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Opinion
With Cricket Australia seemingly prioritising the lucrative Big Bash over everything else, the traditional Sheffield Shield and one-day comps have been neglected.
The Shield is split into two pre- and post-BBL windows, while the Marsh One-Day Tournament was previously tucked into the start of the summer in front of no fans and even worse TV coverage, seemingly to get it out of the way.
How about a restructure, sorted into three distinctive blocks, that won’t hurt the viability of the BBL?
Sheffield Shield
Start the Shield in early October (shortly after the NRL grand final) and play it over 11 weeks – ten rounds and the final, ending in early December. While it may mean some big grounds (like the MCG and SCG) won’t be available at the start of the season, it doesn’t matter, as there’s plenty of smaller grounds or even country areas that could host Shield games, with a better atmosphere too.
The advantage of this is the Shield would align with Australia’s Test summer, meaning players will be in red-ball form and a better chance of performing in Tests. It also means states who get off to a good start can maintain their momentum, rather than having to restart in February after a long break. The Shield is the gateway to a healthy Test team, so it deserves its own window.
Big Bash
Keep the BBL as normal: 14 games per team, starting mid-December (straight after the Shield final), and ending in early February.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The BBL is perfect during the December-to-January window, with most families on holidays and able to go to games without worrying about school or work the next day.
I’d suggest a change in the finals: rather than a top-five finals series (because no competition should have more than half the teams make the finals), have the normal top four, but have the two semis and final as a best-of-three series (similar to the NBL and WNBL, or the old World Series Cricket).
This would avoid the potential embarrassment of this year’s final, where constant rain in Sydney almost saw the final abandoned. This would be between six to nine games. If a team wins the series 2-0, no need for a third game. The highest-ranked team would host the first and third games.
One-day cup
The domestic one-dayers have suffered with the BBL’s popularity, held almost as an afterthought. Probably the best spot for them is in February to March. By then, the main summer of Tests and BBL is over, the Australian team are either having a break or playing overseas, and the footy pre-seasons are starting.
Having the one-day cup at the end of summer is better than the start of the summer, when fans are still in footy mode. If Australia is playing a one-day tournament overseas, domestic players involved in white-ball cricket may get a call-up.
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