CANBERRA: Hilarity ensued during an "unprecedented" bat-flip on Thursday to decide the course of play as Brisbane Heat and Perth Scorchers faced off for the final match of the Big Bash League's (BBL) 10th season.
Ahead of the BBL 10 final, as Perth Scorchers captain Ashton Turner and Brisbane Heat captain Chris Lynn waited to see who got to bat first, the bat instead landed on its edge twice, causing both cricketers and onlookers to laugh at the surprising turn of events.
At the first attempt, the bat-flip was perhaps not as surprising but when it occurred for the second time, both teams' captains were left shocked, with boos and yays from those around them.
The bat-flip — a replacement of the traditional coin toss — finally came out in the Heat's favour and Lynn decided to bat first against Scorchers.
Introduced before the BBL's 2018-19 season, the bat-flip is when "colourful bats [are] thrown in the air to decide the course of play", according to Yahoo! Cricket.
The publication quoted Kim McConnie, Cricket Australia’s head of the BBL, as saying the bat-flip "is a great moment which reflects what the BBL is about".
"Some people don’t like change but I’d also challenge people to say when was the last time anyone watched the coin toss or really focused on it to a great extent," McConnie had said.
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