KFC Big Bash T20 league
The Big Bash League (BBL, also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons) is an Australian domestic Twenty-20 cricket tournament, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty-20 Big Bash, and features eight city-based franchises instead of the six state teams which had participated previously. The competition has been sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC since its inception.
BBL matches are played in Australia during the summer in the months of December and January. It is now placed eighth in the list of most attended sports leagues in the world with respect to average crowd per match (2015–16 season).
Out of the eight teams in the tournament, four have won the title at least once. The Perth Scorchers are the most successful team in the league's short history, winning the title consecutively for two years and have reached the final of the tournament in four of the five seasons. The other three teams which have won the title are Sydney Sixers, Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder.
Earlier, the top two teams in the tournament used to qualify for the Champions League Twenty-20 tournament. It was an annual international Twenty20 competition played between the top domestic teams from various nations. However, the CLT20 has now become defunct from 2015 on-wards.
Trophy:-
A design contest was held in 2011 to determine the design of the Big Bash League trophy. The competition was restricted to Australian designers, with the final design, chosen by the public from a field of three, revealed on 13 December 2011.
Expansion Proposal:-
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| Perth Scorchers taking on Hobart Hurricanes at #TheFurnace in 2011 |
It had been proposed that the tournament would undergo expansion into more regional areas not supported by international cricket. The expansion was planned to be implemented in 2012. The proposed teams included: Newcastle, Canberra, Gee long, and the Gold Coast. A New Zealand-based team was also mentioned as a possibility which would be based at Auckland or Christchurch.Cricket expert Mark Waugh commented on Fox Sports that an expansion could dilute the player pool resulting in a sub-standard league.The expansion proposal was eventually dumped, mainly because the proposed cities lacked the proper cricket hosting facilities.
In 2015, former Black Caps captain and Melbourne Stars coach Stephen Fleming suggested expansion of the tournament to include New Zealand teams and become a trans-Tasman competition. He said an expansion into New Zealand would be widely supported by locals.His views were also supported by Brisbane Heat coach and former Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori Melbourne Renegades chief executive Stuart Coventry also stated that he wants Cricket Australia to grant each club a fifth home fixture next season. Coventry said the BBL was ready to expand from 8 to 10 games, and adding matches would further establish the franchises.
In 2016, Anthony Everard, head of the BBL, flagged the league's intentions to approach expansion through a soft launch. He stated the short to medium term goal was to schedule BBL games involving existing franchises in regional markets before likely adding new teams after the 2017/18 season when the current broadcast deal expires. He also indicated the regional markets of Canberra, Gee long and the Gold Coast will likely host games during the soft launch period.
Tournament format
Since the inception of the BBL in 2011, the tournament has followed the same format every year except the inaugural season.The first BBL season had 28 group stage matches, before expanding to 32 in the following season.
Currently in the eight team format, each team plays every other team at least once during a season.
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| Ben Cutting of Brisbane Heat batting against Melbourne Stars in 2014 |
However, each team is also assigned a particular "rival" with which they play for the second time in the same season. The assigned 'rival' for a team does not change generally in different seasons. Cross-town teams such as Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars have been assigned as "rivals" to each other. This allows BBL to have 2 Melbourne derbies as well as 2 Sydney derbies within a single season.
The group stage matches are divided into 8 rounds, with 4 matches played in each round. Each team plays 8 group stage matches, four at home and four away, before the top 4 ranked teams progress to the Semi Finals. The Final of the tournament is played at the home ground of the highest-ranked team. The only exception to this rule was 2014–15 season when the final was played at a neutral venue (Manuka Oval).
Thus, the total number of matches during a season tally up to 35, with 32 group stage matches and 3 knock out matches.
Current teams
The competition features eight city-based franchises, instead of the six state-based teams which had previously competed in the KFC Twenty-20 Big Bash. Each state's capital city features one team, with Sydney and Melbourne featuring two. The team names and colours for all teams were officially announced on 6 April 2011.The Melbourne Derby and Sydney Derby matches are some of the most heavily attended matches during the league and are widely anticipated by the fans.[23] The Scorchers and Sixers have also developed a rivalry between them over the years and their matches attract good crowds and TV ratings.
As of now, a single city-based franchise can have a maximum of 18 contracted players for a season. Each team should have a minimum of two rookie contracts and a maximum of two overseas players in the squad. Each team can also have a maximum of two overseas replacement players, in case the original overseas players get injured or withdraw due to particular reasons
Tournament results
Out of the eight teams in the tournament, four have won the title at least once. The Perth Scorchers are the most successful team in the league's history, winning the title consecutively for two seasons in 2013–14 and 2014–15.They also hold the record for reaching the final of the tournament in the first four consecutive seasons, with only one other team reaching the final twice.The other three teams which have won the title are the Sydney Sixers in the inaugural season (2011–12), the Brisbane Heat in the second season (2012–13) and the Sydney Thunder in 2015-16.
The WACA Ground has hosted the final on three occasions, more than any other venue. In fact, the final of the 2014–15 BBL season would have also been hosted by WACA Ground if it was awarded to the home ground of the highest-ranked team, as in previous seasons. However, Manuka Oval was awarded the rights to host the final of 2014–15 BBL season as a neutral venue.
| Season | Final | Final host | Final venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||
| 2011–12 | Sydney Sixers 158/3 (18.5 overs) | Sixers won by 7 wickets | Perth Scorchers 156/5 (20 overs) | Perth Scorchers | WACA Ground |
| 2012–13 | Brisbane Heat 167/5 (20 overs) | Heat won by 34 runs | Perth Scorchers 133/9 (20 overs) | Perth Scorchers | WACA Ground |
| 2013–14 | Perth Scorchers 191/4 (20 overs) | Scorchers won by 39 runs | Hobart Hurricanes 152/7 (20 overs) | Perth Scorchers | WACA Ground |
| 2014–15 | Perth Scorchers 148/6 (20 overs) | Scorchers won by 4 wickets | Sydney Sixers 147/5 (20 overs) | Neutral Venue | Manuka Oval |
| 2015–16 | Sydney Thunder 181/7 (19.3 overs) | Thunder won by 3 wickets | Melbourne Stars 176/9 (20 overs) | Melbourne Stars | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Note: WACA= Western Australian Cricket Association
Team performances
| Team | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Strikers | 6th | 5th | 7th | SF (1st) | SF (1st) |
| Brisbane Heat | 5th | W (4th) | 5th | 8th | 6th |
| Hobart Hurricanes | SF (2nd) | 6th | R (4th) | 5th | 7th |
| Melbourne Renegades | 7th | SF (1st) | 6th | 6th | 5th |
| Melbourne Stars | SF (4th) | SF (3rd) | SF (1st) | SF (3rd) | R (2nd) |
| Perth Scorchers | R (1st) | R (2nd) | W (3rd) | W (2nd) | SF (3rd) |
| Sydney Sixers | W (3rd) | 7th | SF (2nd) | R (4th) | 8th |
| Sydney Thunder | 8th | 8th | 8th | 7th | W (4th) |
Notes:
- W = Winner; R = Runner-up; SF = Semifinalist
- (x) = End of league games table position
Salary cap and Contracting Period
The Big Bash League's salary cap was $1.05 million for the third season, a $50,000 increase from the two previous seasons,which were played under a salary cap of $1 million.In February 2015, BBL salary cap increased to $1.30 million for the fifth season of BBL.
Currently, the salary cap has increased to $1.40 million, an increase of $100,000 compared to previous season. Under $1.40 million salary cap, a team can sign a total of 18 contracted players consisting of a minimum of 2 rookie contracts and maximum of 2 overseas players. In addition, 2 overseas replacement players can also be signed by a team.
| Contracting Details (per team) | |
| Retainer Pool Amount (excluding superannuation) | $1.40 million |
| Number of Contracts | 18 |
| Number of Rookie Contracts | 2 |
| Maximum Overseas Players in squad of 18 | 2 |
| Maximum Replacement Overseas Players | 2 |
Key dates:-
The key dates for the sixth season during the contracting period are as follows.
- January 27 – Contracting start date
- January 27 to February 26 – First Trade period (During this period, BBL clubs are allowed to trade contracted players to another club at any stage of their contract)
- July 1 – BBL Round 1 contracting date (At this time, all BBL clubs must have contracted a minimum of 10 players)
- November 14 to November 18 – Second Trade period (During this period, BBL clubs are allowed to trade contracted players to another club at any stage of their contract)
- December 2 – Contracting end date (At this time, all clubs must have completed their 18-player squads, including the Community and Development Rookie contracts)
- December 6 – Supplementary list end date
Prize money
Cricket Australia increased the prize money for the BBL to a total of $890,000 for the four finalists from 2015–16 season, after the Champions League Twenty-20 tournament was discontinued with effect from 2015. The prize money will be split between the teams as follows:
- $20,000 – To the team finishing fifth in the season
- $80,000 – To each losing semi-finalist
- $260,000 – To the Runner up
- $450,000 – To the Champion of the season
However, the additional cash increase of $600,000 will go to successful clubs and not their players. Up to the 2014–15 BBL season, a total prize money of $290,000 was awarded.
Audience
| Team | Crowd average | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015-16 | |||||
| Adelaide Strikers | 21,986 | 13,319 | 23,703 | 36,023 | 42,437 | ||||
| Brisbane Heat | 17,072 | 15,897 | 23,685 | 24,611 | 29,353 | ||||
| Hobart Hurricanes | 10,517 | 12,107 | 9,552 | 13,776 | 16,640 | ||||
| Melbourne Renegades | 13,324 | 13,184 | 21,929 | 22,324 | 29,010 | ||||
| Melbourne Stars | 27,424 | 21,451 | 21,813 | 27,698 | 40,986 | ||||
| Perth Scorchers | 14,905 | 11,539 | 17,380 | 18,825 | 20,273 | ||||
| Sydney Sixers | 20,068 | 13,286 | 19,914 | 23,849 | 27,956 | ||||
| Sydney Thunder | 18,423 | 10,278 | 14,866 | 17,938 | 19,333 | ||||
| Finals | 15,222 | 17,568 | 15,286 | 27,920 | 42,182 | ||||
| Whole season | 18,021 | 14,883 | 18,778 | 23,590 | 29,443 | ||||
Television
Australian television
BBL games are currently broadcast in Australia by the free-to-air Network Ten. In 2013 Ten paid $100 million for BBL rights over five years, marking the channel's first foray in elite cricket coverage.Fox Sports had previously covered the T20 Big Bash League.
Network Ten's BBL coverage has become a regular feature of Australian summers and attracted an average audience of more than 943,000 people nationally in 2014–15 season, including a peak audience of 1.9 million viewers for the final between the Scorchers and Sixers.
The 2015–16 season attracted an average audience of 1.13 million for each match in Australia this season, an 18% increase on the previous season. A cumulative audience of 9.65 million watched the matches in Australia, out of which 39% where females.The opening Sydney Derby match of the season attracted a peak audience of 1.53 million.The last group match between Renegades and Strikers in Session 2 was watched by an average audience of 1.36 million, which peaked at 1.67 million.The BBL Final was watched by an average audience of 1.79 million, which peaked at 2.24 million viewers. This was the first time that the ratings for a BBL match crossed the 2 million mark.
International broadcast partners
| Territory | Network |
|---|---|
 Australia | Network Ten (2013–present) Fox Sports (2011–13) |
 New Zealand | Sky Sport |
 Bangladesh | STAR Sports |
 Pakistan | PTV Sports |
 South Africa | Super Sport |
 India | STAR Sports |
 Sri Lanka | STAR Sports |
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
 United States | Willow |
Grounds
A total of 10 grounds have been used to host BBL matches till date. Sydney Thunder moved out of ANZ Stadium after 2014–15 season and relocated to Spotless Stadium for the next 10 years. The Final of the tournament is played at the home ground of the highest-ranked team. #TheFurnace has hosted the final thrice, more than any other venue.Manuka Oval hosted the final of 2014–15 BBL season as a neutral venue primarily because other major grounds were being prepared for the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
Perth Stadium will replace #TheFurnace as the home ground of Perth Scorchers starting from 2018–19. Main reasons behind the move are poor facilities at the ground as well as low spectator capacity.
| Name of the stadium | Capacity | City | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Grounds | |||
| Adelaide Oval | 53,583 | Adelaide | Adelaide Strikers |
| Blundstone Arena | 19,500 | Hobart | Hobart Hurricanes |
| Etihad Stadium | 53,359 | Melbourne | Melbourne Renegades |
| WACA Ground | 20,000 | Perth | Perth Scorchers |
| The Gabba | 42,000 | Brisbane | Brisbane Heat |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground | 100,024 | Melbourne | Melbourne Stars |
| Spotless Stadium | 22,000 | Sydney | Sydney Thunder |
| Sydney Cricket Ground | 48,000 | Sydney | Sydney Sixers |
| Proposed Grounds | |||
| Perth Stadium | 60,000 | Perth | Perth Scorchers |
| Former Grounds | |||
| ANZ Stadium | 82,000 | Sydney | Sydney Thunder (2011–2015) |
| Manuka Oval | 12,000 | Canberra | Neutral Venue (BBL 04 Final) |
Records and statistics
Main article: List of Big Bash League records and statistics
Melbourne Renegades captain and opening batsman Michael Klinger currently holds the record of scoring most runs in the league. He has played 41 matches in the BBL so far, starting from 2011.[1] The record of taking most wickets in the league belongs to Ben Laughlin, who currently plays for Adelaide Strikers. He has represented Hobart Hurricanes in the past, and has played a total of 43 BBL matches since 2011.
Last updated on 24 January 2016
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