Short Form Cricket - Cricket Max

Cricket Max is a defunct form of cricket invented in New Zealand by former New Zealand cricketer and captain Martin Crowe which was played primarily by New Zealand first-class cricket teams in an annual competition. International matches were also played between the New Zealand Max Blacks and England (1997), West Indies (2000) and India (2003). It was essentially a very short form of one-day cricket, with each team permitted two innings, but a maximum of only 10 overs for each innings.

Other major changes from the Laws of Cricket include:

• Each side bats two innings of a maximum of 10 overs each.
• Batsmen may not be out from a no ball as usual, and also the next ball bowled after a no ball. This is intended to encourage aggressive batting on the "free hit" ball.
• Wides score 2 extras instead of 1.
• Bowlers may not bowl more than 4 overs per match. These may be distributed between the two innings in any way.
• The field is marked with trapezoidal "Max" zones, one at each end of the field, beginning 60 metres from the striker's wicket, where the trapezoid is 40 metres wide, and extending to the boundary, where the trapezoid is 50 metres wide. Any ball hit into the Max zone doubles the number of runs scored from that ball, whether by running between the wickets, or a boundary four or six. Fielders may not be in the Max zone as the ball is bowled. Only the Max zone in front of the striker is valid for all these rules.
• The first version of Cricket Max also included the use of 4 stumps, instead of 3, at each end of the cricket pitch. This was designed to help bowlers dismiss batsmen, as a batsman could not be dismissed leg before wicket.