The upcoming, 8th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (W-BBL) is nearing its commencement and while the preparations for the tournament to get underway are in readiness, there’s come a high-awaited update on the use of the Decision Review System (DRS) and the Power Surge as well.
With International and State border restrictions in place, the use of the DRS couldn’t get installed in time for the last summer’s edition of the League, but this time around, there’ll be DRS available. The Big Bash has announced the system will be in place, but only for 24 games that’ll be produced by the host broadcaster, Channel Seven.
The remaining 35 matches of the women’s game will be broadcast on Foxtel and cricket.com.au which will be produced via live stream technology that does not currently support DRS. However, the Big Bash officials said the League would continue to strive towards greater DRS coverage for future seasons.
Alistair Dobson, Big Bash League’s (BBL’s) general manager said, “The league is delighted to introduce DRS, in line with the very best cricket competitions in the world. Implementing DRS has been a challenging task for the BBL, which is the most logistically complex T20 league in the world. That, plus the impact of the pandemic on travel and movement, have meant the technology has not been possible to introduce until this season.”
The DRS rules in the Women’s Big Bash League will remain similar to any other T20 competition. All 8 teams will be given one unsuccessful review per innings and within 15 seconds will be required to challenge the decision. Reviews will be retained when a decision results in an umpire’s call.
In addition to the DRS, the tried and tested ‘Power Surge’ will make its debut in the women’s event for the first time after a successful run in the men’s show. With Power Surge in place, the regular 6-over powerplay will be cut down to 4 overs and a two-over surge will be introduced. The batting team has the right to activate the surge anytime during the last 10 overs of the innings. In those two overs, just like the powerplay, only two fielders will be allowed outside the inner circle.
The 2022-23 edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (W-BBL|08) will be continued in the 56-match double round-robin format that’ll be followed by a finals series featuring the top four qualifiers.
The tournament is scheduled to get underway on the 13th of October with the Sydney Sixers playing Brisbane Heat, the defending champions, Perth Scorchers will play their first game on the 16th of October in match no.7 against Sydney Thunder and the tournaments final is scheduled for the 20th of November.
(Quote sourced from cricket.com.au)
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