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The Big Bash League is on the ascendency sooner than we thought

5th January, 2015
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Roar Guru
5th January, 2015
13
1076 Reads

The Big Bash League has surprised both cricket and non-cricket fans alike. In just a few short seasons, it has moved from the back of the Australian sporting landscape – a mere obligatory cricket competition – to the forefront of the Aussie sporting conscience.

Last year it capitalised from a mightily successful Ashes series by Australia and this year has spring-boarded further, with the masses coming back for more.

Increased popularity has brought a higher level of imports through the doors of the clubs, with names like Kevin Pietersen and Jacques Kallis plying their trade with the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder respectively.

Despite what traditional cricket tragics may wish, it has without a doubt given the sport a new lifeblood and brought a new breed of fan to the game.

Cricket is once again one of the most popular sports in the country, and while the BBL is one of the reasons for this, it needs to capitalise from it also.

Here are some easy ways the Big Bash League can expand itself, as well as cricket in Australia.

1. Take the games elsewhere
The great thing about cricket is that there are no state lines drawn – it is a sport loved by the whole country, all the way from outback Australia to the biggest cities.

This is why it is important that Cricket Australia embraces the entire nation, making sure as many areas as possible get access to some of the best cricketers in the country and the world. The AFL and NRL has done well to make sure there are a certain number of games a year played in smaller cities and towns such as Cairns and Darwin, and this is the direction the BBL needs to head in.

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Unfortunately, considering the season is only eight home-and-away games for each team, it will likely require a two-game extension.

2. Expand the number of teams
It was around this point in the competition’s history that new teams were introduced to the Indian Premier League, and the BBL should start to consider bids from cities all over the country for the entry of another team or two into the competition for 2017 or 2018.

There are plenty of untapped markets all over the land that could sustainably suit another BBL franchise, and the league should start sounding out now where the future teams may possibly lie. The Gold Coast, Newcastle and Canberra should all be considered.

3. Raise the salary and import cap-marquee player bonus
Some of the increase in revenue in the league needs to make its way back through the clubs, meaning that there should be a salary cap rise.

As mentioned earlier, the BBL has already shown it’s ability to attract big names this year such as Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. More money means more stars, and clubs themselves can be compensated by the league for attracting anyone who is deemed to be a marquee world cricket star, creating further incentive for clubs to put the work in to find a superstar.

4. Make the season longer
One of the advantages of the BBL is the fact that it is short and sweet and doesn’t require a big, long, repetitive regular season before finals action begins. This is an important thing to keep alive within the league, so when extending the league, we are talking in weeks, not months.

Perhaps one more home-and-away fixture for each team in the league, and league games spaced out every other night or every three nights as opposed to every single night.

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5. Start links with New Zealand and South Africa
While one of the great things about the BBL is that it’s quintessentially Australian, cricket is a world game. Plenty of the world’s greatest players reside outside of Australia, and as of late, a lot of them in South Africa and New Zealand.

While I am not proposing any kind of immediate links be drawn up with our neighbours to the west and east, a trial match here or there taken over or a one-off match drawn up between the BBL champions and the champions of New Zealand’s HRV Cup would bode well for the sport and league both domestically and abroad.

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