DominantD duo big concern for future
BIG Bash organisers are being forced to analyse the remarkable dominance of the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers and ponder the question – are they too good?
Even if the Brisbane Heat continue their hot streak in Thursday’s elimination final, it doesn’t change the fact that the Scorchers and Sixers are leagues ahead of their rivals when it comes to consistency.
If it was a four-team playoff series – as many feel it should be – the Heat would have missed the cut.
Sydney Thunder were bowled out for 15 during the season, yet finished fourth, in perhaps the most vivid illustration of the gulf between the best and the rest.
The Scorchers have won four Big Bash titles, the Sixers three, and then just one each for the Heat, Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Strikers and the Melbourne Renegades.
Perth, in particular, with a sold-out crowd of 50,000 expected for Saturday’s final at Optus Stadium, is both the BBL’S greatest success and its biggest headache.
“Every league in any sport is underpinned by a sense of competitive balance and the notion that any team could win at the start of any season,” Big Bash boss Alistair Dobson said. “We have a couple of clubs that have been phenomenal in their consistency and record over 12 years. They should be commended for that and from our perspective every other club can continue to aspire to be as successful as those particular teams.
“And at the same time we’d love to see next year all eight teams enter the season with genuine hope of winning it. Because that’s how you get fans interested and involved in the competition.”