Bash and crash?
Fewer stars and a longer season may hurt BBL
THE Twenty20 Big Bash League kicks off on Wednesday and for cricket lovers our summer evenings are spent glued to the television sets to catch a piece of the action.
The BBL has been a big success and has undoubtedly brought a whole new audience to the game.
This year the series has been stretched out by adding more games (59 in total) and extending the series into mid-February.
I have great concerns that we may be cooking the goose that laid the golden egg.
The format is exciting and great to watch, but how much is too much?
When does saturation start turning people off the product?
Extending the series and subsequently having the finals once school has started back is a dangerous risk to take.
It has been a great spectacle until now, and ideally placed in the Christmas/New Year period.
The other factor administrators may have overlooked is the availability and willingness of the big international stars to be involved this summer and into the future.
The big-name international players will go to the highest bidders and more money is on offer in other worldwide T20 events happening around the same time frame.
Sadly, for some of those players, the UAE T20 series, where AB de Villiers, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard had signed on, was recently cancelled as organisers had troubles selling ownership to the teams.
The Bangladesh Premier League, rescheduled for January, will most likely benefit from this cancellation as these players will take the big cash on offer as opposed to playing in our Big Bash.
The earnings are doubled and in some cases tripled, therefore our product is less attractive.
We are now signing lesser-known players without the genuine “wow” factor.
The overall brand and product may suffer as a result. The international players have said: “The BBL is great, but it goes for too long and the cash is minimal compared with other T20 competitions.”
This year’s team list management has been interesting, with many players retired or told their services are no longer required.
Many local players have changed teams for greater playing opportunities or more cash.
Some exciting young players have been signed and all is in readiness for Wednesday night when the Brisbane Heat hosts the Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba.
Melbourne Stars have had a real shake-up, with overseas Stars Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright moved out as they search for the ultimate success, after a horrible series last summer, finishing last.
Stephen Fleming is an experienced, successful coach but he and list manager Trent Woodhill will be under the microscope.
Dwayne Bravo has moved across town from the Renegades and will need to light up the MCG if the Stars are to improve.
Keep an eye on new overseas signing Sandeep Lamichhane, from Nepal, who will bamboozle many unsuspecting batsmen with his hardto-read leg-breaks and wrong’uns.
Nic Maddinson was the big recruit from the Sydney Sixers but sadly he broke his arm last week in Shield cricket and will miss most if not all of this series.
The Melbourne Renegades were my tip to win last year’s tournament but stumbled in the semi-final in Adelaide.
They will be keen to make amends.
Afghanistan finger spinner Mohammad Nabi was an excellent recruit last season and returns to Marvel Stadium, while a pair of relatively unknown left-arm quicks in Usman Khan Shinwari (Pakistan) and Harry Gurney, from county cricket in England, will be worth watching for what impact they can make.
Some veterans in legend Brad Hodge and Brad Hogg have hung up the boots and James Pattinson has taken a fresh start with Brisbane Heat.
Recruits, albeit old heads in allrounder Daniel Christian and legspinner Cameron Boyce, will add some experience to a team that also has three exciting Victorian youngsters on its list in Will Sutherland, Zac Evans and Mackenzie Harvey.
Expect the red team to figure in finals action again.
Sydney Sixers do not look strong on paper, with the departures of Maddinson and also Jackson Bird back to the Stars. They will be the underdogs and will hope Englishman Joe Denly, a prolific T20 run-scorer back home, posts big scores.
Sydney Thunder have invested in England captain Joe Root and gun keeper/batsman Jos Buttler for the first half of the series to be replaced by Englishmen Chris Jordan and Kiwi Anton Devcich, both competitive allrounders but economy class signings.
Thunder will rely again on veterans Shane Watson to make runs and leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed to take wickets if they are to figure in finals action.
Adelaide Strikers were astute in retaining star spinner Rashid Khan and left-hand batsman Colin Ingram as their two overseas players.
Travis Head will miss most of the BBL due to Test duties, so the captaincy may fall to Ingram or maybe to local hero Jake Lehmann.
Peter Siddle was a surprise last season and will lead them with the ball again alongside the BBL’s leading wicket-taker in Ben Laughlin.
With some exciting talent on the list, expect the Strikers to be around the mark.
Perth Scorchers’ captain last year is now their coach — Adam Voges.
They have a stable list and have been regular grand finalists. Justin Langer has been the mastermind of culture in WA, so it will be interesting to see how they move forward.
Hobart Hurricanes were the surprise finalists last season, with Jofra Archer their star recruit with the ball. Archer is back but fellow overseas fast bowler Tymal Mills must improve if they are to threaten again. Johan Botha joins them now as a local player with Australian citizenship.
James Faulkner returns home after hitting a wall at the Stars and must recapture his form. Faulkner is the forgotten man of Australian cricket.
Brisbane Heat has been disappointing but always threatens with an ageing Brendon McCullum at the helm. Chris Lynn is its main man and the cleanest striker of the ball in the country.
Victorian Pattinson will look to relaunch his career via the Heat in this campaign.