doubly sure that everyone knows the batsman is out
These coloured plastic wraps which are applied to bats via the use of a boiling water first appeared in 2017. The product is described by its makers as “revolutionary” though all they essentially do is make bats look quite garish.
Aiden Blizzard (who retired in 2018) was an ambassador for them, and said: “It’s a great innovation that’s been bought into cricket.
“It looks great and it has definitely revolutionised cricket bats, that’s for sure. Kids are going to love it so I was happy get around the testing process.”
A consistent theme of all these gimmicks seems to be that children will love them.
.@aidenblizzard was happy with his new bat wrap last night and it did the job! 👍🏼 #ThunderNation pic.twitter.com/N3WquXYyUK
— Sydney Thunder (@ThunderBBL) December 20, 2017
These personal microphones were also introduced in 2012, and now see use in many other T20 leagues across the world. The idea is that commentators can chat to players about the game and how it is going, but this has probably bred more controversy than any other ‘innovation’.
There have been instances where commentators have been given players tactical advice during the game and players have also been told to not reveal their plans due to fears of betting infractions.
However, the greatest example as to why this is actually a brilliant gimmick is the verbal jousting that ensued between Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels during a match between the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades.
In reality, all you can hear is Shane’s side of things, but that makes it all the better. Essentially Shane was not too happy about Marlon pulling David Hussey’s shirt, and remonstrated with him. You can see the full exchange through this link (warning, Shane comes out with some rather vulgar language).
Shane Warne, earpiece visible on his ear, makes his feelings known to Marlon Samuels
The final ‘innovation’ on this list was also brought in during for the 2012/13 season, with Shane Watson the first man to use the technology in a game against the Hobart Hurricanes. Very small cameras are attached to helmets and provide viewers with an idea as to what things look like from the batter’s perspective.
They have also been used in the IPL and originally it was only the umpires who had cameras attached to their hats, but now players do too.
Posted by Richard on 10/12/2018 at 20:20
Bat flip. An innovation?! My dad who would be 95 now taught us that at an early age. It was a long time before I realised that coins were used. Though I don’t think we called them “hills” and “flats”. A reintroduction absolutely. But not an innovation.
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