NO EASY TASK TO PREDICT WINNER
The Big Bash has defied a COVID-hit summer to produce one of the most memorable competitions in its history
HOW fitting it is that the wildest and most unpredictable Big Bash season ever is still completely up in the air. Each of the five teams in the finals has a real shot at winning the title and if there’s one thing this extraordinary season has taught us all, it’s that nothing is a sure thing.
It’s still amazing to think that after all the restrictions and border closures and everything else that has resulted from COVID, we have still managed to get through an entire season to reach the business end with no one sure who’s going to win.
There were times, especially early on, when everyone was thinking to themselves, “how can we ever possibly pull this off”, so huge credit has to go to all the players, clubs, Cricket Australia and the countless people behind the scenes who made it happen.
You have to take your hat off to the players for what they’ve done.
To keep it in perspective, they’re the first to admit how lucky they are to be allowed to play cricket and get paid for it when so many other Australians have lost their jobs and may be struggling financially or emotionally.
But that doesn’t mean the players haven’t made huge sacrifices, too.
They have been on the road in biosecurity bubbles for months so haven’t been able to see their own families and friends. That all takes a toll, especially when you think back to the start of the season when they couldn’t even leave their hotels to go to a cafe.
Not only have they bitten their lips and not complained, they have delivered an incredible competition that just keeps getting better and better the longer it goes.
So much for the theory that the BBL should be shortened, because the ratings this season have been through the roof on Fox Cricket.
The players deserve a lot of the credit for that.
Normally, they are allowed to mix with fans after games, signing autographs and posing for photos, but they haven’t been able to this year.
TV has been the only way to connect with fans and the players and coaches have embraced that with open arms by always saying yes to interviews. That’s part of the reason why so many people have been tuning into the Big Bash night after night.
Television and live streaming have never been more important to sport than right now but the broadcasters have had their challenges too, not that you would know it from watching the Fox Sports Big Bash coverage.
I’m going to let you in on a couple of secrets here, but don’t let the sight of Mark Howard’s thongs or Shane Warne’s Peaky Blinders cap or Mike Hussey munching on a sausage roll between overs convince you that everything is smooth sailing behind the cameras. It’s anything but that. Because of the restrictions in crossing borders, a lot of games have been called from studios, which makes it impossible for the on-air commentators to know exactly where the fielders are placed.
So, whenever a batter hits high into the outfield, the callers often have no idea whether the ball is heading to an unguarded boundary rope or straight down the fielder’s throat.
But like the players, you won’t
Thunder fans enjoying their side’s winning form. hear any of the Fox commentators whinge about doing the jobs they love, even though the reality is nothing you see on the screens could have happened without the sacrifices many people have made.
A bit of good humour behind the scenes has helped.
Andrew Symonds just has to walk into the commentary box and I start laughing. He takes his fielding analysis very seriously and although we can make light of it at times, his expert opinion adds a lot to our coverage.
Warne and Mr Cricket (Hussey) are both crazy about SuperCoach. Huss finished 13th overall in the AFL version so he knows what he’s doing. He’s always changing his team right before the start of every game.
Mark Waugh’s dry sense of humour cracks everyone up. He doesn’t sugar-coat things, just calls it as he sees it.
Howard seems to have enjoyed calling from the studio because he doesn’t have to take his thongs off and put proper shoes on. A few others have followed his lead.
On a serious note, like many others working in cricket, a number of people in our Fox team have had to spend the summer away from home.
One of them is the captain of Fox Cricket, Adam Gilchrist. We can’t thank them enough. It really has been a season like no other, but the best is yet to come.