The BBL will be extended again until early February, as it faces a “critical” season to recover from the disruption of the Covid-19, which has seen it at the center of the rights dispute with Seven, as Cricket Australia prioritizes the return of crowds to stadiums.
Last season’s edition concluded over the Australian Day weekend in late January, but this time the final will be on 4 February. This is largely the compensation for the tournament that will begin in late December with the first game on the 13th of the month compared to December 5 last year.
“We’ve been clear since the end of last season, given the two-year hiatus, that the very strong rebound this season is something so critical for us,” Big Bash general manager Alistair Dobson told ESPNcricinfo. “This season is one of the, if not the most important, we’ve had in recent years.”
“At the top of the list were the crowds and attendances at the games. We are still learning in broad strokes about what the fans’ behaviors are when it comes to going back to the big sporting events. We are watching the winter codes very closely and listening to them about opportunities.and challenges.
“We have certainly had one, if not the two eyes, on how we can schedule a season that offers families, children and all those who love the BBL the opportunity to return to the games. So, no doubt, this has been our key priority along with all the other things we take into account, especially around our stations and the club ‘s workloads. “
The opening match, which sees Sydney Thunder play against Melbourne Stars in Canberra, takes place the day after the end of the Australian and West Indies Test series in Adelaide. CA has scheduled the opening test of the season in Perth, so along with the traditional day-night match has also been completed, it means there will be no clashes between Tests and BBL. The cancellation of South Africa’s ODI series has also been released in January following the Sydney test.
Australia’s tour of India is expected to begin in early February, but the league is confident the players will be available until the end of the final series.
“Starting after the day-night test is the best place, this mid-December window is a little more traditional, a little closer to the school holidays,” Dobson said. “We do our best to schedule so many games, if not all, within the summer holiday period and we were able to finish the regular season during that January period.
“With no other daytime rehearsal in the window, we have a clear run at peak audience time, then, after the Sydney rehearsal, we have a great series of weekend and afternoon matches.”
Defending champions Perth Scorchers will start their campaign with a home game against the Sydney Sixers at the Optus Stadium in a replay of the last two finals. The Scorchers were only able to play one game at home last season due to Western Australia’s border restrictions. They then have a four-game home series of five in late December and early January.
The Sixers also have a series of home games during the Christmas period with three consecutive games at the SCG from Dec. 22-28.
The two Melbourne derbies will take place on January 3 (MCG) and January 14 (Marvel) and the Sydney clashes on January 8 (Showground Stadium) and January 21 (SCG).
The Hobart Hurricanes will host their traditional Christmas Eve game this year against the Melbourne Renegades, which will be one of 12 games in the afternoon, although three of them are in Perth, so they will be broadcast on time. of maximum audience in the main market of the east coast.
There will be a double match on Boxing Day (Sixers vs Stars and Scorchers vs Strikers) and New Year’s Day (Renegades vs Scorchers and Heat vs Sixers). The regular season ends on January 25 and the finals week begins on January 27 with the Eliminator.
The matches will also be played at three new venues: Albury, Cairns and North Sydney Oval.
The tournament will have a draft for foreign players this season, which is likely to be held in mid-August.
X-Factor and Bash Boost point game conditions are expected to be removed, but the Power Surge will be maintained, where two overs of powerplay are taken after the 10th.
There is also hope that DRS will be up and running for the first time after Covid’s border restrictions halted attempts to introduce it in recent seasons, although it remains a complex undertaking.
“It creates an incredible logistical challenge to have to move significantly [DRS] team up overnight with a couple of games a day, “Dobson said.” But we’re in the final stages with them and we’re sure we’ll be able to solve any of those problems. “
December 13: Sydney Thunder vs. Melbourne Stars, Manuka Oval December 14: Adelaide Strikers vs. Sydney Sixers, Adelaide Oval December 15: Brisbane Heat vs. Melbourne Renegades, Cazalys Stadium (Cairns) December 16: Melbourne Stars vs. Hobart Hurricanes, MCG December vs Adelaide: December 16: Strikers, Sydney Showground December 17: Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers, Optus Stadium December 18: Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Thunder, Marvel Stadium December 19: Hobart Hurricanes vs Perth Scorchers, University of Tasmania Stadium December 20: Adelaide Strikers vs Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Oval1: Melbourne Renegades2 vs Brisbane Heat, GMHBA Stadium (Geelong) December 22: Sydney Sixers vs Hobart Hurricanes, SCGDecember 23: Melbourne Stars vs Perth Scorchers, CitiPower Center December 23: Brisbane Heat vs Adelaide Strikers, Gabba December 24: Hobart Arenades, Blunesand December 2: Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars, SCGDecember 26: Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strike rs , Optus Stadium December 27: Sydney Thunder vs Brisbane Heat, Sydney Showground December 28: Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades, SCGDecember 29: Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Thunder, Metricon Stadium December 29: Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars, Optus Stadium 30 December: Sydney Renegades vs. , GMHBA Stadium (Geelong) December 31: Sydney Thunder vs Hobart Hurricanes, Lavington Sports Ground (Albury) December 31: Adelaide Striker vs Melbourne Stars, Adelaide Oval January 1: Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers, Marvel Stadium January 1: Brisbane Heat vs. Sydney Sixers Gabba Jan. 2: Hobart Hurricanes vs. Adelaide Strikers, Blundstone Arena Jan. 3: Melbourne Stars vs. Melbourne Renegades, MCG Jan. 4: Sydney Sixers vs. Brisbane Heat, North Sydney Oval Jan. 4: Perth Scorchers vs. Sydney Thunder, Optus Stadium January 5: Adelaide Hurricanes, Adelaide Hurricanes Oval January 6: Melbourne Stars vs. Sydney Sixers, MCG January 7: Melbourne Renegades vs. Hobart Hurricanes, Marve l Stadium January 7: Perth Scorchers vs. Brisbane Heat, Optus Stadium January 8: Sydney Thunder vs. Sydney Sixers, Sydney Showground January 9: Hobart Hurricanes vs. Melbourne Stars, Blundstone Arena January 10: Adelaide Strikers vs. Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Oval January 11: Perth Sc ochers, Brisbane Heat Gabba Jan. 12: Melbourne Stars vs. Adelaide Strikers, MCG Jan. 13: Sydney Thunder vs. Perth Scorchers, Sydney Showground Jan. 14: Adelaide Strikers vs. Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Oval Jan. 14: Melbourne Renegades vs. Melbourne Stars, Marvel Stadium January 15: Sydney Thunderanu vs. Hobart, Hurricane Bluryanu 15: Sydney Sixers vs. Perth Scorchers, SCG January 16: Melbourne Stars vs. Brisbane Heat, MCG January 17: Sydney Sixers vs. Adelaide Strikers, C.ex Coffs International Stadium 18 January: Perth Scorchers vs. Hobart Hurricanes, Optus Stadium January vs. Melbourne Renegades, Thunder, January 19: Manuka Oval January 20: Adelaide Strikers vs. Perth Scorchers, Adelaide Oval January 20: Br isbane Heat vs. Hobart Hurricanes, Gabba January 21 January: Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder, SCG22 January: Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars, Gabba 22 January: Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Renegades, Optus Stadium 23 January: Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Arena Sixers, Melbou rne Arena vs Sydney Blundstone24: J Renegades Adelaide Strikers, Marvel Stadium January 25: Hobart Hurricanes vs Brisbane Heat, University of Tasmania Stadium January 25: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder, MCG January 27: Eliminator, TBC January 28: Qualifying , TBC January 29: Knockout, TBCFebruary 4: The Final Challenger, TBCF 4: The Final Challenger, TBC