The 2020-21 season of the Big Bash League was a courageous one for introducing three new rules to the T20 league tournament. These three rules were the X-Factor, Bash Boost point, and Power Surge. This article dives into the details of the latter.
The power surge rule was a snip and edit version of the conventional powerplay rule. In a professional T20 match, the first six overs of the innings are when the powerplay is activated. During this period no more than two players can be outside the inner thirty-yard circle. In the power surge rule, this is reduced to four overs. But there is more to the power surge. The two overs reduced from here are compensated after the 11th over of the innings. This means that after the 11th over, the batting side can opt for the power surge which lasts for two overs. During this period, just like the powerplay, the fielding side can place no more than two fielders outside the inner circle.
At the outset, the power surge was a rule which was meant to increase the scoring rate and also enhance the chase of the second innings. However, as matches went by, cricket pundits realized that power surge was a nightmare for the batters. In the haste of scoring more runs, batters often lost their wickets during the power surge overs. Though the increase in run-rate was inevitable, the batters had to be rather more cautious of the team’s overall total.
Power surge is usually taken by the teams between the 15th to 17th over. The batting side opts for a power surge between the 11th and 15th over only when the run-rate is below par in the first half of the innings. For the side batting second, the power surge’s activation depends on the required run-rate.
Out of the three new rules introduced in the 2020-21 season, the power surge is the only one that is still used. The X-factor and Bash Boost rules were discontinued after statistical discrepancies. Moreover, the power surge rule is also used in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
