Why 'The Power Surge’ needs to go Global
In order to salvage their domestic T20 league from declining quality and popularity, Cricket Australia introduced three new rules in Big Bash League before the start of 2020–21 season. Three rules named 'Bash Boost’, 'X Factor' and 'The Power Surge' made quiet a noise in last couple of months and looking at BBL’s this season’s viewership numbers it seems the motive behind it is achieved. Out of three, The Power Surge rule has impressed every T20 cricket lover and has turned out to be one of the best inventions in limited overs cricket.
What is Power Surge? In this rule, the traditional six overs powerplay is replaced by four overs mandatory powerplay at the start of an innings and a two overs Power Surge which a batting team can take at any point after 10th over. In case of a shortened T20 match, the rule is adjusted accordingly.
There are several reasons why The Surge is such an incredible addition to the sport. Apart from increasing the entertainment factor, The Surge forces teams to be proactive, it tests the strategic competency of teams. It also helps lesser skilled middle and lower order players to make a bigger impact on the match.
The Power Surge keeps the batting team in the game irrespective of what their score is. Two overs of The Surge can change the entire match on its head. We’ve seen plenty of such examples in BBL10 season. Listing down some of those instances.
- SIX vs REN : In match 6, Sydney Sixers were going at decent 8.5 run rate with scoreboard reading 118–2 in 14 overs. In next two overs of The Surge they scored 32 runs and with that momentum they ended up with 205–4 in 20 overs. 87 runs in last 6 overs.
- SIX vs STA : In match 15, Melbourne Stars were reeling at 80–4 in 12 overs. Fortunately for them, they had Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran at the crease and The Surge. What followed was an absolute carnage. The explosive pair blasted 49 runs in two overs which is the highest score in The Surge. Stars reached 193–5 in 20 overs. Massive 113 in last 8 overs.
- THU vs HEA : In match 7, Chasing 179 Sydney Thunder were reduced to 102–5 in 13 overs, needing 77 in last 7. With last recognised pair at the crease, they took The Surge and scored 27 runs in next two overs and brought down the equation to 10 runs per over which they went on to achieve with 7 balls to spare.
- HEA vs STR : In match 13, Brisbane Heat while chasing 151 were 8 wickets down for 71 in 14 overs. In normal circumstances they’d most likely be down and out but they had The Surge. A wicketkeeper batsman and a tailender smashed 43 runs in two overs. The pair brought down the required equation from 80 off 6 to 37 off 4 overs. They lost the match by 2 runs but they did come back from the dust.
That’s not it! The Power Surge isn’t all about batting. With batsmen going hard in these overs, bowlers always have the chance to pick up wickets and choke the runflow.
- SCO vs SYS : In match 41, Perth Scorchers were in extremely dominant position with 103–1 on the board at the halfway mark. Looking to maximize it, they took The Surge straightaway but they lost two important wickets and could only score 9 runs. As a result they lost all the momentum and could only reach 167–7.
Another effect of The Power Surge is batting teams have adapted an attacking mindset in these overs. If you look at the year-wise combined run-rate in 5th & 6th overs of IPL, it has never touched 9 rpo. But in BBL10, teams have scored at 10.81 runs per over. They’re looking to score as many runs as possible.
In 61 matches of BBL10, 105 times teams played full 2 overs of The Surge. Out of those, 40 times it went for 25 runs or more, 23 times teams scored 30 runs or more and 3 times The Surge saw 40 runs or more. These are crazy numbers and teams are not happy with anything less.
Be it changed mindset, strategic challenges or it’s ability to change the entire complexion of the match, The Surge makes an already volatile format even more volatile, more thrilling, more fun and above all it makes the game better. The benefits of having this rule are so extraordinary that it needs to be introduced in every league and even in international T20s. With Abu Dhabi T10 league being very quick to implement it, we hope to see The Power Surge going truly global.
