Next week in Australia's Big Bash League (BBL), a cricket bat will be flipped instead of a coin to decide which side would bat first. The practice of flipping the bat is, however, not new, according to renowned Indian cricket statistician Mohandas Menon. "Tossing with the bat is a very old practice. It was done during the early 18th century before it was discontinued for the actual toss of the coin," Menon said.

In the BBL, the captain will call either 'hill' or 'flat' when the specially designed Kookaburra bat is tossed. Former Pakistani captain Asif Iqbal termed it as an interesting concept and was aware of the old method too. "The way cricket has evolved since the late 70s, the introduction of coloured clothing, cricket under floodlights, white ball and so on, one can see this idea of the toss is another one [innovation]," said Asif.