Softball has become the latest sport to get a T20-style makeover in the increasingly crowded and competitive Australian women's market.
Softball Australia has unveiled an innovative fast-paced competition, The Summer Slam - Fully Loaded Softball, to be contested by six franchised teams in Sydney over three days in early February.
It's a timely push for more recognition for softball ahead of its return to the Olympic program at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where Australia will attempt to add to the one silver and three bronze medals won from 1996-2008.
Softball Australia claims the new competition, with new rules, will be a "game changer for the sport", offering shorter games, more action, less downtime and more runs scored.
The teams to compete at Blacktown International Sports Park from February 4-6 will be made up of Australia's top women's representative players plus others from from several of the world's top 12 ranked teams.
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The competition will be broadcast on pay TV live from 5pm to 10pm each day in a deal with Fox Sports.
The new rules include:-
* Shorter three-innings games
* The home-run fence distance reduced to increase the number of home runs and runs scored
* If scores are tied after three innings, a tiebreaker innings, with one out per team, will be played to determine a winner
* Runners starting on base each innings
* No warm-up pitches between innings
* No offensive or defensive conferences for coaches
* After each out the ball goes directly back to the pitcher, rather than being thrown around the diamond by the fielding team.
