IN the history of cricket we’ve had everything from four-ball overs to eight-ball overs.

In 2020 we’re set for two firsts in ‘the Hundred’ — England’s planned new cricket format.

The Times’ Elizabeth Ammon reports the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is planning for the new format to be played with both 10-ball and five-ball overs.

Cricket has never had 10-ball overs and while five-ball overs have been used in the past, a match has never had variable over lengths.

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In April the ECB announced plans for the fourth cricket format to be played domestically from 2020, with eight new teams to play 100-ball innings. That is 20 fewer deliveries than a Twenty20 innings and 40 over the course of a match, allowing games to be completed within two-and-a-half hours.

When the ECB announced the tournament, it had planned for each innings to consist of 15 six-ball overs with a singular 10-ball over. It was a formula that was met with derision by the country’s players’ association, which opposed the requirement for one player to bowl a 10-delivery over.

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The ECB’s purported solution is the removal of traditional six-ball overs from the format. The Times reports that rather than innings being split over to over, they will be played in 10-ball segments with 10 deliveries bowled from one end before another 10 at the other.

Under this proposal, captains will have the choice of splitting each 10-delivery segment into two five-balls over or one 10-ball over bowled by one player. Each bowler will have an allotment of 20 deliveries for the match.

The new formula is still subject to consultation.

HOW IT WILL WORK

* Each innings is 100 deliveries, split by nine changes of end.

* Ten deliveries bowled from each end before switching to the other.

* Captain’s choice whether to split each 10-delivery between two bowlers (five-ball overs) or one bowler (10-ball over)

* Players to bowl a maximum of 20 deliveries.