Footy in winter and cricket in summer. It's pretty simple.
Footy hasn't changed much re the scheduling. You know that most of the time between mid-March through to the end of August, at some point over an extended weekend, you'll watch your team play. If you're lucky enough, you'll see them through to September. Some of those winters, the sports lover is blessed with an Ashes tour of England. 6 weeks of absolute cricket and footy bliss. However, we couldn't handle much more than that. The occasional World Cup. Perhaps an Indian, Pakistan or South African Test tour on the shoulders of the season. Forget the IPL. Overseas bilateral One Day series - blah blah blah. It's footy in winter.
Our summer has been underlined with 5 or 6 Test Matches forever it seems. This must not change. While footy demands our attention - cricket is the background playlist to our summer. We can check in on it when we need to. It's like the family's 12 year old much loved pet cat. You might not notice it around the place too much, but when it's gone, there's a hole. In recent times, knowing the BBL is on each night in peak holiday season is a comfort, even if barely watched, it's there.
What we need, is a stream of meaningful cricket, which we can check in on when we choose to.
My Australian cricket schedule is highlighted by 5 Test matches, beginning at The Gabba mid-December and finishing at Adelaide Oval over the Australia Day weekend. Of course, the MCG Boxing Day Test, the New Years SCG Test and a Perth Test in between Sydney and Adelaide.
Don't worry BBL fans, the Big Bash still gets a run in the school holidays - but more on that later.
I'm bringing back World Series Cricket, but with a twist. We're sharing it with New Zealand and we're inviting a nation, preferably England, to come over and contest the annual Southern Cross Cup, in the month leading up to the Gabba Test. November is International One Day Cricket. 6 games in Australia for Australia (4 vs England and 2 vs NZ), 6 games in New Zealand for New Zealand (4 vs England and 2 vs Australia) and a one-off Final at either the MCG or in Auckland, depending on which of Australia or New Zealand finishes higher on the table (forget the best of 3 finals they use to have). Lets see if England, or another nation, can come over and win the cup from our hands.
The BBL also kicks off at the beginning of November. A couple of games each weekend, in between or after the International One Dayers are on TV. A teaser of what is to come. More on that later.
Now to the Domestic scene. Highly underrated. I'm introducing a 7th side to contest the Sheffield Shield and the One Day Cup. The ACT. There is plenty enough talent. I am reducing the BBL sides to 7 and aligning them with each State side. The Thunder are under the banner of ACT Cricket. The Renegades are no more. Each association has a Sheffield Shield team, a One Day team and a BBL team. Keep the BBL names, but have the States with extended squads. If you play for the Thunder, you're in the ACT squad, Strikers SACA, Scorchers WACA etc. Attract international talent by offering the opportunity to also play First Class Cricket. The T20 mercenaries can play for the millions of other franchises popping up all over the world.
Now on to the Domestic Competitions. There is a full home and away, 12 game, Sheffield Shield season, beginning late September and concluding with the Final in late March. There is a two week gap over Christmas/New Year period and another 2 week gap in late Jan/early Feb to allow for BBL Finals. Other than that, there is Shield Cricket being played all year from September to March, including in January, while the Test matches are being played. Having the 7th team and usually playing two matches per round (leaving three teams with availability for BBL or One Day fixturing), allows breaks and gaps in the schedule to fill in with BBL cricket and to offer enough rest after playing 4-day cricket.
The One Day Cup starts early in September with a run of games, until the Sheffield Shield kicks in. Then we have a Thursday and Sunday game each weekend, coinciding with the Shield fixtures, until the Final in late October. A lead in to the World Series Cricket tournament and the BBL, which both begin the week after the One Day Cup Final. Each team plays 3 teams home and the other 3 teams away in this tournament, before 2nd plays 3rd in a Preliminary Final for the right to play the top team in the Final.
Now on to the BBL. The big changes here are no more Renegades and alignment with State Squads, including the new ACT team for the Thunder. The competition is a Home and Away tournament, so each team plays 12 games, culminating with Semi Finals played the weekend after the Adelaide Oval Test Match at the end of January and the Final the weekend after. As mentioned earlier, the tournament starts in early November, with 2-3 games per weekend shown on alternate nights between the World Series Cricket games and/or after the earlier New Zealand time slots. Just before Christmas, the competition kicks in to a game being played each night, including straight after the end of play of the MCG and SCG Tests. So in that peak holiday period, we still get the same content as now. It reverts to some scattered fixtures in mid-January with some Shield fixtures starting again and finishes with a Final in early Feb.
The summer finishes with 4 more full rounds of Sheffield Shield Cricket, before the Final in late March - which we probably won't watch, because the footy is back on again.
But there we go. Footy in winter and cricket in summer. A bit of everything - the old and the new. World Series Cricket is back. The ACT is in. School holidays consists of Test Cricket, BBL and Sheffield Shield. Most nights from November through to February there is either International Cricket or BBL on TV and our Australian contracted players are earning their worth in our country.
Footy hasn't changed much re the scheduling. You know that most of the time between mid-March through to the end of August, at some point over an extended weekend, you'll watch your team play. If you're lucky enough, you'll see them through to September. Some of those winters, the sports lover is blessed with an Ashes tour of England. 6 weeks of absolute cricket and footy bliss. However, we couldn't handle much more than that. The occasional World Cup. Perhaps an Indian, Pakistan or South African Test tour on the shoulders of the season. Forget the IPL. Overseas bilateral One Day series - blah blah blah. It's footy in winter.
Our summer has been underlined with 5 or 6 Test Matches forever it seems. This must not change. While footy demands our attention - cricket is the background playlist to our summer. We can check in on it when we need to. It's like the family's 12 year old much loved pet cat. You might not notice it around the place too much, but when it's gone, there's a hole. In recent times, knowing the BBL is on each night in peak holiday season is a comfort, even if barely watched, it's there.
What we need, is a stream of meaningful cricket, which we can check in on when we choose to.
My Australian cricket schedule is highlighted by 5 Test matches, beginning at The Gabba mid-December and finishing at Adelaide Oval over the Australia Day weekend. Of course, the MCG Boxing Day Test, the New Years SCG Test and a Perth Test in between Sydney and Adelaide.
Don't worry BBL fans, the Big Bash still gets a run in the school holidays - but more on that later.
I'm bringing back World Series Cricket, but with a twist. We're sharing it with New Zealand and we're inviting a nation, preferably England, to come over and contest the annual Southern Cross Cup, in the month leading up to the Gabba Test. November is International One Day Cricket. 6 games in Australia for Australia (4 vs England and 2 vs NZ), 6 games in New Zealand for New Zealand (4 vs England and 2 vs Australia) and a one-off Final at either the MCG or in Auckland, depending on which of Australia or New Zealand finishes higher on the table (forget the best of 3 finals they use to have). Lets see if England, or another nation, can come over and win the cup from our hands.
The BBL also kicks off at the beginning of November. A couple of games each weekend, in between or after the International One Dayers are on TV. A teaser of what is to come. More on that later.
Now to the Domestic scene. Highly underrated. I'm introducing a 7th side to contest the Sheffield Shield and the One Day Cup. The ACT. There is plenty enough talent. I am reducing the BBL sides to 7 and aligning them with each State side. The Thunder are under the banner of ACT Cricket. The Renegades are no more. Each association has a Sheffield Shield team, a One Day team and a BBL team. Keep the BBL names, but have the States with extended squads. If you play for the Thunder, you're in the ACT squad, Strikers SACA, Scorchers WACA etc. Attract international talent by offering the opportunity to also play First Class Cricket. The T20 mercenaries can play for the millions of other franchises popping up all over the world.
Now on to the Domestic Competitions. There is a full home and away, 12 game, Sheffield Shield season, beginning late September and concluding with the Final in late March. There is a two week gap over Christmas/New Year period and another 2 week gap in late Jan/early Feb to allow for BBL Finals. Other than that, there is Shield Cricket being played all year from September to March, including in January, while the Test matches are being played. Having the 7th team and usually playing two matches per round (leaving three teams with availability for BBL or One Day fixturing), allows breaks and gaps in the schedule to fill in with BBL cricket and to offer enough rest after playing 4-day cricket.
The One Day Cup starts early in September with a run of games, until the Sheffield Shield kicks in. Then we have a Thursday and Sunday game each weekend, coinciding with the Shield fixtures, until the Final in late October. A lead in to the World Series Cricket tournament and the BBL, which both begin the week after the One Day Cup Final. Each team plays 3 teams home and the other 3 teams away in this tournament, before 2nd plays 3rd in a Preliminary Final for the right to play the top team in the Final.
Now on to the BBL. The big changes here are no more Renegades and alignment with State Squads, including the new ACT team for the Thunder. The competition is a Home and Away tournament, so each team plays 12 games, culminating with Semi Finals played the weekend after the Adelaide Oval Test Match at the end of January and the Final the weekend after. As mentioned earlier, the tournament starts in early November, with 2-3 games per weekend shown on alternate nights between the World Series Cricket games and/or after the earlier New Zealand time slots. Just before Christmas, the competition kicks in to a game being played each night, including straight after the end of play of the MCG and SCG Tests. So in that peak holiday period, we still get the same content as now. It reverts to some scattered fixtures in mid-January with some Shield fixtures starting again and finishes with a Final in early Feb.
The summer finishes with 4 more full rounds of Sheffield Shield Cricket, before the Final in late March - which we probably won't watch, because the footy is back on again.
But there we go. Footy in winter and cricket in summer. A bit of everything - the old and the new. World Series Cricket is back. The ACT is in. School holidays consists of Test Cricket, BBL and Sheffield Shield. Most nights from November through to February there is either International Cricket or BBL on TV and our Australian contracted players are earning their worth in our country.
