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On Tuesday night at The Gabba, I got to witness first-hand how the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League is rejuvenating cricket. One smooching old couple at a time.
With the backdrop of a Mexican wave and the discography of Jet, LMFAO, and the unlikely crowd favourite of Greek folk song Zorba, the “kiss cam” beamed images of forced PDA onto The Gabba big screen while cheering fans wearing KFC buckets as headwear instead of heart attack containers kept one eye on the unfolding Big Bash action below.
The umpires wore canary yellow, the players wore green and blue pyjamas and as Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden appeared to be talking to themselves and/or invisible cricket fairies, we saw as many big hits as we did dropped catches.
This was Twenty20 cricket. This was the Big Bash League. And by god it was a hit with the fans.
As many would know I moonlight as an usher at The Gabba. It’s one of those lingering uni jobs that I actually like. Before the game we were given an estimated crowd figure of 23,000. Then in our pre-match briefing that estimate went down to 21,000 after lower than expected ticket sales, and sections of the stadium were closed off as a result.
But even with the Shane Warne factor, no-one could have predicted the overwhelming final attendance.
Almost 10,000 people walked up to buy tickets on the night, sending the ticketing systems bat-crazy, and causing line-ups, seating confusion and a lot of people missing the first innings. Understaffed, it was an usher’s worst nightmare. With the general admission area packed, the previously closed off sections were opened and filled within minutes.
The total number at the game? 29,241. The largest crowd at any Big Bash fixture so far this season.
During four days of Australia’s test match against New Zealand, not once did The Gabba reach such an attendance.
Keep Brendon McCullum, throw in a couple of legendary retirees, the Australian Twenty20 captain, and some Australian ODI and Test irregulars and hey presto, you’ve got a whopping crowd.
It’s just how live cricket is meant to be.
Obviously match organisers were not prepared for such a turnout, but among the chaos it was a positive boost for the sport. Once everyone found their seat, it was hard not to get into the spirit of the abbreviated, flashier, smash and dash fun that is the Twenty20 Big Bash League.
Everywhere, there’s so much more happening.
Bowlers have to have an impact from word go, batsmen are forced to launch it even when it’s not there to hit, and good fielding is a must. The atmosphere is intense and the ability to respond to the jibes of a psyched up crowd separates those with solid technique to the ones without it, as Dernbach found out after dropping a sitter off McCullum’s bat. The Heat fans’ reaction was a raucous, ear-busting applause second only in volume level to the moment Liz Hurley popped up on the big screen, when wolf-whistles were added for good measure.
On the ground, and off the ground, Big Bash is one big entertainment binge.
Big Bash is a smash. Case closed.
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