Australia’s Big Bash League to substitute coin toss with ‘bat flip’
Big Bash League has opted to do away with the traditional coin toss with a ‘bat flip’ in the upcoming 2018-19 season scheduled from December 19. This will be the first time that instead of the conventional "heads" or "tails" the captains will be calling out "hills" or flats" at the ‘bat flip’ toss.
In an interesting development in modern cricket, the officials in the Australian Big Bash League have decided to forego the traditional ‘coin toss’ between opposing captains ahead of a match. As per reports, the BBL will now incorporate a ‘bat flip’ in order to decide which team will bat or bowl first in the upcoming 2018-19 season of the T20 league.
"For me it's a great moment which reflects what BBL is about. If you think about a coin toss, it's not really what kids do. If you're out in the backyard what do you do? You toss the bat to decide," said Cricket Australia's head of the Big Bash League, Kim McConnie.
The captains would now be calling either ‘hills or ‘flats’ ahead of the game. BBL has planned to produce specially designed bats that would be equally landing on its flat or its hill.
"You'd be surprised at the science that's gone into this. It is a specially weighted bat to make sure that it is 50-50. I've got it from great authority at our Kookaburra friends that this is a tested and weighted bat to deliver that equity," McConnie added.
BBL also introduced the world to zing bails, which lights up when the stumps are broken, which have now become a common sighting in T20 matches around the world.
"Some people don't like change but I'd also challenge people to say when was the last time anyone watched the coin toss or really focused on it to a great extent? Now we are making it much more relevant to families, we are creating a moment which is much more fitting with kids," McConnie concluded.