Jamaica’s 30-year-old multiple Olympic and world sprint champion added that he had been waiting a long time for such an innovative form of track and field and had jumped at the chance once the Nitro concept was presented by his friend John Steffensen, the 2006 Commonwealth 400 metre champion who is now on the board of Athletics Australia.

There will be 12 events each night at the event with points awarded in each from 100 points for first to 40 points for sixth place.

The positions of each team after the first two nights of  the series (February 4 and 9) will determine seeding for the final on February 11.

“For sure, I think it’s going to be great - it’s going to be like cricket, but Twenty20,” Bolt said on the eve of the six-team competition in Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium, which will see him race in Australia for the first time.

“I think personally it’s a great idea and that’s why I want to be a part of it.

“When John Steffensen came to me and said "Listen, we want to do this", I said "John, you know I’ve been saying this all my life".

“So I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Asked at the event’s Gala dinner how he would captain his team, the All-Stars, against opposition from Australia, England, New Zealand, Japan and China, he replied: “Like a Boss”.

“And definitely as a winner, so I’m going to try and instil that in my team, I mean I have a great team so I expect nothing but the best from them," he added.

“But I’m also going to tell them to have lots of fun and just go out there and give their best.”

Among the innovations of this three-hour contest are Nitro power plays, turbo charges and false start penalties.

The power plays, offering double points, for the opening night have been drawn by the team captains, with Australia receiving the 4x100m relay and Bolt All-Stars picking out the long jump, where there will be bonuses for athletes reaching nominated distances.

China will receive double points in the javelin, England in the 60m, Japan in the 100m and New Zealand in the medley relay.

“I think it’s great,” said Team England captain and 2008 Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, who will be returning to the city where she won the 2006 Commonwealth Games title.

“You know, hats off to you guys for being brave enough to step out of the box that athletics has found itself in for donkey’s years.

“It’s such a great idea and I was saying that I usually do Penn Relays in America and I love it because it’s competition and there’s a fun element and I honestly think it will be a success because the athletes are looking forward to it.”

One of Ohuruogu’s charges in a predominantly young English team will be 19-year-old pole vaulter Adam Hague, who has just become the first athlete from his country to record a qualifying mark (5.50m) for next year’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast.

"The format is different, it’s not like a regular pole vault competition," said the 2015 European junior champion of an event where all athletes attempt three predetermined heights, with the fourth attempt at the athlete's discretion.

“When it grows into something big I can say that I was there to help build it.”

Other events include an elimination mile, target javelin, mixed medley relays, a three-minute distance challenge and the highly-anticipated hurdles relay along the back straight.

Tactics will come into play, particularly in the elimination mile where six competitors start and just three finish with the slowest runner in each of the first three laps eliminated, leaving three runners to contest the final leg.

“Honestly, I’m really excited to see how it all plays out because there has been so much hype about it and so much talk,” Team Australia co-captain Genevieve LaCaze said about the series.

“I’ve got family and people coming down from Queensland to watch that are really excited about it.

“The most interesting event will be the elimination mile because I can’t fathom how that’s going to play out.”

Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell, who won his only individual title in Melbourne at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, said he is ready to do almost anything to help the All-Stars.

“You know if the captain says we have to do a 300, we’re going to fight on the track, a serious fight, but I’m looking forward to it I think,” Powell joked after a training session at Lakeside Stadium.