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The 14th season of Australia’s major domestic men’s Twenty20 (T20) cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL), starts on Sunday. Its rise is probably the biggest change in Australian cricket since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket revolution in 1977–79. But unlike Packer’s breakaway competition, this latest revolution began overseas, with the emergence of T20 cricket in England and the Indian Premier League (IPL) – competitions that shook up world cricket both in terms of the sport itself and the economics. The BBL’s early years The BBL began in 2011–12, partly in response to developments beyond our shores. But it was also a response to local conditions in Australian cricket. Before the BBL, fans’ focus was the Australian team and the Sheffield Shield – high quality cricket that often didn’t draw huge crowds. They didn’t have the legions of fans following them like in the mega domestic Australian winter sports, the Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL). The BBL started with states, like the Sheffield Shield and 50-over competitions. But domestic cricket needed professional clubs and rivalries, so the Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Adelaide 36ers, Perth Scorchers, Hobart Hurricanes and Brisbane Heat were born. The BBL started with a bang. It was fresh, it was exciting and attracted huge stars like the late great Shane Warne and imports like West Indian big hitter Chris Gayle and South African-born Englishman Kevin Pietersen. The early matches steered away from the genteel nature of longer-format cricket, featuring match-day entertainment, music, eye-catching uniforms and other gimmicks. Importantly, the cricket was attacking, entertaining and high quality – the formula applied successfully by Packer a generation before. There were initial fears that its popularity could wipe out Test cricket, but these concerns were exaggerated. TV broadcasters, unsure at first, jumped on board. In 2013, Network 10 paid $A100 million for BBL rights over five years, marking the channel’s first foray in elite cricket coverage. Network 10’s BBL coverage became a regular feature of Australian summers, attracting an average audience of more than 943,000 people nationally in 2014–15, including a peak of 1.9 million viewers for the final between the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers. Ten was pretty happy the following season when the BBL attracted an average audience of 1.13 million for each match in Australia, an 18% increase. The final peaked at 2.24 million viewers – the first time ratings for a BBL match crossed the two million mark. In 2018, BBL coverage was taken over by the Seven Network on free to air in conjunction with Fox Cricket. The six-year deal was extended in 2024, with Foxtel and Seven West Media paying $1.5 billion, as part of a package that included Test cricket, women’s international matches as well as BBL and Women’s BBL (WBBL). Crowd-wise, the average attendance started at 17,749 spectators per game in 2011–12, peaked at 30,122 in the amazing season of 2016–17, slumped to a COVID-affected 7,371 in 2021–22 before bouncing back to a healthy 21,505 in 2023–24. The biggest crowd for a BBL game was 80,883 at the MCG on January 2, 2016 for the Melbourne derby between the Stars and Renegades. A mid-inning slump After a strong first decade, the BBL hit a slump. It was partly COVID-related, which affected all professional sports, but there were signs even before then. There were complaints about too many games saturating the summer as the number of regular season matches grew from 28 in the first BBL to 61 in 2019-20. The Big Bash has become a staple of the Australian summer, but it’s not without issues. The timing of the schedule meant star players were not available for finals, often due to international duties. There was a lack of marquee international stars (partly due to travel-related COVID restrictions) and also a view that players were just transactional rather than loyal to a club or state. This was partly due to cricketers’ ability to play in T20 tournaments globally – in India, England, the Caribbean, South Africa and the UAE. But it was also a domestic matter, as players switched teams regularly. For instance, Dan Christian played for four BBL teams: the Sydney Sixers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Renegades, as well as playing overseas. Accordingly, Cricket Australia looked to revive and recharge the BBL, by reducing the number of games which allowed more flexibility for Australian Test players to be available for finals. Ahead of BBL 13, the season was shortened from 61 games to 43 at the time Foxtel and Seven extended the TV rights deal to 2031 (worth around $1.5 billion). They also started playing WBBL matches before men’s games to maximise exposure for the women’s game. And they took the game to regional venues like Geelong and Coffs Harbour. What might the future hold? There’s talk of possible expansion to Canberra, the Gold Coast and even New Zealand to make the BBL a Trans-Tasman competition. There’s also likely to be further tweaks with new rules to keep the game fresh and exciting and continued efforts to attract star overseas players while still nurturing local talent. The changes to the BBL are likely to be more evolutionary than revolutionary though. Its biggest challenge may be trying to preserve its place in an increasingly hectic international cricket calendar.  Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Morgan victim of attempted blackmail (2015-08-15T18:07:00+05:30)
Eoin Morgan will look to lead England to victory on Friday and book a berth in the final. AFP
Hobart, January 22England’s World Cup captain Eoin Morgan has been victim of an attempted blackmail over a former relationship, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday. According to the ECB, an Australian man had demanded a five-figure sum to prevent a story about One-day skipper Morgan and a previous girlfriend appearing in national newspapers in Australia and Britain. “The allegations related to a brief relationship Eoin had with a woman from Australia five years ago,” a statement said. “Following liaison with the Metropolitan Police, our support team on the ground in Australia investigated the blackmail. “This involved approaching the man in question who, when confronted, admitted and apologised for his actions, blaming jealousy.” The man involved is understood to be in a relationship with the woman Morgan once dated. The ECB said they would not seek to press charges. “We will not allow anyone to disrupt our team’s preparation or performance in the tri-series and as we build up to the World Cup. I am pleased that this issue has now been brought to a swift conclusion,” Paul Downton, the ECB’s managing director, said. Morgan was named as England’s One-day captain after Alastair Cook was removed from the post in December. After drubbing India, England face Australia All-rounder Moises Henriques was on Thursday drafted into the Australian squad in place of fellow all-rounder Shane Watson for the tri-series match against England in Hobart on Friday. “Watson reported tightness in his right hamstring during training at Blundstone Arena on Thursday morning and has been stood down from the match as a result,” Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement. “Henriques will link up with the squad in Hobart Thursday evening and, as a result, will miss the Sydney Sixers — Sydney Thunder KFC Big Bash League (KFC BBL)encounter at the Sydney Cricket Ground.”Source: tribuneindia.com
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Ageless Hogg gets into IPL mode (2015-04-09T18:14:00+05:30)
Brad Hogg is looking forward to IPL-8. PHOTO: Rohit Mahajan
Rohit Mahajan: Perth, February 27“How do you pronounce Narine, mate?” says Brad Hogg, the Australian allrounder who’s going to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. “What gift should I take for Shahrukh?” There are a one-hundred-three thousand reasons that Hogg should learn to pronounce “Narine” and pick up a gift for Shahrukh Khan, part-owner of the Kolkata team. Hogg was bought by KKR for Rs 50 lakh, which is roughly A$103,000. Hogg will play alongside Sunil Narine of the West Indies in the IPL. Hogg is excited about the IPL. “I want to go out and get to know the city,” he says of Kolkata. “I don’t want to just stay in the hotel rooms, I want to go out, meet the people.” Hogg is a pleasant and friendly man, and he grins very easily. He’s living out an amazing dream. He’s from the generation of people who’ve pushed the boundaries of middle-age back. Just a generation back, middle-age could be said to start at 40-45 years of age. It would be fair to say that fitter people of Hogg’s generation, and the increasing life-spans, have pushed that figure to 45-50. But in sport, with the exception of golf, 44 is positively ancient. Hogg turned 44 just 21 days ago. Yet he’s playing on and on. In his last Twenty20 game, playing for the Perth Scorchers, he took 1/25 off his four overs against Sydney Sixers. This was the final of the Big Bash league, and Hogg’s performance was important in Perth’s victory. This happened just a week before his 44th birthday. During that match, Hogg had revealed that KKR were keen to buy him for the IPL. That earned him a mild censure from KKR. Putting this information could have piqued the interest of the other teams in the bidding — this could have led KKR paying more for him than they’d originally planned. Hogg didn’t mind the censure — he said after being bought: “They were a little bit disappointed I opened my mouth, which is fair enough. I got a little bit too excited. I was nervous. I was a bit surprised, but very glad they went through with it.” No one criticizes one’s own employer. Hogg makes his living from the Twenty20 format, but he does think that the massacre of the bowlers in T20 and ODIs is not really such a lovely sight. Are all the changes good for cricket? “Look, it’s disappointing because bowling is a great aspect of the game,” he says. “To me, batting is great. I always wanted to be a batter, and I also wanted to bowl… When you’ve got the ball in your hand, you can also really celebrate, enjoy yourself, show your own personality to the world.” Hogg says that most of the greatest characters in the sport were all bowers -- he names Ian Botham and Merv Hughes and Dennis Lillee as an example. He says that it would be a pity if the bowlers were to become endangered. “It’s important to have those characters in the game,” he says of the bowlers. “Not just the batsmen who average 50-60.” In India in the IPL, Hogg knows that he’s going to face a massive challenge. In the Big Bash League, his economy was 5.33, the best by a regular bowler in the tournament. He has a hundred thousand reasons to remain motivated. As has Timothy Walker, a 19-year-old spinner in Perth’s local leagues. Walker wants to become a journalist and says that covering the IPL would be a wonderful experience. He’s motivated to do well as a player, too, because of Hogg. “He sold for over a hundred thousand dollars to play in the IPL!” marvels Walker. “That’s amazing… I’d like to pick up my game and get there! That much money for six weeks of Twenty20 cricket!” Exactly. For a professional cricketer, bottomline is the key, even if for a bowler, playing T20 in India is being a lamb to slaughter. Source: tribuneindia.com
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Brett Lee to retire from all forms of cricket after BBL season (2015-04-02T18:00:00+05:30)
Sydney, January 15: Former Australia Test fast bowler Brett Lee on Thursday announced that he will retire from all forms of cricket following the conclusion of the Big Bash League (BBL), thereby drawing curtains to his illustrious 20-year career. The 38-year-old pacer quit from international cricket in July 2012, but has continued to play Twenty20 cricket for Sydney Sixers at the domestic level in the BBL and the Indian Premier League. The final-round BBL clash against cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder next Thursday at the SCG could be Lee's swansong match if the Sixers lose and fail to book a play-off berth. While announcing his decision, Lee said he was both emotional and excited. "After this year, there won't be any more cricket," Lee said. "I'm excited, I'm emotional, I'm happy, but I'm certainly not worried because I know that I've made the right call. "I didn't bother to do the math on it, but it's a lot of ice baths, a lot of training sessions, a lot of cricket balls bowled, there's a lot of flights. But there's also been a lot of fun," he said. Lee played 76 Tests for Australia, taking 310 wickets at an average of 30.81. He also made 221 appearances in ODIs and claimed 380 dismissals at average of 23.36. Lee is Australia's fourth-highest Test wicket-taker of all-time behind Warne, McGrath and Dennis Lillee. The 38-year-old is also Australia's leading wicket taker in the 50-over format alongside Glenn McGrath. PTI, Source: tribuneindia.com, Image: http://photobucket.com
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Michael Hussey not sure if he is ready for India job (2015-03-29T17:33:00+05:30)
Former Australia captain Michael Hussey said he was surprised by reports that just-retired Test captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had suggested his name for the coach’s job of the Indian team, once Duncan Fletcher’s contract expired at the end of the 2015 World Cup. “I’m not sure if I’m really ready for that sort of challenge,” said Hussey after he led Sydney Thunder to a win over the defending Big Bash League champions, Perth at the Waca on Thursday night. “Thanks, M S, if it’s true ... but, I’m still playing!” he was quoted as saying in Sydney Morning Herald. A report in the Indian media had quoted sources allegedly close to Dhoni, saying he was understood to be concerned about the direction the dressing room’s culture was headed. And since Fletcher’s contract is till World Cup, Dhoni has already recommended Hussey’s name to the BCCI. Hussey was Dhoni’s teammate at Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and the report claimed that the India ODI skipper had described the Aussie as “a brilliant thinker and man manager who could bring Gray Kirsten-like calmness and camaraderie on board”. Source: The Asian Age, Image: photobucket.com/................
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Nathan Rimmington signs for T20 (2015-03-23T19:33:00+05:30)
By Peakfan: There will doubtless be those who, seeing the name of the player that Derbyshire have engaged as a 'death' bowler for T20, will ask a very short question. Who? On the face of it, Nathan Rimmington, at 32, isn't a household name. He is still five wickets short of a hundred in first-class cricket (though may reach that landmark in the Sheffield Shield final that starts this weekend) and has only 65 wickets in T20. The statistics aren't as impressive as those of, say, Tillakaratne Dilshan, where justification is unnecessary. But they don't tell the full story. That's because the more discerning will have seen Rimmington in action and know what an impressive bowler he is. Indeed, his efforts have led Western Australia to the Sheffield Shield final, taking 32 wickets at just 23 runs each, bowling with accuracy and hostility. His figures are better than both the highly-regarded Nathan Coulter-Nile and Michael Hogan, who has done so well over the past two summers here for Glamorgan. In T20, despite bowling at the start and end of the innings, he has conceded only just over seven runs an over and was the first man in Australian cricket to take a hat trick in both twenty and fifty over cricket. He is a very good and highly-skilled bowler, exactly the sort of man that Derbyshire need. I am surprised we have got him, as Hampshire had high hopes of engaging him for the summer and using the player's British passport to do so. He played one T20 match for them last year, but the southern county's loss is very much Derbyshire's gain. Earlier in his career he had serious injury issues, but has now come through these and become one of several talented and underrated seam bowlers who are just outside the national side but who have mastered the art of seam bowling. I wouldn't have said he was 'fast' - not Footitt fast - but he is quick enough to trouble good players and has enough command of the ball to get them out. There aren't many ahead of him in the Australian national averages and if that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is. There is an interesting T20 bowling tutorial by the player, sporting an impressive beard at the time, here In recent seasons we have largely lacked two things in T20 cricket. A batsman who could lead from the front and maximise the opening overs when the field has to be in, and a bowler who could keep his nerve when the opposition were going for it at the top and tail of their innings. Source: Derbyshire Cricket, Read More<<<<
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Pat Cummins to miss Afghan match (2015-03-06T18:31:00+05:30)
Australia’s Pat Cummins is set to miss Wednesday’s World Cup clash against Afghanistan after the fast bowler’s latest injury setback, Cricket Australia said on Monday. Officials said Cummins had suffered a “slight side strain” and was now doubtful for Wednesday’s match against tournament debutants Afghanistan in Perth. Cummins scored seven not out and took 2/38 from 6.1 overs on his tournament debut during Australia’s dramatic one-wicket Pool A loss to fellow co-hosts New Zealand at Auckland’s Eden Park on Saturday. The 21-year-old fast bowler gave an Australia squad already facing injury problems a fresh scare when he went over on his right ankle with just his fourth ball after slipping in his delivery stride. Cummins fell over in similar fashion bowling for the Sydney Thunder against the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League Twenty20 match at the Waca on New Year’s Day. On Saturday, he got up quickly and continued bowling before Zealand’s Kane Williamson drove him back over his head for the winning six. Source: The Asian Age, Image: photobucket.com
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Australian pacer Sean Abbott goes to RCB (2015-03-02T18:29:00+05:30)
A year ago when the Indian Premier League teams was undergoing a major reshuffle, very little was known about young Australian bowler Sean Abbott. He bowled the ill-fated delivery which unfortunately and eventually took the life of fellow countryman Phil Hughes, in a freak accident in November. Coupled with his impressive show for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League and his tally of 25 wickets from 34 T20 matches, Vijay Mallya’s team wasted little time before bringing the youngster into their fold for Rs 11 crore, double his base price, to fill the void left by South African Albie Morkel. With the IPL just two months away, it seems like the second coming of Sean Abbott is well and truly neigh. A heartening sight for cricket and the for the 22-year-old lad. Source: The Asian Age, Image: photobucket.com
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Sachin Tendulkar offered ‘attractive’ package for playing in Big Bash League: report (2014-05-11T17:46:00+05:30)
![[Sachin+Tendulkar+takes+photos+of+the+post-match+presentation+while+Zaheer+Khan+and+Virender+Sehwag+look+on.jpg]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t34VG_QvvAN907vTLdEt9jOw79_KIexRnhi-yit5SLwjfu8kPa6fJ5iKo5-iwMKjhGLBFi5zZ0FE9Jgukxxu-zWROlcB_7EXPKRIt6EM37fEvZpAOGNKZLO88j=s0-d)
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was reportedly approached by the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Thunder to feature in this year’s edition of the Twenty20 tournament, but eventually the deal could not be reached. According to a report in ‘Sydney Morning Herald’, Tendulkar was offered an “attractive” package by the Thunder, who are desperately looking for a turnaround in their fortunes, having won just one game out of their last 19 matches, stretching 25 months. But the talks the with Indian veteran cricketer, who retired from all forms of the game in November last year, fell apart when Harry Harinath resigned as head of Cricket NSW early last year. The report also claimed that Cricket NSW called upon the state government to use its connections in India in order to lure the iconic batsman to don their jersey but nothing materialised. “Tendulkar was offered a deal to play for the Thunder over four weeks this season,” it said. “When the Cricket NSW board, headed by Harinath, met to address the problems, Tendulkar joined Michael Hussey and Brett Lee on the list after it was acknowledged the franchise needed to attract big stars to engage the 90,000 people with Indian and subcontinent heritage in the area surrounding the Olympic Park precinct,” it added. The 40-year-old Indian was at the top of a list of desired players, drawn up for 2013-14 by the club, which had disastrous campaign last season when they lost all their ties. “Harinath, who stepped down from his posts as chairman of Cricket NSW and as a board member of Cricket Australia (CA) after an overhaul in the organisation’s administration structure last January, was understood to have travelled to India to meet with people described as extremely close to Tendulkar,” it added. The side, led by Mike Hussey, are languishing at the bottom of the table this season with just a solitary win in seven games so far. Source: The Indian Express
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ESPN Star Sports acquires 5-year broadcast rights from Cricket Australia (2011-12-22T18:40:00+05:30)
08 December 2011: New Delhi: Asian sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports today announced a new five-year contract for exclusive rights to broadcast Cricket Australia's (CA) domestic and home international matches across various platforms including television, internet, mobile and radio covering the entire Asian region. As a part of the deal, the current Future Tours Program (FTP) will see ESPN Star Sports broadcasting more than 191 days of live International cricket from Australia, including 27 test matches, 44 one day internationals and 12 twenty-20 games. This is the first broadcast deal with Cricket Australia to enable ESPN Star Sports the rights to showcase two India series. India is slated to play four test matches and a tri-series with England as the third team in the 2014-2015 season. This tri-series, featuring India, Australia and England and scheduled right before the ICC World Cup in 2015 is already looked upon as the signature event of the year and is positioned as the 'Clash of the Titans'. India will visit Australia again for seven ODIs and two twenty-20 matches in 2015-2016. Over the next five years, all of the leading teams will be visiting Australia. In addition to the Ashes between arch rivals England and Australia in the year 2013-2014 which, based on the current FTP, will see five test matches, five ODIs and three T20 matches, other top cricket nations including South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand will tour Australia to test their mettle in the fiercely competitive environment of cricket down under. In addition to international cricket, ESPN Star Sports also plans to broadcast Cricket Australia's top-class domestic cricket over 280 days, including popular tournaments such as the KFC Big Bash T20, the four-day Bupa Sheffield Shield tournament and the Ryobi One Day Cup. The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash has emerged as an extremely popular T20 tournament. The tournament has drawn some of the world's best players including Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul and more to compete along with emerging Australian cricketing talent. The tournament will further grow in popularity as the legendary ace spinner Shane Warne has announced his participation in it from this season. The top two teams from this premier tournament qualify for the coveted Nokia Champions League Twenty20. Star performers also play for various club teams in the IPL. India's forthcoming tour of Australia starting 26 December 2011 will feature four test matches, two twenty-20 matches and a triangular one day series with Sri Lanka as the third team. The tri-series will have as many as 15 one day internationals. All the matches of this series will be televised live on Star Cricket and Star Cricket HD and the tri-series will also be broadcast on ESPN. Source: Article, Image
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