Four seasons in, has your opinion on the Big Bash changed?

[rubbers0ul]

What's better for the average family - half an hour delayed or not on FTA at all?

Define average?

Regardless it is a disgrace ten don't show it live on 1HD in SA and QLD.

It was great getting it live for the one week over the new year when the project wasn't on, now I just check dtlive for the scores.

 

[The Speaker]

Define average?

One third of Australian households have pay tv. 100% have access to FTA.

 

[rubbers0ul]

One third of Australian households have pay tv. 100% have access to FTA.

Incorrect - my grandparents old tv does not have a digital box, they just watch foxtel 24/7.

The big bash should be viewed live by all of australia, especially when the local audiences team is playing interstate

 

[The Speaker]

Incorrect - my grandparents old tv does not have a digital box, they just watch foxtel 24/7.

Foxtel shows FTA tv.

The big bash should be viewed live by all of australia, especially when the local audiences team is playing interstate

Being viewed by all of Australia is more important than being viewed live.

Of course it should be live everywhere, but it not yet being so does not mean two-thirds of households should lose access to watching it entirely.

 

[Kram]

Foxtel shows FTA tv.

Apart from ABC and SBS, satellite Foxtel doesn't.

 

[Ronnie Baby]

Even if it's your mob?

Ha! Even the year we won the comp we sat in 5th and 6th for most of the season. Definitely stressful being a Heat fan.

 

[Cudi]

I know it can be fashionable to hate Twenty20, but I'm loving the Big Bash so far.

If there's nothing else to do on a summer's night, chances are there's a BBL game to watch. The standard is good, Ten's coverage has been fantastic (give me Ponting, Gilchrist, Waugh, Fleming, McLaughlin etc over Brayshaw, Healy, Nicholas and the other Channel Nine idiots), and the teams are starting to develop identities of their own.

There's genuine contempt for the Stars (my team, for what it's worth), and Scorchers and Strikers fans are turning up in big numbers. The Hurricanes look like they've got a good following, too.

It's been good to go along and see players that you wouldn't normally see (Wright, Faulkner, Bird, Pietersen in my case), too.

It could do without the gimmicky cross-promotions, the inflatable sticks for idiots to bash together in the crowd and the unicycle-riding fire-breathing gymnasts on the platforms around the boundary, though.

I thought you were on the fence??

Good to see you joined the right Melbourne team.

 

[peternorth]

im conflicted about this. on one hand i dont like how players come and go (imports) during a single season. but on the other this happens in sports i love and respect like soccer and nba basketball. so yeah.

for me the biggest thing that grinds my hears are teh uniforms. pathetically cheap and look like something from queen vic market. this happened with the a-league in its first 1-2 seasons when everyone had the same uniform manufacturer, and template. well bbl have different tones and patterns i guess thats different. as soon as the teams are allowed to sign with whichever apparel sponsor this league wont be in my forefront of mind.

i urge teams to bring back collars to their shirts too.

people using the word franchise to describe the teams. are they franchises?

another thing, Big Bash League. Sounds terrible.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

I thought you were on the fence??

Good to see you joined the right Melbourne team.

Yeah, I was a bit undecided. I found myself hoping the Stars won the derby, and I don't think I could ever barrack for a Brayshaw-run team

I like the Renegades, though. The split of Victorians means I enjoy watching both teams, and they've brought in a few interstate/international favourites.

 

[peternorth]

i wish the t20 comp was still state based

 

[Kram]

If it was state based still Hogg wouldn't likely been able to make a comeback, so it's worth the switch for that alone

Agree though that some of the uniforms could do with some work, got used of and don't mind Perth in orange but the design of the actually shirt is pretty crap.

 

[Zarrix]

State system doesn't allow for as much flexibility and that results in a less interesting competition. England's insistence with keeping their archaic county system is a reason why that competition hasn't worked as well in comparison to the ipl or big bash, despite being in a window where a lot more players are available. State system for t20 is an antiquated system + modern concept combined, it would be kind of like making a new computer that only allows external storage using floppy disks. I thought the same thing a few years ago but the IPL was pretty compelling evidence of the best way forward.

 

[Phone]

I mean, it's basically still the state format for me. The new format really only affects the people in Vic and NSW, and I personally just support the two NSW teams and hate the two Victorian teams.

Besides Faulkner, the latest thing I remember about an ODI game in this country was Andrew Symonds shirtfronting that streaker at the GABBA

how can you not remember

 

[eddiesmith]

Would have preferred it remain a state based competition, could still have allowed players to change states and be on contracts just for it, but could have got some good exposure for the states and with 6 teams might have been able to squeeze in 2 matches against every team.

But there was no way the state based competition was going to remain, maybe if NSW had been winning them all it may have...

 

[ep2018]

I like it, always have. If its more popular in a few more years I hope they expand to Canberra and perhaps one more team somewhere else.

 

[little graham]

Cognitive dissonance for me. I really enjoy it, its rekindling a one time obsession with cricket where i would listen to all our tours on ABC radio, no matter what time. Where I use to do the scorecards and during the over breaks I could start making cups of coffee. We didn't have pay tv where we lived. Tours weren't televised on tele unless it was the ashes or world cup.

But I know its bad for test cricket. Its like AO being bad for footy . It's quite clear AO has a collusuem feel to it, making a real difference to the spectacle and the locals performance, but as football traditionalist, who likes to see guys getting knocked out fair and square, its siphoning money out of grass roots football.

 

[Zarrix]

But I know its bad for test cricket. Its like AO being bad for footy . It's quite clear AO has a collusuem feel to it, making a real difference to the spectacle and the locals performance, but as football traditionalist, who likes to see guys getting knocked out fair and square, its siphoning money out of grass roots football.

non sequitur

 

[little graham]

non sequitur

talis est vita humana,

 

[Ronnie Baby]

If it was state based still Hogg wouldn't likely been able to make a comeback, so it's worth the switch for that alone

Warne, Hayden, Ponting, MacGill, Lee; just a few others who wouldn't have gotten a game under a state system.

 

[Experimental]

I love the BBL. I love the atmosphere in the stadium, and the telecast (besides not being live in QLD - ******* BS) is top notch.

The LED stumps, the crowd participation, the dancers, the music - everything. The live experience is incredibly exciting, and quite honestly, I wouldn't be watching cricket again without it. It peaked my interest and many people I know up here in QLD have started watching it despite never having an interest in cricket in their lives beforehand. It's truly a spectacle.

Don't get me wrong, test cricket will always be the ultimate form of cricket in Australia, but while the BBL and tests/ODIs co-exist, there's no reason why t20 cricket can't continue to expand.

My only issue with it is Sydney and Melbourne having two teams each, with one in each city being irrelevant. Those two teams spots would be better served in Canberra/Geelong/Gold Coast/Central Coast.

 

[Zarrix]

canberra comets and geelong renegades would be great.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Still don't see the point of the chicks from the lap dance/strip clubs & gay guys dancing on the sidelines or the muppets on tramampolines and s**t.
Is the cricket not entertaining enough ?

You've answered your own question.

 

[Hellgood]

State system doesn't allow for as much flexibility and that results in a less interesting competition. England's insistence with keeping their archaic county system is a reason why that competition hasn't worked as well in comparison to the ipl or big bash, despite being in a window where a lot more players are available. State system for t20 is an antiquated system + modern concept combined, it would be kind of like making a new computer that only allows external storage using floppy disks. I thought the same thing a few years ago but the IPL was pretty compelling evidence of the best way forward.

Well it's easy to sit over here and say that, but such statements ignore the culture differences between Australia and England. The difficulty of the franchise system over there, is summed up in this article.

In Australia, geographically it was obvious where franchises should be based - in the capital of each state, there was and continues to be conjecture as to where the second franchises for the two major population centres should have been, but it's not make or break if a team is based in Geelong or Newcastle or wherever as they aren't 'losing' access to cricket.

In England, T20 has been especially successful for small county sides like Somerset at Taunton, Sussex at Hove, Leicestershire etc. These places would miss out under a franchise model. The BBL has done an excellent job at making the sport accessible - tickets are cheap, easy to get despite the big crowds so the fans are growing a connection to their side. A move to the same model in England flies in the face of this.

The ECB need to simply take their competition back to what made it initially successful. Play it in a window of approximately a month, with as much of that window being over the holiday period. Find a way for it to be shown on FTA, at the very least in the form of highlights packages (one underrated aspect of the BBL's success on TV is the fact you can switch on a game at the exact same time each night during the window which is very effective at garnering a loyal audience). They already have all the peripheral stuff we have ie. fireworks, music, dancers... so not a huge change needs to be made there.

It would be a massive shame if T20 leagues around the world were homogenised. Each should have their own characteristics that make it relevant to the location it is in. I think the concept of a 'finals day' which is held at a different ground each year is fantastic, but it simply isn't applicable in Australia.

 

[The_Reaper]

England should just have a two division league competition. 9 teams per division and 8 games.

Just set aside one month and a bit for just T20

 

[BACCS]

You've answered your own question.

Why are you in this thread? Everybody gets it, we are all inferior cricket supporters to traditionalists like yourself