COAST TURNS UP THE HEAT
BIG Bash favouriite Chriis Lynn and the Briisbane Heat are rariing to bllast on to Metriicon Stadiium..
THE Gold Coast makes its Big Bash League debut tonight, with fans getting set for a big couple of weeks of live cricket at Carrara.
Around 17,000 people are expected at Metricon Stadium tonight to watch the Brisbane Heat take on the Hobart Hurricanes.
More than 13,000 tickets had been sold by yesterday, with organisers expecting plenty of last minute sales at the box office.
Even bigger crowds are expected on New Year’s Day when the Heat return to the Gold Coast to take on the Sydney Sixers.
Brisbane Heat captain Chris Lynn said he was excited about playing on the Gold Coast.
“We played a practice game about a week and a half ago and it is a different wicket. It wasn’t what I was expecting but that’s what practice games are for, you do your homework and I think we’ll be slightly more prepared than the Hobart Hurricanes,” he said.
BBL will become a regular fixture on the Gold Coast calendar, with officials signing off on two Brisbane Heat matches to be held at Metricon each year.
Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said the competition had a positive impact on the economy and had the potential to attract visitors to the region.
“When there’s a cluster of events on the calendar it absolutely gives people new reasons and enthusiasm to come to the Gold Coast and stay here and fall in love with it again,” Ms Battista said.
Cricket Australia has not ruled out holding more major cricket events on the Gold Coast if ticket sales go well.
“We’ve jumped all in, so we’re really pushing it and seeing what the response is from the public. Hopefully they really show support because if they do, we’ll keep bringing cricket,” BBL head Kim McConnie said.
“There’s such an appetite on the Gold Coast for cricket and if you think about just how much this population swells during summer time — we’re talking not just to Gold Coast locals but also across Australia.”
The city’s first chance to prove itself came at last month’s Twenty20 International between Australia and South Africa, which suffered setbacks on the night due to storms. South Africa ended up with a 21-run victory in a game that was reduced to an entertaining 10 overs a side.
Queensland Cricket’s Pete Lock said organisers were pleased with the results.
“We were really happy with presage tickets — we had 15,000 sold and 12,000 through the gates which indicates that a lot of people didn’t show up because of the bad weather so we didn’t get the walk-up crowd that you’d expect from a game like this, which would have got us towards 18,000 or 19,000,” he said.
WE’VE JUMPED ALL IN, SO WE’RE REALLY PUSHING IT AND SEEING WHAT THE RESPONSE IS FROM THE PUBLIC
BBL HEAD KIM MCCONNIE
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