The Bash files: BBL turning heads internationally

As the Big Bash League builds towards its somewhat surprising finale between the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers, it’s the amount of interest the BBL is gaining from opposite corners of the world that’s piqued my interest this week.

Without question, BBL04 has been a raging success. Crowds are up 20 per cent on the already solid numbers posted in 2013-14, culminating in the outrageously brilliant 52,633 at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

The first semi-final crowd was a ground record for cricket, eclipsing a mark set during the Bodyline series in 1932-33, and comfortably beat the BBL record set in Melbourne last summer.

TV ratings remain solid for Network Ten, too, sitting around the same 1 million viewers average established last season in its free-to-air TV debut. All eight BBL sides will post profits this season, and several of those did so last season too.

Say what you will about Twenty20 cricket, but a completely new competition and completely new teams making money inside four seasons of existence is a significant achievement.

And it’s not hard to see why – the whole BBL package is just so appealing. The gameday experience and 7:10pm start times (AEDT, during the peak holiday periods) at the grounds is great for families. Ten’s coverage continues to win new viewing fans through the freshness of its hosts and commentators.

Ricky Ponting’s 20-minute grilling of Kevin Pietersen was intriguing throughout for the questions asked and responses garnered. And indeed, Pietersen’s charm offensive has worked a treat on Australian fans, with the proof being the number of Australian opinions calling for his recall to the England team throughout the tournament. To his great credit though, Pietersen hasn’t shied away from anything while out here playing for the Melbourne Stars. He also offered great value and insight when in commentary for Ten, even if he may have strayed into self-serving territory a little easily at times.

Andrew Flintoff, too, may not have had the tournament he was hoping for on the field, but he has also been outstanding in his commentary stints, getting the mix of humour, proper insight, and stitching up colleagues just about perfect. And never any chance of taking himself too seriously.

The performance of the English players – both on and off the field – has also created new interest in the BBL back in the Old Dart too, with this new interest inevitably creating renewed introspection and debate around what to do with their own T20 Blast – the very competition that gave life to the new-fangled 20-over format a decade ago.

Touring English colleagues, out here for the tri-series one-dayers and the World Cup, have been adding to the already decent coverage of the BBL back home, and the ‘County v Franchise’ debate has been growing. If you want to lose an hour or two, start with this ‘facts and fiction’ ESPNCricinfo article from George Dobell and follow the various links wherever they take you.

It quickly becomes apparent that for every sensible reason why a city-based franchise model should be adopted, there is another equally sensible reason why the county model can still work with some tweaking of the competition and/or the coverage and entertainment package thereof.

And it’s not even split down the bigger and smaller county lines you might expect. In many cases, it’s the smaller counties who might be in danger of losing out in a city-based model arguing for change, while the larger counties argue they would lose out in a consolidated format playing midweek games in the cities.

For what it’s worth, and perhaps unsurprisingly, new T20 gun-for-hire Pietersen told Dean Wilson in The Mirror last Saturday that franchise cricket “does work. Playing once a week definitely does not work [the T20 Blast was played from May to August in 2014]”.

But a man exiled from the first-class scene would say that, wouldn’t he.

Then there’s the interest in the Unites States, interest that admittedly isn’t as much about the cricket itself, but rather how the BBL and the clubs have marketed themselves and engaged with fans on and away from gameday.

“We have NBA teams and NBA team owners saying, ‘Why didn’t we innovate around kids as well as the Hobart Hurricanes or the Perth Scorchers?’,” US sports marketing guru Dan Migala was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun last Thursday. Migala was brought in by Cricket Australia in the very infancy of the city-based BBL concept, and now sings its praises stateside, where he still advises NBA, NFL and Major League baseball teams.

Now you might be similarly cynical that an NBA team owner is referring to the Hurricanes and Scorchers by name, or indeed, whether they even know what’s being bashed in this big Aussie league. But the point that major US sporting brands are looking at the methods of a four-year-old Australian cricket competition for marketing inspiration tells you that CA are definitely doing something right.

There’s been more than a few opinions expressed already – including on the Cheap Seats Podcast last week – that BBL04 has been the best yet, and there have been just as many people ready to agree.

There’s been a Super Over, plus another couple of last-ball thrillers, and this summer’s BBL deserves a thrilling finale at Manuka Oval tomorrow night.

And rest assured, the cricket world and beyond will be watching.