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Cricket Australia to expand Big Bash 'to eternity'

Do glitzy fireworks really put bums on seats? (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
Expert
11th January, 2018
9

Cricket Australia has promised a dangerously enlarged Big Bash League next year, with plans to expand the competition into non-traditional timeslots like the morning, winter and eventual perpetuity.

Sources can report some “slight scheduling tweaks” have been discussed that will see the league conquer the last remaining ten months on the calendar not already under its torrid grip.

CA executives are confident a saturation draw can initially capture difficult markets like autumn, shift workers and daytime television using the product’s thrilling blend of big sixes and Mark Waugh apathy.

Then, after securing a 24-hour foothold, they plan to expand the league to run “pretty much forever”, kinda like a Mobius strip or Brad Hogg.

Currently a modest 548 games across two months, bosses have been desperate to grow the competition in a bid to increase important aspects of the game like junior participation, interest among females and executive bonuses.

However, expansion talks have stalled in recent years, with stakeholders unable to find spare time in their busy schedules because the BBL is always on.

Melbourne Renegades

(AAP Image/David Crosling)

But belief is high that now is the time to grow, especially with Channel Ten opening up 21 spare daily hours after shelving The Simpsons.

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An expanded BBL will see each team play each other four times a day, with a single interruption for a revamped version of The Project, which will be 30 minutes of centre-left BBL highlights.

Executives believe running the competition for eternity will not only cement its current stronghold but also stave off the looming threat to fans posed by football, literature and interpersonal relationships.

Additionally a BBL-in-perpetuity will also alleviate small gaps in the schedule currently filled with regrettable Sheffield Shield matches.

This would mean Test aspirants would no longer have to waste their time trying to earn selection in four-day cricket.

But despite the rampant growth of the competition, league bosses will stop short of scheduling a match on Christmas Day because they are “serious about player burnout”.

Assurances have also been made that Test cricket will remain as the organisation’s top priority, mainly because “it’s on our app”.

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