New dimension for ECB's '100-ball' game?

The England and Wales Cricket Board's radical '100-ball cricket' concept could also see teams include more than the traditional 11 players, according to reports in English media.

In April, the ECB revealed its bold plan for a drastically revised version of the game that would incorporate 100 balls per side and be played in the 2020 UK domestic season.

Reports have emerged that the concept could include a 12-15 player squad, with batsmen replaced by bowlers in the field in order for teams to be able to include their star batters and bowlers without having to concern themselves with team balance.

As per current rules, only 11 players would be permitted to bat, or field at any one time.

The concept is not dissimilar to the Super Sub rule that was introduced in ODI cricket from July 2005 before being discarded just nine months later.

Under the Super Sub system, teams were required to name their substitute player before the toss, which was designed to encourage the selection of versatile allrounders in the role of Super Sub.

But teams often selected a specialist bowler or batsman as their substitute, meaning the player often went unused if a team completed their sub's specialist discipline first.

That meant the outcome of the toss carried greater importance, with the losing captain often left with an unusable substitute against a team that could call on 12 players over the course of the match.

This week's news out of the UK comes hot on the heels of other recent revelations that the 100-ball competition would feature sets of 10 balls bowled from each end, with the captain to decide if those balls will be divided evenly between two bowlers, or delivered solely by one bowler. Each bowler would be limited to a maximum of 20 deliveries.

According to a report in The Times, the ECB is looking to schedule the July-August 2020 tournament with an eye to making marquee English internationals in the opening rounds in order to maximise interest in the new concept.

Speaking after the initial announcement in April, England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said the game needed to evolve in order to make itself appealing to the masses.

"Cricket participation levels have been going down for quite a while, and we need to do something different to change the reputation of the sport, or the perceived barriers that need to be broken down in order to play the sport," Morgan said.

"Because if we continue to stay rigid and don't change anything for a long period of time, the sport will die."