“It’s started to drag too long”: Players pushing for BBL to be shortened

Perth Scorchers paceman Jason Behrendorff says there was a sense among Australian cricketers that the BBL had begun to “drag too long” going into this summer.

With Cricket Australia having extended the format ahead of three of the previous four seasons, there has been a perceptible sense of fatigue in players and fans late in seasons.

Behrendorff was asked on SEN Breakfast on Thursday morning how he believes the administrators could tinker with the league for the better.

“How long have we got?” he laughed.

“There’s always ways you can look to improve things. Every year, we get asked by our players’ association what we think worked and what didn’t.

“Those are the things we can hopefully continue to push to Cricket Australia, and say ‘as players we feel this is working or this is not working.’

“At the end of the day it’s a partnership between Cricket Australia, and we want to be involved and make sure we’re producing the best product possible.”

The left-armer says the veterans of the format feel protective of the competition they have spent more than a decade building.

“It’s something that we’ve worked so hard for,” he emphasised.

“The BBL is in its 11th season and it’s such a prime product, and one that we love playing in.

“You chat to the internationals who come out and play in the Big Bash, and they have an absolutely amazing time playing in it as well.

“Things have been a bit more restricted with the way COVID is at the moment, but generally when you come to Australia.

“Especially the Poms, they absolutely love it. They get down to the beach, they roast themselves, they have a great time.

“It’s a super tournament, so we want to do everything we can to make it as strong and as appealing for everyone as possible.”

The three-time BBL champion says the primary concern on the players’ part has been the length of the competition.

In 2017-18 the tournament was extended to 40 games, an extra two per team, and in 201819 it was stretched out to 56 games, which amounted to 14 per team.

The following year saw the finals format extended, and the tournament ran into February for a fourth consecutive season.

By that point, the players had begun to push back, having noticed the impact on crowds and general enthusiasm for the competition, so this summer’s tournament will wrap up on January 28.

“The main thing we’ve spoken a bit about, and it’s started to come down a bit already, is just the timing of it,” Behrendorff revealed.

“The complaints over the past couple of years have been that it’s started to drag too long, and the big thing for me was having kids and understanding how the schooling timetable works again.

“You want to have your finals before school goes back, because that’s when you’re going to get the bigger crowds, that’s when all the kids can still come.

“Parents are more reluctant to send their kids to games when they’ve got school the next day. So that’s something that has changed.”

Behrendorff’s Scorchers sit seven points clear at the top of the BBL table, though no other team has played as many as their 12 games owing to COVID interruptions.

They next take on the last-placed Strikers from 10:40am tomorrow at the Adelaide Oval.