Cricket commentator and SportsMax analyst Nikhil Uttamchandani believes the innovation of the bonus-points system implemented in this year’s CG United Insurance Super 50 Cup competition, has been a positive one.

Speaking on a recent edition of the Sportsmax Zone, Uttamchandani, while reviewing the group stages of the tournament stated, “I credit CWI, Miles Bascombe and his team for the innovation. There was no point coming into this tournament doing the same things over and over again. It is about now building towards the 2027 World Cup.” 

Commenting on specific improvements seen during the group stage, Uttamchandani highlighted two key areas.

“Coming into this, I looked closely to see where the West Indies have fallen behind in ODIs in the last few years, and it’s in the middle overs. It is no secret that we have struggled.” 

Since the 2019 ODI World Cup, the West Indies have ranked 12th  of the 19 teams in the world between overs 11 and 40, only scoring at 4.69 runs per over. “It was refreshing to see the two youngest teams being the only two teams above five runs per over in overs 11-40 during the group stages. It shows that while the bowling will not be the same at the international level, there is added impetus being shown in the middle overs.” 

The Combined Campuses and Colleges team was the best middle-over team of the preliminary stages, scoring at 5.58 runs per over, while the West Indies Academy was second best at 5.04. He also accentuated the increased intensity in the first 10 overs of the innings, where five teams had scored better than five runs per over in this year’s competition, a significant improvement over last season. 

From a bowling perspective, Uttamchandani revealed that he was impressed by new Leeward Islands sensation Daniel Doram, the tall left-arm spinner who took 13 wickets in six matches, including a 7-29 against Jamaica.  However, while he was impressed with his uniqueness, Uttamchandani wants to see Doram perform well in two to three more tournaments before being considered for play internationally. 

“He is different to Motie and Hosein. He has been impressive, but if he can go into the four-day championship, CPL, if selected, or even the next Super 50 and put out good performances, it will create a better environment for West Indies cricket and offer more for the selectors to choose from. In bouncy conditions, Doram provides an alternative option. I’m excited for the future of his career.” 

The analyst believes the impact of the bonus points system and this year’s Super 50 Cup will be further reflected in the England and Australia series bowling off in the next few months. 

A new bonus points system is being introduced to the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup to encourage players and teams to align their style of play and performance targets with the West Indies One-Day International team’s new vision and brand of cricket. Cricket West Indies (CWI) unveiled the addition to the original points allocation of – 4 for a win, 2 for a no result and 0 for a loss.

Under the new structure teams will gain the bonus points for achieving various performance targets at stages during the match. These include runs during the Power plays, wickets during the Powerplays, decreases in ‘dot ball’ percentage, batsmen scoring centuries, bowlers taking five-wicket hauls, and fielders effecting run outs.

This year, the region’s premier List A 50-over tournament will run from Tuesday 17 October to Saturday 11 November with a new eight-team league format followed by Semi-Finals and Finals to determine the 2023 CG United Super50 Cup Champions.

Miles Bascombe, CWI’s Director of Cricket, outlined the reasons behind the additional bonus points and noted that the teams have expressed eagerness and excitement to play with the new points structure.

“The white ball head coach [Daren Sammy] presented to the franchise coaches about the brand of cricket we want to play in the 50-over format going forward and as we build from now towards the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027. So, our new bonus point system has been built around getting our regional teams to execute that brand. We have identified challenges with strike rotation, as well as other aspects necessary to compete in the modern game. This bonus points system is one way of putting the spotlight on these issues and addressing them directly through these incentives,” Bascombe said.

“By establishing a clear brand of cricket – we bring clarity to the planning and the preparation required for execution on the field – we believe that we will see the teams attempting to play the type of cricket required, which is a start. All that we do at the regional level has to be geared towards improvement and success at the international level.”

Looking ahead to the tournament Bascombe added: “We ensured with the new format every team plays against each other team so that we have a full round-robin and that would mean one additional game for each team. That brings some balance to the tournament before we head to the Final Four Semi-Finals. The teams are happy with this new format and with the additional preliminary game that provides our players more cricket, more opportunity and more exposure.”

The 50-over tournament will officially bowl off in Trinidad on the morning of Tuesday 17 October with the opening match between home side Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) at the Queen’s Park Oval (QPO) at 9am (8am Jamaica). Also on Tuesday, the Guyana Harpy Eagles will face the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in the first televised match at 1pm (12 noon Jamaica).

 The Tournament will feature 31 matches to be played at three venues: the BLCA, the QPO and the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Grounds of the University of the West Indies Sport and Physical Education Centre (UWI SPEC) at the St. Augustine Campus.

All 13 matches at the BLCA, including the Semi-Finals and Final, will be televised live on ESPN Caribbean, with 12 of those matches being day/night games.