The Big Bash is in a league of its own, but there’s one thing which would burst its bubble: expansion.
Many cricket tragics and fans living in locations such as Canberra, Wollongong, New Zealand, Townsville, and Newcastle would try to convince you that expansion is the best thing that could be done for the Big Bash. This clearly is not the case.
Firstly, the Big Bash is great as it is. It dominates summer sport in Australia, has snuck into the top ten sports competitions attended worldwide, and pushes the A-League and NBL into the shadows during the six weeks between late December and early February.
Secondly, expanding an eight-team model is too far from what we’re used to in Twenty20. If they tried hard enough, Cricket Australia could introduce up to four other franchises in this tournament, which would bring the total up to 12. It wouldn’t be the right move though.
Picking and choosing which regional places need a team would doubtless sever some relations – a path that CA should avoid at all costs. Already the Big Bash is bigger than many other domestic T20 models around the world. Other competitions worth comparing include:
Six teams: Super Smash, Carribean Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Ram Slam T20.
Seven teams: Bangladesh Premier League
Eight teams: Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, England T20*.
*It’s interesting to point out that while England have a much larger current tournament of 18 teams, this spans three months, 14 games per team, two conferences of 9 sides… you get it. However, they are upgrading to a city-based model from 2020 onwards featuring eight teams.
To wrap it all up, CA can’t afford to expand at the risk of losing fans, sponsors, and broadcasters.
Sports fans always say don’t change a winning formula.
The Big Bash clearly is a winning formula at the moment, and shouldn’t be changed. Cricket Australia, take note.
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