It’s our chance to bat

IN just seven seasons the Big Bash has become as much a part of summer as beach cricket or rolling your arm over in the backyard.

There are no signs the popularity of the BBL is slowing and it has quickly bolted down a place on Australia’s summer sporting calendar.

Its winning recipe of nonstop action and a family friendly atmosphere backed by a nightly diet of fun, free-to-air TV has seen attendances soar.

Now it’s time for Geelong to take its turn at bat and we simply must make a stand.

Tonight’s Big Bash doubleheader is a coup for the city and everything about this event feels right. It’s a great attraction at peak tourist season, it’s a welcome use of a state-of-the-art stadium and it builds on Geelong’s proud legacy of excellence in elite sport.

But there will still be a few nervous onlookers in the stands.

One day, Geelong would like to have a BBL franchise. While expansion talks are on the backburner, there is a fine case for a team to play out of this city.

In the meantime, Geelong needs to secure a regular place on the BBL fixture — and we must earn it. We need to show that we not only have the amenities and the capacity to stage the game but that people will back it with bums on seats.

Last year’s average Big Bash crowd was a stunning 30,114, up from 18,021 in its inaugural year.

Only the Hobart Hurricanes, with an average crowd of 17,570 last season, have a regular attendance of fewer than 20,000. That sets the bar for Geelong, which must show that this one-off match can better the average attendance at Hobart, Perth Scorchers (20,567) and Sydney Thunder (20,688).

Spectators will be in for a double treat as the best female player in the game, Ellyse Perry, will play in the curtain-raiser before Aaron Finch and his Renegades take on the Sydney Sixers in the main event.

Kardinia Park’s capacity tonight is 29,000 and organisers are optimistic about coming close to filling it.

If we do, the city will most definitely be the winner.