ECB’s new 100-ball tournament could feature 12-a-side teams: report

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) proposed 100-ball tournament has already made heads turn due to the number of ideas that have been pitched to make the league unique.

Now, a report in English newspaper The Telegraph suggests that the ECB is mulling over the idea of making the teams in the league include 12 players per game instead of the conventional 11.

The rule will reportedly be in line with the “super-sub” idea that the ICC tried out in 2005, but dropped just 10 months later due to the concept failing to take off in popularity.

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This would imply that one player would be a specialist who would either bat or bowl as per his role mentioned by the captain during the toss.

The idea behind naming 12 players is to ensure changes can be made to the playing XI during the match and add an edge to proceedings.

A tailender can be replaced with a specialist batsman if necessary, or the opposite holds true if the pitch is more suited to pace bowling.

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This report comes in the wake of a confirmation that all overs in the tournament will be five-ball ones and not the standard six-ball overs.