West Indies launches ‘The 6ixty’ with tweaked rules to excite the younger audience

In August, West Indies will become the first full-member ICC nation to host a T10 league. The Caribbean nation has decided to come up with a sixty-ball tournament named 'The 6ixty'. The league will be conducted in August, just before the 2022 edition of the Caribbean Premier League.

The 6ixty will be the second T10 league sanctioned by the International Cricket Council after they approved the one in the United Arab Emirates in 2017. Though the concept of the T10 tournament is not new in the cricket fraternity, the Caribbean Premier League has tweaked the existing rules to make it more interesting and exciting. 

The inaugural edition of the Championship will be conducted from August 24 to August 28 in St Kitts. As many as six Men's and three Women's CPL sides will be locking horns in the first season. One of the most unique rules in the 60-ball tournament is that each side will have just six wickets in hand instead of ten.

There will be two powerplays for the batting side, but they can unlock the third floating powerplay widow by smacking two maximums in the first two-over powerplay. For the bowling side, they will be allowed to bowl five consecutive overs from the same side instead of changing ends after every over in the game.

Also, the authorities have made strict rules to ensure the completion of the match in the given time. For example, if a side fails to complete ten overs in the given time of 45 minutes, then a fielder will be removed during the final six balls of the respective inning. 

To make the league more interesting, the fans will be actively involved. For example, the fans can vote for the 'mystery-free hit' timing where the bowler can't dismiss the batter. 

As per the Cricket West Indies and their partners Caribbean Premier League, the league will see new innovations that will change T10 cricket and make it even faster-paced and action-packed. However, the authorities understand that tweaking the new rules can bring criticism from the fans. 

CPL CEO Pete Russell clarified that they have created exciting rules to make the tournament more interesting for the audience. The official also mentioned that they are looking to please and attract the younger generation of fans.  

"You're going to get some people saying, 'this isn't cricket,' but my view is that cricket is the most important element. It's just about trying to generate excitement and interest. It's like what's going on with golf right now – you have to look at things through a different lens sometimes. This is about a new audience. We're very much going after the younger generation," Russell said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"We plan to do four a year; that's the starting point. Potentially, you'd like to have three in the Caribbean and one elsewhere. We'd like to play one internationally somewhere: if I could take the 6ixty to Vegas, that would be a dream ticket," Russell added.

West Indies explosive power-hitter Chris Gayle has been named as the brand ambassador for the tournament. The 6ixty will be open for overseas cricket players as well.