BBL will not fill void left by Tests
Cricket Australia is resigned to allowing key real estate go to waste because there are no plans in place to create flexibility in scheduling that would allow Big Bash League matches to fill the gaps left by early Test finishes.
All three of the Tests this summer between Australia and Pakistan finished inside four days. While
CA has occasionally in the past had Test cricket go head-tohead with the BBL, it has steered clear of doing so this summer to avoid the possibility of cannibalisation. It is a gamble, though, because when Tests conclude early, lucrative broadcast slots are effectively lost to the ether.
This happened on a Monday night in the middle of last month when the Perth Test ended early, the Saturday afternoon of December 30 that had been reserved for day five of the Boxing Day Test, and the afternoon of Sunday, January 7, which was rendered empty after Australia wrapped up the third Test the previous day.
When the BBL season was wildly disrupted by the pandemic two seasons ago, the governing body was willing to move games at late notice. However, head of Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson said it was too hard to make it a habit.
“The BBL has always managed itself around the international schedule and does a pretty good job of it,” Dobson said. “At the same time, creating too much flexibility in your matches is difficult just because putting on a game of cricket is pretty complex.
“When there is a day-night Test, the Perth Test this year, would have been an example where if you have complete flexibility, maybe you move the game on to day five when the Test finishes early.”