BBL Big Bash League Expansion Thread

[Aussie_boy]

If you add an International to each team, and Perth stopped hoarding their quick talent then the standard wouldn't drop all that much with 1-2 teams.

Yeah true the batting is that crap at times it couldn't really get much worse.

 

[The Speaker]

If Perth stops hoarding their quicks, the league-wide batting average goes down.

 

[Footyfan61]

Officials in Alice Springs are hoping for a crowd of 5,000 for tomorrow's Big Bash game at Traeger Park.

5,000? That's it? Hardly seems worth it. I'm surprised they aren't focusing on a larger regional city.

If they get 5k it’s a quarter of the population!

The afl takes a game out there so why not bbl

 

[JackOutback]

Are there less internationals this year? The quality seemed higher last year.

 

[eddiesmith]

Are there less internationals this year? The quality seemed higher last year.

Definitely less quality, think there was another T20 tournament which has been cancelled on plus the expanded BBL makes it harder to keep someone that long and I think teams have decided they’d rather an international who can play the whole tournament hence the Afghan and Nepal players

 

[The Speaker]

Definitely less quality, think there was another T20 tournament which has been cancelled on plus the expanded BBL makes it harder to keep someone that long and I think teams have decided they’d rather an international who can play the whole tournament hence the Afghan and Nepal players

Lamichhane is the only Nepalese player, and will be leaving halfway through for Bangladesh.

Are there less internationals this year? The quality seemed higher last year.

No, there's as many as always. It's just that today's match between Perth and Hobart featured one team with a not-really-international (Qadir), while the other team is searching for a replacement for one of its internationals (Mills).

But there are a lot of T20 leagues happening around this time, which is why most of the internationals are English (Root, Buttler, Denly, Curran, Willey, Mills, Gurney, Plunkett).

 

[Hamingja]

Are there less internationals this year? The quality seemed higher last year.

I think a lot of older players are looking cooked - Klinger, McCullum, White etc - plus all the old players that have finished up in recent years - Hodge, Hogg, Hussey x 2 etc - are not being replaced because there is nothing much coming through.

There has always been plenty of ordinary internationals getting around. Good older players retiring or falling away has sucked most of the talent out. It probably hasn't helped either that the Thunder and Renegades have now had time to chip away at the established talent and diluted it from the other teams. It used to just be Gayle and a heap of schleps at the Thunder, Finch and a heap of schleps at the Renegades and you had 6 solid teams plus those two as basket cases. Now you just have 8 average teams.

Not too many good pitches around either save for Bellerive and look at the Hurricanes go.

 

[Admiral Byng]

Big part of the problem is that few of the current generation of batsmen seem to be able to play spin. Even against part-timers the main technique seems to be a movement backwards and try to read it off the deck and play it on the back foot. Some part timers are being made to look like world-beaters out there because batsmen are afraid to play on the front foot thinking they'll get a Gatting ball each delivery.

If it is a problem not being able to see the seam on the white ball under lights they need to look at making a ball with a more visible seam.

 

[Matchu]

Worth mentioning a crowd of 17k showed up for the Heat-Sixers game on the Gold Coast yesterday. That's the second largest crowd a BBL game has pulled in a regional market (the Geelong game pulled 23k last year). News reports suggest a crowd of 19k will show up to the next Gold Coast fixture this Saturday night for the Stars-Thunder clash. It's important to remember the capacity of Metricon Stadium in cricket mode is currently 22k so 19k is getting pretty close to a sell out. We'll find out tomorrow if Geelong can pull another big crowd for their Renegades-Strikers clash.

Would Geelong and Gold Coast be the frontrunners for BBL expansion due to recent crowds?

 

[The Speaker]

Worth mentioning a crowd of 17k showed up for the Heat-Sixers game on the Gold Coast yesterday. That's the second largest crowd a BBL game has pulled in a regional market (the Geelong game pulled 23k last year). News reports suggest a crowd of 19k will show up to the next Gold Coast fixture this Saturday night for the Stars-Thunder clash. It's important to remember the capacity of Metricon Stadium in cricket mode is currently 22k so 19k is getting pretty close to a sell out. We'll find out tomorrow if Geelong can pull another big crowd for their Renegades-Strikers clash.

Would Geelong and Gold Coast be the frontrunners for BBL expansion due to recent crowds?

Would they be able to get those crowds with more regular matches?

 

[PT Bar None]

The next team should definitely be located on the Gold Coast. There is absolutely no chance anything could possibly go wrong with that plan.


I've always felt it was a bit of a pity the 2nd Tier IPL Indians are prevented from playing elsewhere

 

[Matchu]

Would they be able to get those crowds with more regular matches?

Great question. I believe this is why CA agreed to a three-year deal to play three BBL games per season on the Gold Coast. It's a soft expansion initiative that has very little downside and potentially huge upside (at least in the TV rights, if nothing else). If it doesn't work, they can wash their hand of it in a couple of years. If it does work, they can expand into the south east QLD market with a second franchise and work on building a genuine rivalry in the third largest market in Australia. Having said all that, once the nine BBL games have been played on the Gold Coast over the next three years, they should have enough data to determine if it's worthwhile to explore expansion options on the Gold Coast.

I've always felt it was a bit of a pity the 2nd Tier IPL Indians are prevented from playing elsewhere

Any chance of that changing? Even as little as 10-15 Indian players would help the BBL a fair bit.

 

[Power Raid]

There should be 20 t20 sides in Oz.

It won’t lower the standard as it is a slap happy game......and that’s the enjoyment of it. In fact it will enable the stars to shine more.

The upside is wages will be spread wider across the talent pool and the top players salary capped. This means test cricket remains the core focus for our best.

 

[____]

There should be 20 t20 sides in Oz.

It won’t lower the standard as it is a slap happy game......and that’s the enjoyment of it. In fact it will enable the stars to shine more.

The upside is wages will be spread wider across the talent pool and the top players salary capped. This means test cricket remains the core focus for our best.

I don't know where the 20 teams will come from but you raise a good point, more people watch the Big Bash than International T20's. How many people without Googling it could correctly predict who won the last three T20 world cups?

 

[eth-dog]

I don't know where the 20 teams will come from but you raise a good point, more people watch the Big Bash than International T20's. How many people without Googling it could correctly predict who won the last three T20 world cups?

Honestly I'd be more likely to be able to name them than the last 3 BBL winners. Pretty sure West Indies have won 2/3 and maybe India the other? But honestly I only know Adelaide won last year because it was mentioned in the NYE broadcast.

 

[JackOutback]

It’s a bit easier to remember past BBL champions as a Scorchers fan

 

[Aussie_boy]

I can name every BBL winner and who they played, who made runs in the final etc. Maybe I'm on my own there.

 

[CURVE]

I don't think the BBL needs to expand, I think they need to relocate one of the Melbourne Franchises, perhaps to Canberra.
The two Melbourne franchises are the worst in the BBL at the moment, and they aren't that far off in the WBBL either.
Obviously Victorian cricket don't have the talent to support two franchises and they don't have the finances to bring in decent overseas talent.

 

[The_Reaper]

I don't know where the 20 teams will come from but you raise a good point, more people watch the Big Bash than International T20's. How many people without Googling it could correctly predict who won the last three T20 world cups?

West Indies, West Indies and honestly can't remember England?

 

[Kyptastic]

West Indies, West Indies and honestly can't remember England?

Sri Lanka

 

[JohnZ]

I don't think the BBL needs to expand, I think they need to relocate one of the Melbourne Franchises, perhaps to Canberra.
The two Melbourne franchises are the worst in the BBL at the moment, and they aren't that far off in the WBBL either.
Obviously Victorian cricket don't have the talent to support two franchises and they don't have the finances to bring in decent overseas talent.

Renegades should have always been in Geelong. Canberra can be a relocation of the thunder. Keep the teams in a market low, to keep crowds high.

 

[____]

This is how I'd expand personally, I know this wouldn't happen due to the current TV deal though.

Add one more team for now (Gold Coast)

Have three conferences to somewhat even out the travel load without having a full H&A fixture

Heat, future GC team, Hurricanes

Sixers, Thunder, Scorchers

Renegades, Stars, Strikers

Every team plays within their conference twice and outside their conference once, so that gives every team 10 games (5 home, 5 away), so 45 regular season games all up, but for Tv purposes I'd expand the finals series to get as close to the current TV rights deal of 59 as possible with six finals games to get it to 51 games all up. I would then try to have it 40 games on 7 with double the finals matches as compensation for Seven and 11 games exclusive for Foxtel but promise to schedule more ODI's as compensation for losing 5 exclusive BBL games.

The finals system would be similar to the old VFL/current SANFL system. I'd seed the finalists like this
1st seed: Conference winner with best regular season win-loss-NRR record
2nd seed: Conference winner with second best regular season win-loss-NRR record
3rd seed: Conference winner with third best regular season win-loss-NRR record
4th seed: Non-conference winner with best regular season win-loss-NRR record
5th seed: Non-conference winner with second best regular season win-loss-NRR record

Qualifying finals: 1st seed bye, 2nd seed (home) v 3rd seed (away), 4th seed (home) v 5th seed (away)
Semi finals: 1st seed (home) v winner 2/3 (away) (major semi), loser 2/3 (home) v winner 4/5 (away) (minor semi)
Prelim: major semi winner bye, loser major semi (home) v winner minor semi (away)
Big final major semi winner (home) v prelim winner (away)

As for home/away games I'd have it as (to make the travel load somewhat even):
Scorchers: 5 home games Perth Stadium, two away games in Sydney in one trip, away game in Melbourne and Hobart/Adelaide in one trip, plus one Queensland away game
(so three trips for 5 away games)
Strikers: 4 home Adelaide Oval, one home Alice Springs, 2 away games in Melbourne in one trip, away games in Brisbane/Gold Coast and home game in Alice in one trip, one Sydney and one Hobart or Perth (four trips for 6 interstate games)
Hurricanes: 4 home Bellerive Oval, one home game Launceston, 2 away games in Queensland in one trip, one Sydney, one Melbourne, one Adelaide or Perth (four trips for 5 away games)
Heat: 4 home Gabba, one in Harrup Park, Mackay, one away derby, one Sydney, Adelaide or Perth and Hobart/Melbourne in one trip (three trips for 4 away games)
Future GC team: 4 home Carrara, one in either Oakes Oval, Lismore or CEX, Coffs Harbour, one away derby, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth and
Hobart/Melbourne in one trip (three trips for 4 away games)
Stars: 4 home MCG, one Moe, one away derby, Sydney, Queensland and either Hobart/Alice or Perth/Adelaide (4 trips)
Renegades: 4 home Docklands, one KP, one away derby, Sydney, Queensland and either Hobart/Alice or Perth/Adelaide (4 trips)
Sixers 4 home SCG, 1 home Newcastle, one away derby, Queensland, Perth, either Hobart/Adelaide (4 trips)
Thunder: 4 home Spotless, 1 home Canberra, one away derby, Melbourne, Queensland, Perth, either Hobart/Adelaide (4 trips)

The schedule I would have on non-test weeks;
Mon-Thurs one game starting bang on 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox). This allows 7 to show the first ball on the main channel after one hour news in SA and half hour news in QLD, and more pre-game ads on the main channel in VIC/NSW.
Fri 1st game 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox) for TV consistency and 2nd game in Perth 10.50pm AEDT/7.50pm local (7/Fox) gives TV Friday night double header
Sat 1st game 5pm AEDT (Fox) and 2nd game in either Queensland/Alice Springs/Adelaide at 8.20pm AEDT/7.50/7.20/6.50pm local (Fox) gives Foxtel an exclusive Saturday night double header
Sun 1st game 4pm AEDT (Fox) and 2nd game (7/Fox) 7.30pm AEDT. This allows Foxtel to claim they are the only ones where you can watch both Sunday games.

The schedule I would have on a test week;
Mon-Fri one game starting 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox)
Sat 1st game 6.20pm AEDT (Fox) and second game 9.40pm AEDT/6.40pm local
(Fox) in Perth
Sun one game starting 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox)

The regular season should last 5 weeks roughly, finals less than 2 weeks

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Any chance of that changing? Even as little as 10-15 Indian players would help the BBL a fair bit.

The BCCI doesn't allow because the Ranji Trophy is on, so only thoe who don't have a First Class contract in India will be allowed to play BBL any time in the foreseeable future.

 

[CURVE]

This is how I'd expand personally, I know this wouldn't happen due to the current TV deal though.

Add one more team for now (Gold Coast)

Have three conferences to somewhat even out the travel load without having a full H&A fixture

Heat, future GC team, Hurricanes

Sixers, Thunder, Scorchers

Renegades, Stars, Strikers

Every team plays within their conference twice and outside their conference once, so that gives every team 10 games (5 home, 5 away), so 45 regular season games all up, but for Tv purposes I'd expand the finals series to get as close to the current TV rights deal of 59 as possible with six finals games to get it to 51 games all up. I would then try to have it 40 games on 7 with double the finals matches as compensation for Seven and 11 games exclusive for Foxtel but promise to schedule more ODI's as compensation for losing 5 exclusive BBL games.

The finals system would be similar to the old VFL/current SANFL system. I'd seed the finalists like this
1st seed: Conference winner with best regular season win-loss-NRR record
2nd seed: Conference winner with second best regular season win-loss-NRR record
3rd seed: Conference winner with third best regular season win-loss-NRR record
4th seed: Non-conference winner with best regular season win-loss-NRR record
5th seed: Non-conference winner with second best regular season win-loss-NRR record

Qualifying finals: 1st seed bye, 2nd seed (home) v 3rd seed (away), 4th seed (home) v 5th seed (away)
Semi finals: 1st seed (home) v winner 2/3 (away) (major semi), loser 2/3 (home) v winner 4/5 (away) (minor semi)
Prelim: major semi winner bye, loser major semi (home) v winner minor semi (away)
Big final major semi winner (home) v prelim winner (away)

As for home/away games I'd have it as (to make the travel load somewhat even):
Scorchers: 5 home games Perth Stadium, two away games in Sydney in one trip, away game in Melbourne and Hobart/Adelaide in one trip, plus one Queensland away game
(so three trips for 5 away games)
Strikers: 4 home Adelaide Oval, one home Alice Springs, 2 away games in Melbourne in one trip, away games in Brisbane/Gold Coast and home game in Alice in one trip, one Sydney and one Hobart or Perth (four trips for 6 interstate games)
Hurricanes: 4 home Bellerive Oval, one home game Launceston, 2 away games in Queensland in one trip, one Sydney, one Melbourne, one Adelaide or Perth (four trips for 5 away games)
Heat: 4 home Gabba, one in Harrup Park, Mackay, one away derby, one Sydney, Adelaide or Perth and Hobart/Melbourne in one trip (three trips for 4 away games)
Future GC team: 4 home Carrara, one in either Oakes Oval, Lismore or CEX, Coffs Harbour, one away derby, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth and
Hobart/Melbourne in one trip (three trips for 4 away games)
Stars: 4 home MCG, one Moe, one away derby, Sydney, Queensland and either Hobart/Alice or Perth/Adelaide (4 trips)
Renegades: 4 home Docklands, one KP, one away derby, Sydney, Queensland and either Hobart/Alice or Perth/Adelaide (4 trips)
Sixers 4 home SCG, 1 home Newcastle, one away derby, Queensland, Perth, either Hobart/Adelaide (4 trips)
Thunder: 4 home Spotless, 1 home Canberra, one away derby, Melbourne, Queensland, Perth, either Hobart/Adelaide (4 trips)

The schedule I would have on non-test weeks;
Mon-Thurs one game starting bang on 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox). This allows 7 to show the first ball on the main channel after one hour news in SA and half hour news in QLD, and more pre-game ads on the main channel in VIC/NSW.
Fri 1st game 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox) for TV consistency and 2nd game in Perth 10.50pm AEDT/7.50pm local (7/Fox) gives TV Friday night double header
Sat 1st game 5pm AEDT (Fox) and 2nd game in either Queensland/Alice Springs/Adelaide at 8.20pm AEDT/7.50/7.20/6.50pm local (Fox) gives Foxtel an exclusive Saturday night double header
Sun 1st game 4pm AEDT (Fox) and 2nd game (7/Fox) 7.30pm AEDT. This allows Foxtel to claim they are the only ones where you can watch both Sunday games.

The schedule I would have on a test week;
Mon-Fri one game starting 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox)
Sat 1st game 6.20pm AEDT (Fox) and second game 9.40pm AEDT/6.40pm local
(Fox) in Perth
Sun one game starting 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox)

The regular season should last 5 weeks roughly, finals less than 2 weeks

You lost me the moment you suggested Gold Coast. Terrible idea.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

This is how I'd expand personally, I know this wouldn't happen due to the current TV deal though.

Add one more team for now (Gold Coast)

Have three conferences to somewhat even out the travel load without having a full H&A fixture

Heat, future GC team, Hurricanes

Sixers, Thunder, Scorchers

Renegades, Stars, Strikers

Every team plays within their conference twice and outside their conference once, so that gives every team 10 games (5 home, 5 away), so 45 regular season games all up, but for Tv purposes I'd expand the finals series to get as close to the current TV rights deal of 59 as possible with six finals games to get it to 51 games all up. I would then try to have it 40 games on 7 with double the finals matches as compensation for Seven and 11 games exclusive for Foxtel but promise to schedule more ODI's as compensation for losing 5 exclusive BBL games.

The finals system would be similar to the old VFL/current SANFL system. I'd seed the finalists like this
1st seed: Conference winner with best regular season win-loss-NRR record
2nd seed: Conference winner with second best regular season win-loss-NRR record
3rd seed: Conference winner with third best regular season win-loss-NRR record
4th seed: Non-conference winner with best regular season win-loss-NRR record
5th seed: Non-conference winner with second best regular season win-loss-NRR record

Qualifying finals: 1st seed bye, 2nd seed (home) v 3rd seed (away), 4th seed (home) v 5th seed (away)
Semi finals: 1st seed (home) v winner 2/3 (away) (major semi), loser 2/3 (home) v winner 4/5 (away) (minor semi)
Prelim: major semi winner bye, loser major semi (home) v winner minor semi (away)
Big final major semi winner (home) v prelim winner (away)

As for home/away games I'd have it as (to make the travel load somewhat even):
Scorchers: 5 home games Perth Stadium, two away games in Sydney in one trip, away game in Melbourne and Hobart/Adelaide in one trip, plus one Queensland away game
(so three trips for 5 away games)
Strikers: 4 home Adelaide Oval, one home Alice Springs, 2 away games in Melbourne in one trip, away games in Brisbane/Gold Coast and home game in Alice in one trip, one Sydney and one Hobart or Perth (four trips for 6 interstate games)
Hurricanes: 4 home Bellerive Oval, one home game Launceston, 2 away games in Queensland in one trip, one Sydney, one Melbourne, one Adelaide or Perth (four trips for 5 away games)
Heat: 4 home Gabba, one in Harrup Park, Mackay, one away derby, one Sydney, Adelaide or Perth and Hobart/Melbourne in one trip (three trips for 4 away games)
Future GC team: 4 home Carrara, one in either Oakes Oval, Lismore or CEX, Coffs Harbour, one away derby, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth and
Hobart/Melbourne in one trip (three trips for 4 away games)
Stars: 4 home MCG, one Moe, one away derby, Sydney, Queensland and either Hobart/Alice or Perth/Adelaide (4 trips)
Renegades: 4 home Docklands, one KP, one away derby, Sydney, Queensland and either Hobart/Alice or Perth/Adelaide (4 trips)
Sixers 4 home SCG, 1 home Newcastle, one away derby, Queensland, Perth, either Hobart/Adelaide (4 trips)
Thunder: 4 home Spotless, 1 home Canberra, one away derby, Melbourne, Queensland, Perth, either Hobart/Adelaide (4 trips)

The schedule I would have on non-test weeks;
Mon-Thurs one game starting bang on 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox). This allows 7 to show the first ball on the main channel after one hour news in SA and half hour news in QLD, and more pre-game ads on the main channel in VIC/NSW.
Fri 1st game 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox) for TV consistency and 2nd game in Perth 10.50pm AEDT/7.50pm local (7/Fox) gives TV Friday night double header
Sat 1st game 5pm AEDT (Fox) and 2nd game in either Queensland/Alice Springs/Adelaide at 8.20pm AEDT/7.50/7.20/6.50pm local (Fox) gives Foxtel an exclusive Saturday night double header
Sun 1st game 4pm AEDT (Fox) and 2nd game (7/Fox) 7.30pm AEDT. This allows Foxtel to claim they are the only ones where you can watch both Sunday games.

The schedule I would have on a test week;
Mon-Fri one game starting 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox)
Sat 1st game 6.20pm AEDT (Fox) and second game 9.40pm AEDT/6.40pm local
(Fox) in Perth
Sun one game starting 7.30pm AEDT (7/Fox)

The regular season should last 5 weeks roughly, finals less than 2 weeks

Seems way too convoluted to me given how casual fans are about the competition.