Who’s going where, and what they’re getting paid, are the questions likely to grab media interest, as the new domestic T20 league takes shape.
Realistically, Cricket Australia (CA) would like the window to contain as much controversy as possible.
The problem is that no matter how much publicity it gets, the Big Bash League (BBL) is still a cobbled-together idea that contradicts itself more than most religious texts.
Clearly, the idea followed on from the IPL’s success. Here were pots of money to be made, and no administrator was going to pass that up.
The new franchises were designed to mimic the IPL’s glitzy style.
So if CA wanted IPL excess, why have they salary-capped their teams at $1.2 million?
Already reports are circulating that top players could command $150,000 to $250,000. The chunk they would take out of the cap would surely result in a weakened squad.
And bear in mind that even $250,000 is vastly less than the top players in the IPL receive.
Again, if the IPL is the model, why have CA restricted their franchises to two overseas players?
The argument would be that CA wants to maximise chances for local players to develop.
But the four-player model used in the IPL has already proved a great success.
The mix of foreign stars keeps international interest and provides glamour for local audiences, while still leaving seven spots for Indian players.
A couple of injuries in Australia, and franchises will quickly be without an overseas drawcard.
If CA is really interested in developing players, why has it cut the value of Sheffield Shield and Ryobi One-Day Cup contracts in boosting up their T20 counterparts?
And why not agree to exclude all younger players – perhaps those under 22 or 23 years of age – from the salary cap?
These are the players we want competing alongside and against the game’s stars now, as they build for the future.
And of all the questions, the biggest one is, why this structure? Why tear up the existing domestic teams in order to transplant these tank-bred creations?
It doesn’t happen often, but in this case I can lay claim to being a member of a very exclusive club – people who’ve actually gone to see Victoria play a Shield match live.
Once upon a time, tens of thousands crammed into these matches.
These days, one of the gentle pleasures of summer is sitting in the vacant outer at the MCG, stretched out, eating lunch and maybe reading a book as the day washes over you.
But it’s also been desperately sad in these past few years that a champion team, with players at the peak of their powers, has so routinely played in front of a crowd of coloured seats and seagulls.
Then when the state Twenty20 came along, suddenly these players again had ten, twenty, even forty thousand people there to watch them play. It gladdened the heart. They’d earned it.
Obviously the new T20 teams have been created by CA so they can sell stakes in them – again, money first.
But this separation will only reinforce the view of the traditional state teams as unfashionable.
For a couple of seasons, the Bushrangers, Bulls, Redbacks, had an audience, and a chance to channel that into one-day and four-day crowds. Now Cricket Australia has taken it away.
Then there’s the hokeyness of the teams themselves. The names are straight out of baseball or basketball. The desperate shame is that while people in the world have nothing, others are being paid for this stuff.
And how many strategy consultants did it take to figure out the locations?
We could have a Country Vic team playing out of Geelong, they said. A Central Coast team, tapping into the Bears supporter base, maybe playing in Newcastle.
Even a West Sydney team, working with the Tigers and the new AFL Giants?
No, how about… one team everywhere we already have one. And an extra one in Melbourne and Sydney.
Genius. Just let me know if I should go for Melbourne, or Melbourne.
It’ll all depend on the uniform. “The team logos and uniforms are unlike anything Australian cricket has seen,” said CA marketing whiz Mike McKenna. “They’re bright, bold, and a departure from tradition.”
Seriously, Mike? Are the guys coming out in leotards? Fishnets? Jetpacks? Humphrey B. Bear suits?
Or… wait, did you just suggest that brightly coloured uniforms were a new innovation?
Quick, if you take the DeLorean back to 1975, you might be able to sell that one to Kerry Packer.
It’ll be a good move. Because if anyone does, he might have some ideas about how to run a cricket comp.
Follow Geoff Lemon on Twitter: @GeoffLemonSport
Brett McKay
Guest
correct Adam, there's a good reason the Darwin grade cricket competition is played in what the rest of the country knows as winter... Otherwise agree on the sentinment, ACT especially, with the number of young ex-ACT players in state squads around the country..
Jason
Guest
Taking a positive perspective, this abomination of a competition could be the start of the end of interest in T20s in Australia.
Andy
Guest
Just trying to keep the language evolving Mr Lemon. I think you'll find that we would have a "disagreeance".
Johnno
Guest
If test cricket does die i am sure going to miss ashes tours to England and the barmy army Ashes tour in Australia. I jus tlvoe the Ashes in oz. 6 weeks of absoloute full on cricket, the whole country is in to it , the barmy army are great, the backpackrs love it to, i love the hype of going to work in the morning of day 1 of an ahses in oz, you watch breakfast tv and they do live crosses form like the adelaide oval and you see the due on the the grass grounds and ex players summing up the vibe and meeting the characters of the barmy army. And the adelaide oval is good idea to renovate it , but gee i am going to miss that grass hill, lov it like the old SCG yabbas hill, and the doug walters stand where all the yobbos would go, and football team eg North sydney Bears lol, would go and have a good time. Maybe test cricket if it survives will become like British Lions tours to cricketers in the future. They will basically play 20/20 all year round but Australia will have a Ashes tour every 4 years, or we will only play England for the Ashes every 4 years, so in relaity Ashes battles will be 1once every 8 years. The hype is jsut great go to all the capital cities 5 test shoot out love it. Even though the aussies got smashed going into melbourne day 1 2010 the build up and the 1st sessiion build up 80,000 fans boxing day test was awsome, and meaningful would hate to see that energy die off or just lost int he name of money to menaingless 20/20 cricket. And would be good next ashes tour if one of the tests were in Canberra or Hobart, just think it would be good add something to the series but still have 5, give adelaide up for 1 series or perth. And make ODI'S PRO 40 cricket 50 over ODI'S outside of world cup i think will die off, in the UK they do PRO 40 cricket and it is doing well.
adam
Guest
Having lived in Darwin for a few years, the downside on their involvement in the any seasonal competition like this is the weather. Over the Dec/Jan period when the BBL would be held is smack bang in the middle of the wet season when AFL and League is played up there. The potential venues are being utilised for these other sports and the amount of rain at that time of year would prevent any cricket being played.
Geoff Lemon
Expert
If it helps, I could disagree with your use of the word 'agreeance'? But we'd be in agreement that that would be disagreeable.
Redb
Roar Guru
When it comes to Melbourne the MCG based team the Melbourne Stars will get some support (MCC members an advantage), the Renegades based out of Etihad will need one helluva of a marquee player. 2nd Vic team should have been Geelong. Melbournians love going to the MCG, we put up with Etihad.
Kasey
Guest
Bollox mate, like everyone else on this site, I'll bet immediate decisions regarding the viability of the BBL are made seconds after the first batch of crowd figures are published ;)
Phil
Guest
I'm not going to judge the new Big Bash League as quickly as some have on here. I'll wait until it the first season is finished.
Andy
Guest
I don't think I've ever read a string of responses to any article, anywhere on the internet that had such a unanimity of agreeance. I can only assume this is the sort of experience members of the Tea Party or the ACL have when they read their local websites. So I wish I could offer a contrary view, some kind of disagreement to stimulate the argument further. But I can't. It is a patently ridiculous gesture of convoluted redundancy to re-fashion the entire league in such an idiotic way. That said I have never had a problem watching cricket so if I have easy access to it I will watch it and probably enjoy the crap out of it. But I would love to stop being treated like a complete idiot by the governing body of the sport I love.
Anfalicious
Guest
Except with ASL it was the tribalism that tore it apart and the FFA were right to break everything and start from scratch. Cricket, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have the problem with importing ancient European tribal rivalries that spill over into riots and fights... They can't even get people passionate enough to rock up, let alone set fire to something because they've lost. Cricket should be nurturing any tribalism it already has.
Anfalicious
Guest
Humphrey B. Bear, in fishnets, taking catches out of the sky with a jetpack strapped to his back would be the single greatest sporting event in history. Cricket Australia should be giving Lemon a job :P
Ben Carter
Roar Guru
Fourthed. That was the way I wanted to see an eight-team T20 comp all along! Preserve the state identities, add NT and ACT and be done with it!
Geoff Lemon
Expert
Thirded.
Geoff Lemon
Expert
Like.
sheek
Guest
Wonderful, wonderful stuff Geoff - you even seemed to be inspired by the writing memory of Vinay. Sorry Geoff, I've doubled up. Those dastardly people at telstra/bigpond have slowed my computer speed for allegedly exceeding my mythical "unlimited" usage. So until the new month turns over, I'm not sure sometimes if posts get through or not. I think I'm going to be looking for a new service provider.....
Jaredsbro
Roar Guru
I think it's about time we take a look at why we're criticising these base-ballisms when it comes to running Twenty 20, well like baseball is in the states. Very few people actually seem to like the name given, so the best option would seem to be to choose a name (in a postmodern turn) that has nothing to do with anything, just light reflecting off water, which reflects light off the mirror kind of thing. America's been doing this for decades now, prob since the NFL got up and running in its current form. The earlier names, like Cardinals, Bears and Packers...Steelers actually meant something. Like with the State-side names in Australia. But as time goes on, people seem to become less and less happy and to avoid a true contest (or even time-heavy consultation) they have no contest at all.Sounds a bit like the way the NRL are approaching the scrum laws yet again for mine, but that's quite a different story. That way everyone's more or less unhappy about the commercialism that you'd have to think they had their reticence about to begin with and get on with the game, quite possibly becoming blind, death and dumb about the true nature of why they identify with the team in the first place. The point being it is basically easier to identify with a mickey-mouse icon, than face (they believe) the truth that it takes time to make identity, which is too slow for their margins.
Jaredsbro
Roar Guru
No the reason international cricket became the major form of the game has more to do with the fact that in order to compete with England, which had centuries start on everyone else ( :P ) was to do so at the level of greatest financial and player payback for one's investment (as after all Cricket was at least since the 18th Century a sport a big big business), that is at the international level. It could also have been influenced by the already really strong (cartel perhaps) of the Football League's major clubs who determined that sport would become a club-centric one.
Jaredsbro
Roar Guru
Yeah it always bothered me how Australia has treated us when it comes to being a cricket (sub, sub I know) power historically. Nothing's really changed in this regard. The ARL eventually realised the value, and the Phoenix had to pitch to keep in the comp ( :D ) But it makes sense. And it might be just the right level (like it was for Rugby league) for us to give you guys a run for your...well batting
Lolly
Guest
Test cricket will have... an awful lot of whinging, aging fans from the traditionally wealthier nations. Much as I love Gideon Haigh's writing style and ability with intertextuality, he is starting to sound like that already.