Cricket: Bonus point system brings mystery spin into play for one-dayers

By CHRIS RATTUE

Cricket's latest innovation - the bonus point - arrives in the national one-day competition today, but it remains a mystery just what effect it will have on the game.

The ICC will use the bonus point for all its tournaments and series involving more than two teams, including the World Cup.

The system is being used in the Australian state one-day competition, and under ICC rules will be seen internationally for the first time in the tri-series involving Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The opening round of the State Shield today ushers in the bonus point era at senior level.

It was used in the national under-19 tournament in Auckland this week.

While there is general acceptance and even enthusiasm for the concept, Auckland coach Tony Sail has warned that the often dodgy New Zealand one-day wickets mean that the bonus point will give teams batting second an even greater advantage.

The aim of the bonus point is to take some of the supposed lull periods out of one-day cricket.

An example is when sides batting second meander to victory when chasing small targets.

They now have an incentive to reach the target quicker.

In turn, teams bowling second have an incentive to get sides out quicker.

The bonus point system works like this:

* Only the winning side can get a bonus point.

* If a team achieves a run rate of 1.25 more than their opponents, whether batting first or second, they get a bonus point.

* The team batting first are deemed to have used their entire 50 overs for the purpose of working out the run rates for the bonus point.

* The simplest way of working out the bonus point situation is the four-fifths rule.

The team batting second will get the extra point if they achieve the target within 40 overs. The side batting first will get the extra point if they can restrict the chasing team to four-fifths of their total.

* But it could turn into a ridiculously complicated exercise in weather-affected matches when the Duckworth/Lewis system comes into play, especially if continual stoppages force bonus point targets to be revised.

* In the State Shield competition, the value of a win has been increased from two points to four to keep the value of the bonus point in perspective. A tie or no result will be worth two points.

Sail described the bonus point as an interesting concept, but he would hold his final judgment until he had seen it in use.

"A lot of our wickets are a bit green, which makes it pretty difficult batting first, whereas ideal one-day wickets don't change," he said. "It should encourage more positive play, but it remains to be seen what the effects will be."

Northern Districts coach Bruce Blair backed the bonus point, saying: "There is a general acceptance among the coaches and players I've talked to.

"But first of all you go out to win the game ... it might take us a few matches to discover how it works in different situations."

The one-day competition has undergone another change. The three-game finals system has been scrapped. The second and third-placed team will meet in a semifinal and the winner goes into a one-game final against the top side.

Auckland, minus the suspended Dion Nash, and Northern have named predictable lineups for their opener at Eden Park today, although Blair said he had considered bringing in younger players.

In other matches, Central meet Canterbury in New Plymouth and Otago host Wellington in Queenstown.

Auckland: Brooke Walker (capt), Mark Richardson, Matt Horne, Aaron Barnes, Lou Vincent, Adam Parore, Tama Canning, Kyle Mills, Andre Adams, Chris Drum, Mark Haslam, Rob Nichol.

Northern Districts: Robbie Hart (capt), James Marshall, Matthew Hart, Mark Bailey, Scott Styris, Hamish Marshall, Daniel Vettori, Grant Bradburn, Joseph Yovich, Simon Doull, Ian Butler, Daryl Tuffey.