The Sydney Sixers have slammed the banning of Steve Smith from the BBL finals as a ridiculous move that makes no sense.
Smith’s application to play for the Sixers in Saturday night’s qualifying final against the Perth Scorchers has been rejected by Cricket Australia (CA).
Other state franchises voted against allowing Smith to play in the qualifier, a decision rubber-stamped by CA.
Smith, an inaugural Sydney Sixer, wasn’t on the franchise’s playing list this tournament given the star batsman was expected to be unavailable due to Australian commitments.
The cancellation of Australia’s limited-overs series against New Zealand opened the BBL door for Smith.
But CA says allowing Smith to play for the Sixers would have breached rules put in place recently regarding replacement players for squads hit by COVID-related withdrawals.
CA introduced a local replacement player pool (LRP) from which all franchises must pick any fill-in.
Had Smith been placed in that pool, he would have been available for any BBL franchise.
“In creating the central LRP pool, it was agreed that clubs would not be able to contract LRPs from outside the pool for the remainder of the season,” CA said in a statement on Friday.
“The league acknowledges a request by the Sydney Sixers to sign Steven Smith as an LRP from outside the LRP pool.
“This request was denied on the basis that a further adjustment to the league regulations was unanimously rejected by other state associations/clubs in the interest of fairness, noting that other players returning to the BBL from international duty have been retained on club lists throughout the competition.”
Steve Smith bats during the BBL09 final between the Sydney Sixers and the Melbourne Stars. (Photo by Jason McCawley – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Several of Smith’s Australian Test teammates, including Nathan Lyon and Travis Head, have returned to their BBL clubs and will play in the finals – but they were all contracted by their franchises for the tournament.
Sixers veteran Dan Christian says the Smith ruling is “ridiculous” and flies in the face of CA’s desire for the BBL to feature the best Australian players.
“It makes no sense to us as players … it’s just really disappointing,” Christian told SEN Radio on Friday.
“One of the criticisms of the Big Bash when you look at it, having played in a lot of overseas competitions, all the other competitions have the best local players playing.
“So the IPL has got all the Indian guys playing, the Caribbean league has got all the West Indians playing et cetera, whereas we have never really had access to our Aussie guys.
“And now we’re going to have access due to this New Zealand and Australia series being postponed and yet we’re going to ban them playing our domestic competition.
“To have someone like Steve available and then to knock that back, it makes no sense to me whatsoever.”
stevo
Guest
Sixers compromised as soon as they were only team allowed a home final Go Scorchers
JK
Roar Rookie
Why would you contract somebody who would be involved in the NZ series? Because COVID has disrupted our world for the last 18 months, that's why! And that is exactly why I said they should have taken that risk if they wanted him so badly.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
The BBL administrators have clearly been making up the rules as they go... and they have had to given the circumstances. e.g having a player play for two teams in one season. Players using multi dressing rooms etc. Yes, ridiculous, but they are doing what they can. So just let Smith play. Fair ? Not entirely but niether is having teams play "home" games äway" and a bunch of other things. Use your "discretionary" powers like you have been all season !
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Interestingly, if that rule (had to play a regular season game prior to the finals) was in force, the Sixers would have been a batsman short tonight after their Covid/injury issues. Their replacement batsman, Nick Bertus, was making his BBL debut tonight. If he hadn’t played we might have seen Jackson Bird batting at No.5!
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I’d agree that Carey Head etc shouldn’t play, but if they do then why not Smith, assuming he was on their books at the beginning of the season.
Simoc
Guest
Well Tempo, Most of us would get a hit in front of Jack Edwards. Obviously friends in high places who continues to perform abysmally after 2000 chances. The NSW, Sutherland version.
JGK
Roar Guru
CA continue to show they couldn’t organise a p1ss up in a brewery.
JGK
Roar Guru
“Spaz”? Really?
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Smith wouldn’t have qualified for the LRP pool, as he wouldn’t have been in the BBL bubble (since he was playing tests). Why would you contract someone who definitely wouldn’t be available unless the NZ ODIs were cancelled? Sixers will get on with it and challenge for the title again- think the Scorchers are strong favourites whether Smith had played or not though. Interest amongst casual fans will be lower without Smith playing though, that’s the point you seem to have missed here.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Apart from Smith and Labuschagne, every current Australian player has a worse record overseas than Warner.
Gee
Roar Rookie
A good thing about bowlers working out him & Labuschagne is we don't have to see the spaz twins do that rubbish as often :silly:
Gee
Roar Rookie
Where is Warner? Too big for The BBL or just resting up to for the upcoming tours in Asia? Probably to up himself to play Australian domestic cricket because he wont be getting tired in Asia with his laughable OS record.
JK
Roar Rookie
Other teams took that punt on a wasted spot...why should the Sixers get special treatment? Mistreated the BBL? Do you mean by increasing the number of games and making a mediocre competition even more boring. hastening the demise of the concept? Yeah, I guess I'd back that. It's a shame they couldn't learn the lesson from 50 over games where saturation killed it.
JK
Roar Rookie
Pretty simple really. The Sixers decided not to contract him, even though in this crazy COVID world you'd think you'd cover all your bases, especially if he really is that important to them. Now when they find out they could have him but are blocked, they have a cry? Especially when they didn't want anybody else to have him so followed the LRP rules and didn't name him? Seriously, they can quit whining and get on with it
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Joe Burns who plays for the Stars has criticised the decision on Twitter even though his club was one of the ones that vetoed Smith. I’d imagine most of the players would favour Smith playing, he’s got teammates in all of the clubs.
Anth
Roar Rookie
Interesting perspective; I could not have told you who won the last BBL,let alone the last three.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
I wonder whether the last couple of covid-impacted BBL seasons, which have compounded what was already waning interest in the BBL (based on ratings and attendances in pre-covid seasons), will see CA seriously think about adopting a new format based on the ECB's Hundred in the very near future? Problem is, they'd likely aim to still keep both the BBL (albeit in a shorter comp) and the new Hundred-equivalent, which combined would simply further eat into FC fixturing, whilst at the same time ensuring both white ball formats canabilised each other re public attention. - Re the Smith issue; I think CA is over-stretched already re not being able to keep on top of immediate administration/implementation, let alone thinking about what is best for the BBL comp, the broader game or standing back and properly thinking about a strategic approach to scheduling and how to manage competing interests. I suspect they are playing perpetual catch-up, focused on decisions relating to content quantity, not quality.
Anth
Roar Rookie
Are these the same players who have been rushed through to play in what is for want of a better descriptive is ‘a first class competition’. The Hurricanes have made the top four; one or two games ago their bowling ranks barely facilitated that description. They were spanked senseless by a team that is filling out bottom three. Give me a break, at best the BBL is the ultimate epitome of a cluster f..k.
Rellum
Roar Guru
The BBL has never had any integrity. it is a marketing excercise with no meaning, history or soul that has already bored the people they were marketing to. Look forward to the next incarnation in 5 years time.
carnivean
Roar Rookie
Do you think the players share your opinion? This is a serious competition, even if you don't rate it.