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Johannesburg - New innovations will be introduced at the MTN40 domestic cricket competition this year to attract more fans and make the franchises more competitive, it was announced at the Wanderers Club on Tuesday.
This season, the six franchises will be divided into two groups of three, based on how they finished last season. The leaders of the groups will proceed to the semi-finals, consisting of two legs and then the final.
There will be two Power Plays - where fielding positions are restricted - per innings, the first compulsory in the opening 10 overs and the other, of five overs, at the discretion of the fielding side, before the 31st over.
The squads this year have also been expanded to 13 players, with only the 13 players nominated before the toss able to fully participate in the match.
Day games will start at 11am and day/night games at 4pm with a limit of six hours for each match.
The roaming fan cam, the fan of the day competition and cricket challenges during the innings breaks will be used to attract people to the games.
The International Cricket Council was aware of problems in the 50-over format, with boredom creeping in around the middle of the overs, said Cricket South Africa CEO, Gerald Majola.
He said South Africa was at the forefront of experimentation with the 40-over game.
"Together with the other countries, we will compare and discuss what works and what doesn't and then there may be changes to the format of the World Cup after next year," he said.
"Feedback on last season was good and we are confident we can build on this positive platform and deliver a good competition which is also attractive to fans."
Cricket Australia is also launching a 40-over series this year. It is hoped other cricketing nations will follow suit and that the 50-over game will eventually disappear.
Cobras captain Justin Kemp said his team would spend the next few days reviewing the changes.
"The two extra bowlers will make it easier for the teams and having one less Power Play will make it more exciting.
"It means there should be no more dead games and they will all be tough. Each team will have to play well on the day to win."
Titans captain Blake Snijman thought the changes would give players who probably would not have had a chance to play under the old system an opportunity to showcase their skills.
"It's always nice to know the doors are still open into the World Cup squad, so we want to use this opportunity to show off our talent," he said.
Captains Morne van Wyk (Knights), Justin Kemp (Cobras), Blake Snijman (Titans), Davy Jacobs (Warriors), Darren Smit (Dolphins) and Alviro Petersen (Lions) with the trophy
This season, the six franchises will be divided into two groups of three, based on how they finished last season. The leaders of the groups will proceed to the semi-finals, consisting of two legs and then the final.
There will be two Power Plays - where fielding positions are restricted - per innings, the first compulsory in the opening 10 overs and the other, of five overs, at the discretion of the fielding side, before the 31st over.
The squads this year have also been expanded to 13 players, with only the 13 players nominated before the toss able to fully participate in the match.
Day games will start at 11am and day/night games at 4pm with a limit of six hours for each match.
The roaming fan cam, the fan of the day competition and cricket challenges during the innings breaks will be used to attract people to the games.
The International Cricket Council was aware of problems in the 50-over format, with boredom creeping in around the middle of the overs, said Cricket South Africa CEO, Gerald Majola.
He said South Africa was at the forefront of experimentation with the 40-over game.
"Together with the other countries, we will compare and discuss what works and what doesn't and then there may be changes to the format of the World Cup after next year," he said.
"Feedback on last season was good and we are confident we can build on this positive platform and deliver a good competition which is also attractive to fans."
Cricket Australia is also launching a 40-over series this year. It is hoped other cricketing nations will follow suit and that the 50-over game will eventually disappear.
Cobras captain Justin Kemp said his team would spend the next few days reviewing the changes.
"The two extra bowlers will make it easier for the teams and having one less Power Play will make it more exciting.
"It means there should be no more dead games and they will all be tough. Each team will have to play well on the day to win."
Titans captain Blake Snijman thought the changes would give players who probably would not have had a chance to play under the old system an opportunity to showcase their skills.
"It's always nice to know the doors are still open into the World Cup squad, so we want to use this opportunity to show off our talent," he said.
Captains Morne van Wyk (Knights), Justin Kemp (Cobras), Blake Snijman (Titans), Davy Jacobs (Warriors), Darren Smit (Dolphins) and Alviro Petersen (Lions) with the trophy
