CPL launches “The 6ixty”: A new T10 competition set to begin in August

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The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is set to launch a new T10 tournament named ‘The 6ixty’ with the advent of its 10th season. The organisers are hoping that the tournament will become a quarterly event that can be staged around the region and beyond.

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The inaugural season of The 6ixty will take place from August 24 to 28 in St Kitts, immediately before the CPL season, and will feature matches between all six men’s franchises and the three women’s teams.

The 6ixty has introduced some fascinating rules which have made the T10 competition predominantly different and exciting.

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Here are some of the new features of The 6ixty:

• Each batting team has six wickets, rather than ten

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• Batting teams can ‘unlock’ a floating third powerplay over by hitting two sixes in the initial two-over powerplay

• Teams will bowl five consecutive overs from each end, rather than switching ends after each over

• If teams fail to bowl their 10 overs within 45 minutes, a fielder will be removed for the final six balls

• Fans will be able to vote for a ‘mystery free hit’ via an app or website

Cricket West Indies is set to become the first full-member board to create a T10 competition as the 6ixty has been launched in partnership with the cricket board.

Chris Gayle will act as an ambassador for the 6ixty and West Indies players who will be available after their ODI series against New Zealand, which finishes on August 21. Some overseas players are also expected to arrive early to play in the tournament, though a clash with the end of the Hundred’s group stages will rule some out.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo CEO Pete Russell revealed that the tournament is for the new generation and to bring in a new audience. “The new playing conditions will add a layer of strategic intrigue and make sure that the bowlers won’t just be cannon fodder. You’re going to get some people saying ‘this isn’t cricket’ but my view is that cricket is absolutely the most important element of it.

“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 totally new audience. We’re very much going after the younger generation,” he said.

He also hopes that the tournament’s short window will make it easy to transport around the world, recognising that overseas players are increasingly unwilling to commit to spending several weeks in a row away from home in hotel rooms.

“We want to make it portable: we want to run it over five days, similar to how Rugby Sevens is played,” Russell said. “You have the ability to take it around the region, rather than us saying we need a player available for five weeks, which increasingly is going to become problematic.

“Our plan is 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.”

Highlights:

• CPL to launch a new T10 competition named “The 6ixty”.

• The 6ixty will take place from August 24 to 28 in St Kitts.

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