Cricket Gets a Fourth Format: Boys and Girls in the Same Team in the Novel 80-Over 'Test Twenty'
Boys and girls will play in the same team. There will be separate innings for each side, but victory and defeat will be decided by the combined score. A new-format competition called 'Test Twenty' is bringing this novel rule to cricket.
The organisers are presenting the tournament, set to debut in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 14 to 29 November, as cricket's fourth format. Four continental teams will take part in the format, which blends the rules of Test and T20 cricket.
A total of 160 young cricketers aged 13 to 21 will play in the tournament. The four teams will each have 20 boys and 20 girls. In other words, although each team will have separate squads for boys and girls, everyone's performance on the field will count toward the same team's total.
Under the new rules, the boys will play against boys and the girls against girls. But the runs scored by both sides will be added together to determine the team's total.
Suppose Team A's girls score 150 runs and Team B's girls manage 130. After the girls' innings, Team A will lead by 20 runs. But if in the boys' innings Team B scores 190 and Team A stops at 160, Team B will win on the combined score of the two sides, because once both totals are added, Team B's collection will be higher.
In simple terms, to win, both the boys' and girls' cricketers have to play well. One side's big score can make up for the other side's weak performance, and the reverse can also happen.
Each match will be of 80 overs. Forty overs will be played in daylight with the red ball and in traditional white clothing. The remaining 40 overs will be held under floodlights, with the white ball and coloured jerseys. In other words, a single match will contain two different forms of cricket.
A toss will decide whether the boys or the girls bat first. The organisers believe this decision will also add a new dimension to match strategy.
Several well-known faces of cricket have joined the new competition. Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, Australia's Matthew Hayden and West Indies legend Clive Lloyd are on its advisory board.
In addition, Rajkumar Sharma, known as the childhood coach of Indian star batter Virat Kohli, will serve as chairman of the Global Selection Committee.
The matches of the first edition will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. The final of the tournament is scheduled for 29 November. All matches are set to be broadcast live on the Sony Sports Network.
