In the end, the conclusion was almost the perfect way to end what has been a funny old week in Big Bash League history.
Because there still seems to be a perverse humour in seeing the Melbourne Stars lose a final. Their finals record now sits at three wins from 12 finals games. They built their unfortunate reputation on losing four straight semi-finals, and now they’ve lost their third final in the past five seasons.
I don’t know why it’s amusing, but it is. It really is peak Big Bash.
The Sydney Sixers are the BBL|09 champions by virtue of out-batting and out-bowling the Stars, pure and simple.
Josh Phillipe was superb. Steve Smith was superb. Jordan Silk’s late cameo proved to be crucial.
Then with the ball, the old firm stood tall, with Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe take two wickets and Josh Hazlewood bowling a spell that was a lot better than 1/18 from three overs looks in a scorebook.
But after all the hand-wringing and false future-reading about the weather than was definitely going to wash the game but then just didn’t, the real winners are surely the Sydney Cricket Ground staff, who ripped the covers up at the first opportunity and ensured as much cricket was played as possible.
Only about a quarter of the sold-out crowd turned up, but I can’t imagine too many of them would have predicted they’d see 24 overs bowled and Messrs Duckworth and Lewis not required. Sydney Airport had recorded 41mm of rain for the day by the time Moises Henriques had lifted the LED-illuminated BBL trophy.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Most importantly, it was just a really good game of cricket.
And though it wasn’t needed in the end, it certainly makes a lot of sense that a reserve day should be scheduled alongside the final.
Not giving more fodder to critics shouldn’t be a reason for making a decision, especially for a sporting governing body or competition administration making a decision, but it’s equally true that the critics have lined up to point out the absurdity of the prospect of the Sixers being crowned champions purely because they won the right to host the final.
The idea of moving the final was ludicrous – because if you wouldn’t move a Melbourne team away from Melbourne, why should other teams have to move to Melbourne? – but for a competition that promotes itself on the thrill of the contest, it does seem rather weird that a title might have been awarded without any contest at all.
And in fairness, none of the previous eight BBL finals ever looked like being washed out.
It’s only that the forecast for Sydney made it clear it was going to be a wet weekend so far out that it became an issue this season.
It already appears likely this scenario won’t play out again, with Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts conceding that a reserve day will quite probably be among the first things discussed in the BBL season debrief.
That all said, had no play been possible last night, a reserve day this summer might not have helped anyway, with yet more heavy rain forecast for Sydney today.
Nevertheless, it would be intriguing to know what else makes the list for the debrief.
The attendance and TV numbers have showed distinct in-school-holidays and out-of-school-holidays boundaries for the last few seasons, which has only fuelled the perception that the competition has lost its lustre or that the BBL’s best days are already behind us.
And when the players themselves are suggesting that a full home-and-away season is probably too much, then perhaps the ‘season is too long’ movement is gaining traction.
For what it’s worth, the condensed schedule with 15 doubleheaders through the season meant it didn’t drag on like last season. This summer’s comp was only a week shorter than last season, yet last season felt like it ran for months and months.
I have a feeling shaving more time off next season’s schedule will also feature prominently in the debrief.
Just hear the retro bat porn
It was the moment bat nerds had a little moment. Ricky Ponting’s first Bushfire Bash indoor net session video this week was interesting for obvious reason, but it was his second video that got the hearts racing.
It was indeed a retro-inspired Ridgeback, and it emerged that Ponting will be joined by Justin Langer, Brad Haddin and Brad Hodge using reincarnate versions of Kookaburra bats – or at least the bat stickers – of days gone by in today’s game.
And I don’t mind admitting it will probably be enough to get me watching this afternoon’s charity game. I wasn’t even a Kookaburra devotee back in my playing days, but let’s be honest, who doesn’t love old bat memories?
I can’t think of a better way to call time on the cricket summer.
Gary
Roar Rookie
Cheers Charlie, you are correct about the decision being made beforehand. I was unaware of this, I was under the impression the final should have been hosted by the highest ranked team... as it had been the previous 3 seasons. Coincidentally, all previous finals had been hosted at the WACA. Apparently, CA decided they wanted to 'make the game truly national' and have it 'played in a nuetral venue', and Canberra was chosen as it is 'the nation's capital', and neutral. Do you know how many neutral venues have been chosen to host the final since then? I don't want to make the same mistake again of assuming every final since then was hosted by the highest ranked team. It's not just a chip on the shoulder, I can also be a bit cynical.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Certainly those AFL teams mostly had lots of following back when they played at their local suburban grounds and then things have built up. I'm just saying that, while in Melbourne having the two Melbourne sides might be a negative, in Sydney I think it's a major positive, because of the geographical divide that is there. And for both Sydney sides, the majority of those teams are locals, and a number of the interstate players who do play them are players who were originally from NSW/ACT but went interstate to increase their chances of playing first class cricket, like Bird and Silk at the Sixers, and Tremain and Khawaja at the Thunder. It does feel like it's hurt them a bit. Need to find some more talent than some local Sydney club cricketers to fill out the roster, but they've kept a high percentage of the teams as locals.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Not sure where the venue is, matters in Melbourne, Chris. Melbourne City & Victory have their own supporter bases. All the Melbourne AFL teams have theirs too, but play at 2 grounds. Certainly they had established bases before ground rationalisation forced their move. I believe it has to do with no interest in the team or more importantly, the players. The single town teams have a greater concentration of home grown talent which the supporters can identify more with, how many Stars players were Vic's? The question can also be asked of the Renegades. Everyone knows Victorians are parochial and that is an important factor when building new teams. They may be affected by retirements of recognisable Aussie reps, like White, Hodge, but the likes of Siddle, Pattinson, Boland playing elsewhere undercuts that local identity. I'm not saying that's the main problem, but fans identify with personalities who are embedded in the fabric and you must be a part of the action. Spectators are looking for something to do today and if the entertainment is bland, it's wet, cold, stinking hot, or the kids have school tomorrow, there's always somewhere else you can be.
JamesH
Roar Guru
THe cHallENgEr
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
It's not a case of "falling over each other". CA signed the broadcast deal. They put the pay wall in front of international white ball cricket. If they decide to play an ODI or T20 international on Australia day it's not going to be broadcast on FTA. That's not going to change at least until this broadcast deal ends and they look to renegotiate. If CA decide they suddenly want 7 to broadcast that, Fox Sports will say "Fine, give us a few million dollars back and you can do it!" So, with that being the case, I think the BBL final on Australia Day, broadcast on FTA TV nationally is a better option than an ODI that most Aussies can't watch.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Cart and horse Chris. First you play the game. Boxing Day is iconic because of the atmosphere in the ground. Set Australia Day weekend as a no compromise Australian T20 or ODI weekend and then your broadcasters fall over themselves to show it because Adelaide fills the stadium with atmosphere for their carnival weekend.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
If there had been a reserve day, I'm presuming it would have been the Sunday. Which as it turned out had even worse weather than the Saturday. But I agree - a decent game of cricket was had following a truly remarkable effort by the groundstaff. BBL thoughts in general: - Shorter season - run it (roughly) from Christmas to Australia Day. - The first 'home' games of the season for the Sydney and Melbourne teams be played in regional centres (for some reason their pre-Christmas crowds aren't usually all that great at the MCG/SCG). - Limit the music grabs to in-between overs (instead of in-between every freakin' ball). - Not sure how the players would feel about this, but having games on Christmas Day would be great. I reckon they'd rate their socks off. - Get some voice training for Mark Howard. When he gets excitable his voice becomes supremely irritating. - Someone remind Warney he doesn't have to say the same thing over and over and over again.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
The MCG crowd for the preliminary final, whatever it was called, wasn't great. I'm sure it doesn't help that, for a game targetting families, it was a Thursday night of a school night, for a game that finishes something like 10:30-11pm. Hence why I think having it conclude before the end of the school holidays is a good idea. I always thought the two teams in Melbourne was an interesting one. In Sydney there is a definite geographical divide. The SCG is way over in the East of the city, so for those in Western Sydney it's a long way to go, so having a team out west is really good. But the venue's for the two Melbourne teams aren't very far apart at all, so there's no clear geographical reason for choosing one over the other.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
My comment said the Australia Day weekend, doesn't need to actually be Australia day, just finishing on that weekend before school goes back. Prior to the start of last summer I'd have probably said that Australia playing on Australia Day would be better. But they rarely play tests in January anymore, and CA took away the possibility of a national TV audience for International white ball cricket. So if Australia played on Australia day, most people couldn't watch them anyway. At least a BBL final would have a national TV audience.
Charlie
Roar Rookie
Nice piece of history revisionism there. The decision to play the final at Manuka Oval was made well before the Scorchers earned the right to host. But it's always comforting for those of us from the east to still see you westerners carrying such large chips on your shoulders. It's been 5 years now, time to let it go methinks.
Brett McKay
Expert
Oh, Mitch Marsh, of course... (Sorry Paul! Genuinely couldn't work out who you were talking about..) :unhappy:
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
I would've thought Australia playing on Australia Day would be the standard for an organisation which purports to represent Australia's summer sport! At best you'd make the BBL the curtain raiser.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Yet they tried playing games in regional towns, were they supported?
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
It isn't like they didn't have any examples to see how franchises fail. The NFL in the US is littered with teams wandering around looking for support. The Raiders franchise failed in LA and is now on the move again from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Rams are another migratory franchise. There's definitely a lesson in there for the BBL. The belief that both Sydney and Melbourne are big enough to divide possible fans certainly hasn't worked for the Stars. Two polarising characters at the start probably didn't help; with McGuire and Warne. Choking when it matters hasn't helped since, especially with their refusal to change their game plan. The lack of support during the finals shows spectators aren't interested and suspect the result will be no different from all the rest. Seems they were right. One less team in the tournament will help tighten the schedule and may even excite Melbourne to get behind one franchise, but they won't delist them after making a final, no matter how much of a false positive it looks.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
It’s popcorn entertainment and popcorn without salt and butter is bland. With ADHD spectators wandering away as it dragged on, next season they’ll have to add caramel and nuts! Or fill half the stadiums with jumping castles so you don’t see the bays and bays of empty seats. You can just hear KFC or another sponsor saying they’ll pay for 5 bay wide sheet signage to lay over the top decks.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Nonsense The last State BBL final drew a crowd of 17,722 and that Comp was exclusively show on Fox if I remember correctly so it didn't even get FTA TV help to promote it. Stop perpetuating the myth that no once cares about State Cricket. The current franchise League has not improved on the old version, and if the A-League is anything to go by then things will just get worse. The sacrifice of the history and support of the State teams was worth nothing in the end.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Nonsense. That last BBL State final drew a crowd of 17,722. And that was with the comp exclusively on Fox if I remember correctly. Stop perpetuating the myth that no one cares about State cricket. This current franchise comp has improved nothing and sacrificed all history the State teams brought for nothing. If the A-League is any guide thing will just get worse. .
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Most people agree that the season is too long if anything. Adding a bunch of extra teams would not help that. The fact that each team has taken a few of their home games to different locations like these have been a positive though. So even if they don't have their own local team, they get to see BBL in many such places.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Not sure your point. CA alienated those few hundred people who turned up to state matches previously and replaced them with crowds in the tens of thousands and quite high, prime time ratings on TV where domestic cricket had previously all but disappeared from TV altogether. I do think they would be much better off finishing with the final on the Australia day weekend before kids go back to school. But even if there was a bit of an extra boost of excitement in the early days of the comp that settles down a bit after a few years, and if CA's attempt to get more money out of it by scheduling more games has probably backfired by making it too long, it's still a massive force of cricket compared to anything previously in Australian domestic cricket.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Mitch did play one or two good BBL innings. Maxwell was doing well in the first half of the BBL season before completely losing his form in the second-half.