The current BBL finals system doesn't work

I think they should change the whole system. They should follow the EPL way. After the AFL finishes in the October, they should start the tournament where each team will play one match a week during the weekends: on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. That is how the tournament will run throughout the summer till February and there won't be any crowd problem bcoz people will get to see their home team playing on others in the weekends: the holidays. Currently I think there were just too many matches in Melbourne this January. The Australian Open, the One Day International, the T20 International, the Stars matches, the Renegades matches and also the two Melbourne A-League teams playing their matches. If a person spends more money in a month to watch the Australian Open final and also the T20 International, he won't be too likely to go to watch any Big Bash match or A-League match in the same month. That's why if it is played throughout the season with each of the team playing the other twice in a home and away format, people will get to watch a home match twice in a month, so they will be able to spend their money. so start it in the October after the AFL ends, and finish it in early February. Then you have two months time (Feb and March) to play the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi One Dayers (bcoz hardly any more people turn out in those domestic OD and test matches). And the international matches will run parallel from November. Also the knock out system should be changed. There are several ways out. Either follow the IPL knock out system (ie the Playoffs where top two teams get two chances to make it to the final while the 3rd and 4th get one chance), or make a two-leg home-away semi final system where the top team plays the fourth team twice and the fourth team will have to win both te semis to make it to the final. If the semi result gets 1-1, then the topper from the league will go to the final. Same thing will be applied for the 2nd and 3rd teams.

The sudden death final four system is exactly the same as teams face in the World Cup, so I think it's better that Big Bash players just get used to it, especially if they aspire to representing Australia at some stage. It seems silly to me to change the current system to accommodate a team that continually under performs as soon as it gets to the semi finals. Surely it is better to train the players to perform under pressure rather than give them an easy ride into the Grand Final. Some are comparing the Stars to the Collingwood Football Club, saying they are the team that every other team loves to hate. It seems they are bringing back an old Collingwood tradition, "the Collywobbles." History shows that the Stars appear to get the staggers as soon as the Semis start. The only Melbourne Star player that appeared unfazed by the extra pressure was Brad Hodge. From the Hurricanes, all players produced their best under pressure except Ben Laughlin who had a pretty nervy game.

Best finals is for a 3 week system Week 1 number 1 and number 2 teams play off for a spot in the final And the number 3 and 4 team play an elimination semi Week2 would be the loser of teams 1 and 2 verse the winner of teams 3 and 4 And week 3 would be the final for the teams that qualify Rather than a team go straight to the final because that's just stupid

Dean, the reason the Big Bash is slightly too long is because each team plays every team and one team twice. Therefore they play eight games and this is required if you want to have a fair competition. I like your finals setup though, that could work.

And another point. Your suggested scheme would tend to promote top players accepting less than their market value in the Big Bash in order to cluster in a team almost guaranteed to get to the lucratiive champions league. In other words, encouraging the sort of inequity that has so many supporters angry about the 'international' Melbourne Stars. It's actually a great thing for the eveness of the competition that the Star's strategy was unsuccessful.

I don't mind the knockout format, but agree that running the tourney for a week less would have kept up the momentum and the interest : at last night's match it rather looked as though the gap had decimated the crowd. But win eight games, then lose a sudden-death semi and you're out ? Didn't play well enough ! No complaints there.

So Tim Paine adds a decisive 65 in a Big Bash semi to his 100 in Tassie's last one day title (2010) and 87 in Tassie's last sheffield title (2013). Looking like a player for the big occasion. Exactly what Australia is looking for in high pressure international games. Which is why domestic finals continue to be crucially important and why I wouldn't want roster games to earn any more than a place in the finals and home ground advantage.

sorry, that last bit should read, 'there might be variations in how you get to the final four, but once you're there, it's straight knockout..'

The tournament is no longer or shorter than last year, and featured the same number of games: eight rounds, plus a week of finals. It started in early December last year, and the final was on Jan 19. This year it started three weeks later, and finished three weeks later, even taking a week off for the T20Is. I'd argue the timing of it was about spot on. Sure, you could probably just play seven rounds, but the extra round cashes in on the extra Sydney and Melbourne derbies, which have been pretty well supported. You could intertwine finals week in the same week as the T20Is, but it would mean the teams in the FInals would lose their Australian reps. Would we be prepared for the Stars to play last night without five Aust players, and with fill ins playing their first or second game of the season? As for the format of the finals, it's consistent with most major T20 tournaments around the cricketing world. There might be variations in how you get to the final four, it's straight knockout. Any moves to change the finals format would lengthen the season, which then contradicts the earlier gripe..

Last week, we had international T20s on wed, fri and Sunday. Why in god's name couldn't we have had BBL semis on Tues and Thurs and the final on Saturday? Why did they sit on their bums for a week? I don't necessarily think the preliminary rounds were too long, but why the break? And as for the prelim rounds, they should do more double headers on weekends. even with Mondays off, they could get through 8 games (or two rounds) a week. Tues-Fri is a round, and the weekend is another round. It's not like they need the rest.

Agreed, the system is great, It gives hope to the crappy teams. If you want the fairest system just give it to the minor premiers, but that would be boring and the bbl is not important enough to warrant something so strictly fair. Don't change the system, bad article.

I like a top four final series. If top can't beat fourth then they really don't deserve to be there. You can't change the way finals are played based on the fact that the Stars keep losing in the finals. What if next year the top four sides are only separated by run rates? Besides any time the Stars get beaten, is a good night. They are quickly becoming the Collingwood of the cricket competition. Seriously, Cam White's captaincy last night was pretty flat. Batting Wade at 3 and Maxwell at 4 was strange considering the form they are in and the trouble the Stars were in at the time. Their match winner, Malinga had a rare off night. And credit should go to the Hurricanes who had plans on how to bowl to each batsman and executed those plans really well. Only Hodge got away from them a bit.

+1 That's right, the unbeaten #1 team playing the #4 team with home ground advantage...no excuses. The BBL finals should have been played last week and the T20I series this week.

Agree on tournament going for too long. I suspect 10 are trying to keep BBL viewers for their Winter Olympics coverage, so may be some scope to re-schedule for an earlier finish around the end of school holidays next season, although it probably depends on this finals series TV ratings. Your complaint about the finals system appears to be very much based on number of games won in the round robin phase, if you think it is unfair for the team that won the most games throughout the tournament not to win then not having a finals series at all is the only solution where that could not occur, Sixers are the only team that can equal Stars 8 wins for the tournament of they win tonight and the final. Your proposed finals system wouldn't prevent this from happening and would make it effectively impossible to play the 'semi' finals on successive nights while giving the higher finishing team home ground advantage.

I think the BBL all-star team, minus international players, should form the bulk of the AUS T20 squad. That should be the endgame.

And what will you say next year when the Stars and Hobart (for eg) both have stellar seasons, finish streets ahead of 3rd, and the one who comes second on net run rate goes straight out the back door in the finals. Any finals system that's designed to produce a winner (rather than just decide who plays Champions league) will always have the chance of an upset (or a choke) by a side that under performs when the heat is on. Either deal with it, or just bite the bullet and send the top two from the regular season to the CL and don't worry about a winner, if that's all this is really about (which it may well be). Given CAs priorities, it will only be a few years before the finalists will be determined by who pulls the biggest crowds anyway, rather than letting all that pesky unpredictable "cricket" get in the way of making a buck.

Stars laid their own bed when they played Wade at 3, despite his absolute lack of any form, in any form of the game. Seriously.. Wade at 3, and pinch hitter Maxwell at 4? If Hodge and Hussey were in earlier the Stars probably still would've won. Good knock by Paine though, in the face of controversy.. and Bailey did the right thing as captain. He certainly has a knack for the short game. If he doesn't attract megabucks in the IPL then nobody should.