New one-day cricket format makes debut in Australia - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Split-innings one day cricket made its Australian domestic debut in Darwin on Tuesday as Cricket Australia hurried to fine-tune the format ahead of an imminent decision on the shape of the coming season. Tasmania thumped South Australia by six wickets with 8.3 overs to spare in an experimental contest that featured two 40-over innings split in half, with fielding restrictions applying in both brackets and only four bowlers required. The first bracket of each innings was mediocre fare, as SA made 4-87 and Tasmania replied with 4-77, before the Redbacks folded for only a further 58 runs and allowed the Tigers an easy fourth innings chase. CA officials watched with interest in preparation for a board meeting in Melbourne on Friday, after which the details of the one day domestic format to be trialled this summer will be finalised. Tasmanian acting captain Xavier Doherty said the format's conditions placed greater focus on specialists and less on bit-part players. Doherty admitted the rules made all-rounders a less valuable commodity, reducing the need for versatile role-players capable of swinging both bat and ball. "The rules also allowed 12 players, 11 bat or bowl, so it'll probably leave all-rounders a little bit out of the game, obviously if they're still in your best 11 they'll play, but there's probably not such a great need for an all-rounder now," he said. He added: "There are probably a few blokes a bit shirty about having this split innings (format), but without trialling it no-one's going to know what it's going to throw up, so the only way to go is to try it and see what happens." The match was played minus Cricket Australia's most left-field concept, that of a super-striker batting twice, and Doherty was strong in his disapproval of the idea.