Thanks to COVID, administrators in all sports have had to be flexible and agile in dealing with fixture changes and the Big Bash is no different.
The cricket circus rolled on despite entire teams having COVID outbreaks. Replacement players filled the gap so that games could continue. Teams went from having three-day breaks to playing back-to-back matches in order to get all the games completed before the finals.
The fact that the Big Bash got through it all is remarkable but it also exposed the tournament for its absurd season length.
8 teams, 61 matches over eight weeks.
Cricket Australia might argue that the season length is comparable to the Indian Premier League but the Big Bash doesn’t have the cash to splash on players or the convenient break in international matches like the IPL behemoth has.
It’s a point that veteran pace bowler Peter Siddle made when asked about the problems with the tournament.
“The word from anyone overseas that I chat to is their biggest worry is they don’t want to come here for that long and be stuck,” Siddle said.
“If you’re a shorter tournament, you’re probably not losing guys like Rashid Khan, James Vince, Sandeep (Lamichhane) (before finals).”
“This year we’ve had to rearrange games … now we realise that maybe to make this season shorter, we might have to play back-to-back games and do different things.”
The goal is to find the perfect balance between matches for the broadcasters and the actual duration of the tournament. Even in the original Big Bash seasons the tournament was running from mid-December to the end of January and that was with half the matches.
Back then the tournament was spread out and had windows around the international schedule.
A new broadcast deal in 2018 was the major reason for an increase in games but it’s having an effect on ’emotional fatigue’ for spectators and viewers. A decline in marquee players which hasn’t been helped by COVID is also not ideal.
The last season without COVID was BBL09 in 2019-20 which saw crowd numbers decline to 18,353 per game. Still good numbers but nowhere near the 26,531 figure from 2017-18 when there were 43 matches.
| Season | Dates | Matches Played | Attendance Average | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBL01 2011-12 | December 16-January 28 | 31 | 17,749 | Sydney Sixers |
| BBL02 2012-13 | December 7-January 19 | 35 | 14,379 | Brisbane Heat |
| BBL03 2013-14 | December 20-February 7 | 35 | 18,778 | Perth Scorchers |
| BBL04 2014-15 | December 18-January 28 | 35 | 23,590 | Perth Scorchers |
| BBL05 2015-16 | December 17-January 24 | 35 | 29,443 | Sydney Thunder |
| BBL06 2016-17 | December 20-January 28 | 35 | 30,114 | Perth Scorchers |
| BBL07 2017-18 | December 19-February 4 | 43 | 26,531 | Adelaide Strikers |
| BBL08 2018-19 | December 19-February 17 | 59 | 20,552 | Melbourne Renegades |
| BBL09 2019-20 | December 17-February 8 | 61 | 18,353 | Sydney Sixers |
| BBL10 2021-22 | December 10-February 6 | 61 | 8,856 (Crowd caps due to Covid) | Sydney Sixers |
| BBL11 2021-22 | December 5-January 28 | 61 | TBD | TBD |
Criticism of the Big Bash season is nothing new. It’s been a hot topic for years as the games steadily increased.
Three years ago Chris Lynn voiced his concerns about each team playing 14 matches.
This season it was magnified even more when the replacement players diluted the product and then Steve Smith was not allowed to play for the Sydney Sixers after returning from Test duty. Siddle was on Cricket Australia’s side on that point.
“[The rules] need to be followed sometimes and obviously they just fell a little bit late for the Sixers,” Siddle said.
“It’s probably no different to us having Heady (Travis Head) and Kez (Alex Carey) on contract for the whole season.
“That’s the risk you take.”
The Big Bash will conclude on Friday night with the final of what’s felt like the longest season yet. It’s not Cricket Australia’s fault that COVID forced club cricketers to put on the pads and face up. Lessons need to be learnt though and it’s about time the players were listened to rather than simply the broadcasters.
What happened to the World Series Cup / Tri-Series or whatever it was called? I loved that comp - even if my Kiwi team were not in it in a particular year, watching Windies, Paki, Aus go round 3 or 5 games each was just a great way to enjoy summer after the Test series. I can't help but think that all this T20 rubbish is just to try mimic the riches that India's IPL provide the BCCI...but lets face facts, the Indian public are the only ones that remotely are interested in T20 cricket - it works there, but around the rest of the world the T20 comps are losing both live and TV audiences, and are going to be history in a few years. So, bring back the World Series Cup.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
It's not really rescheduling the test summer. The test summer usually finishes with the New Year's test at the SCG. Just hasn't the last couple of seasons due to Covid scheduling etc. Since 1999 the NY test has finished the summer on all but 5 occasions, including the last 2 Covid-impacted seasons.
Mon
Guest
‘T20 is the ultimate in cricket’ Hahahahaha!! You must be a nine year old hahahaha
Mon
Guest
Reschedule the test summer to accommodate the worst form of cricket invented?? Absolutely not.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Agreed. By trying so hard to appeal to the non-cricket crowd, they alienate long-time fans of the game. In saying that, I do like the bash boost point and the power surge. They add an interesting tactical element. They just have stupid, gimmicky names that do a disservice to the actual concepts. The bat flip is the dumbest thing I've seen in professional cricket, though. Just toss a coin FFS.
Censored Often
Roar Rookie
It does seem a long tournament but the crowd number surprise me, higher than I thought.
Peter
Roar Rookie
That’s exactly right Reg. Nice one !! Thanks for pointing this out because I am sure that the death of cricket as I once knew it excites schadenfreude in the cold cold hearts of just about every bean counter at Cricket Australia. Like Tennis Australia it is an institution where everything is counted and little is valued. I am sure that nothing at Cricket Australia engenders more schadenfreude in fact than walking over Cricket’s grave night after night and in so doing desecrating the remains with a kind of sickly sweet treacle that we or at least I have come to recognise as the BIG BASH !!
Micko
Roar Rookie
I’ll have to watch the replay on Kayo then.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Nah. Keep it as a tactical game of cricket. Batting, bowling, fielding, captaincy...pure cricket. Tonight's was magnificent.
All day Roseville all day
Roar Guru
Agreed Marty, Initially, BBL complemented Test and ODI cricket. No games never clashed. CA has decided that the Australian team, and 8 different BBL franchises, are now 9 separate markets. As a result it's acceptable to clash a BBL match with a Test or ODI, and two BBL matches with each other. Just broadcast them on different channels, for double the revenue.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Don Freo, I believe it needs more variety: randomly selected batting orders and every outfielder (bar keeper) bowling two overs each, selected at random. I'd probably watch it then.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Oh, I agree. I'm just saying there is some really skilled cricket especially in 2 areas: 1. Super-tight bowling at slog time (eg: Agar and Siddle) 2. Fielding.
sheek
Roar Guru
Don Freo, I'm just jossing & anyway, my mind is made up. I don't mind T20 as an intro for young kids, & a filler for the season, providing an income stream for everyone involved. But I resent it taking prime time. That's for tests & Sheffield Shield.
Reg Grundy
Guest
schadenfreude /ˈʃɑːd(ə)nˌfrɔɪdə,German ˈʃɑːdənˌfrɔydə/ Learn to pronounce noun pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune. "a business that thrives on schadenfreude"
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
You only need to watch one to be impressed but, if you are bemoaning T20 and aching for 4 day cricket, a 4 over 'marathon' should be easy enough to watch.
sheek
Roar Guru
Don Freo, 4 overs? Phffft! That sounds like a marathon... :laughing: :stoked:
Micko
Roar Rookie
That's a great point: with no nuance/subtlety in this format, every T20 game blurs into another, so it's no wonder it wears thin even with it's fans. Less is more!
Peter
Roar Rookie
I don't see the analogy Reg but thanks for the response. I guess my animosity towards this confected tournament is due to the fact that I like so many others of my generation invested the better part of our youth in the game. Growing up I never thought that the once unique and proud game of cricket would be reduced to begging and hustling for every last dime. Cricket is not a commodity to be traded by hedge funds. To see it reduced to a garish marketable commodity that promises as would the local hooker a happy ending each night simply breaks my heart. I don't see anything intrinsically appealing about numbers on jumpers, zooper dooper's, childish borish commentary, or hearing Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline bellowed out for the umpteenth time to a half empty stadium or any other number of infantile marketing gimmicks. It didn't need the cosmetic surgery back in 1873 and it doesn't need it now and besides don't the marketing men of Madison Avenue now running the game already know that putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day it is still a pig. How Ironic that this unique game made famous, at least in part because of it's traditional use of white's and creams should see itself, in-turn whitewashed by the COLOUR OF MONEY.
Reg Grundy
Guest
I just want them to bring back Zooper Doopers! Your analogy reminds me of hoping that WA's COVID cases skyrocket further each day so that we open up more quickly with the rest of Oz!
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
If you watch it, you might appreciate it more than if you don't. I don't get why those that don't watch something criticize content they know nothing about.