Big Bash Will Run 20 December - 15 February

[Tulip]

The brains trust down at Cricket Aus have decided to run the competition until the middle of February.

In a year where we are being humiliated at the Ashes, and then host them 6 months later, we're going to have every domestic cricketer available playing toy cricket.

Where the **** is the next generation meant to be drafted from?

At this rate, with Sutherland in the helm, we may as well pack up the test team and play hit and giggle.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

The brains trust down at Cricket Aus have decided to run the competition until the middle of February.

In a year where we are being humiliated at the Ashes, and then host them 6 months later, we're going to have every domestic cricketer available playing toy cricket.

Where the **** is the next generation meant to be drafted from?

At this rate, with Sutherland in the helm, we may as well pack up the test team and play hit and giggle.

Great that will bring in the kiddies! Maybe CA have given up on test cricket as a prospect. What a demeaning summer it is going to be for the sport in this country.

At least, we'll get to watch some real test match batting from England, it's not going to come from anywhere else.

 

[Torz]

Starts on my birthday.

 

[bird_man]

I enjoy the Big Bash but it only needs to go for 4 weeks tops, everyone plays each other once then finals.

 

[Tulip]

I enjoy the Big Bash but it only needs to go for 4 weeks tops, everyone plays each other once then finals.

Exactly. Make it a 2.5 week carnival as a break from the SS.

 

[iDon]

Money talks unfortunately. But would've thought a competitive test team for 5 tests would make more money then the big bash.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

The first (and only, a balls-up in itself) tour game in South Africa starts on Feb 5. So, once again, a touring squad for a tour held in the Australian summer will be picked with no recent First class form. A month for those who play the Sydney Test, a few weeks longer for those who don't.

 

[Cricket Brain]

It's an absolute joke that they have actually expanded the tournament. Yes, the delay of the start until 20th December is a positive so at least the Sheffield Shield can run up until then. Nonetheless it still means there will be no 4 day cricket for around two months. The preparation for the tour to South Africa will be T20s considering the first test starts on the 12th of February.

The gap between the final group game on the 26th of January and the semi finals on the 7th/8th February is ridiculous. By the looks of it they want the BBL players to be available for the T20 internationals against England, but it means the BBL drags on for another pointless two or so weeks.

I understand that people like the BBL and there is definitely a place for it in the cricketing calendar. It should really just be played over a four week period in January. This would mean the Sheffield Shield would only miss the fifth test, and it would allow one round of matches to be played before the tests against South Africa starts. If this type of governance by Cricket Australia keeps up, we'll only be ranked ahead of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in tests, and the real form of cricket will lose a lot of popularity in this country.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

I enjoy the Big Bash but it only needs to go for 4 weeks tops, everyone plays each other once then finals.

That's what it did. The Big Bash took up Jan and a small bit of Feb when it was a state comp and they only played each other once - maybe teams played one other team twice. It was a genuinely good comp.

 

[frankrizzo]

Reality is for us this is going to be a cricket year from hell, for CA this has been and will be a great year, plenty of money from tv deals and the big bash has got free to air coverage on a youth friendly network.

Wet dream for sutherland and co, test cricket isn't dying under this lot it's being murdered.

 

[TassieEagle]

I certainly won't be going to any matches this year. The best part of summer and arguably when the better pitches would be produced are being used for hitngiggle. That should help our struggling batsmen.

 

[damochandler]

people were over it by week 2 of the comp last year and it went on for another month. cricket australia are a clueless bunch

 

[Doodlesweaver]

I think this is leading to less first class matches. Within a couple of years, the Shield will be 8 first class matches a summer. They don't make any money so CA must be getting really suspicious of them.

I wish Warner would try and smack Sutherland around the head.

 

[Bucking Beads]

I love the concept but they needed to shorten the tournament not spread it out over a longer period.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

Cricket Australia are the stupidest bunch of morons ever to run the sport,

Literary one day after one of our worst defeats this happens.

 

[Outshined]

2 months of Big Bash is pure idiocy. It's a similar situation to the glut of ODIs we used to have in the months post-test series, people grow tired of having the same thing over and over again. I don't see why it can't be a quick tournament lasting a month at most (preferably shorter). The only small plus I can see is that we'll at least have players in the Shield for the first few tests.

There must be something I'm missing here, because it seems obvious to all and sundry (the public and cricket writers alike) that this isn't a good idea. Is cricket in Australia really that strapped for cash that we need to prolong a meaningless T20 tournament to sustain it?

 

[happy_eagle]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/story/654113.html
Very well written piece highlighted the stupidity of CA

 

[red+black]

R.I.P. Test Cricket

 

[Outshined]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/story/654113.html
Very well written piece highlighted the stupidity of CA

That's brilliant.

Pity no one from CA will read it.

 

[Tulip]

They didn't want to put the money and effort into making SS watchable, and rather scrapped enemy lines and started it all again. I used to love the Bushrangers 20 over games. Why they couldn't have kept with the states, I'll never know.

 

[Badesumofu]

Yeah, that Coverdale article nails it. Shocking that they put out a press release like that mere hours after such a shameful loss.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I think this is leading to less first class matches. Within a couple of years, the Shield will be 8 first class matches a summer. They don't make any money so CA must be getting really suspicious of them.

If they mess with the Shield and make it shorter I won't ever spend another dime on the cricket ever again. What a farce this admin is.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Yeah, that Coverdale article nails it. Shocking that they put out a press release like that mere hours after such a shameful loss.

To be fair, the CA publicists probably aren't following the Ashes now that Warner isn't playing.

 

[The 27th Jesus]

Get your ass out of the game James Sutherland...20/20 is an awful excuse for a mode of cricket dumb cricketers doing dumb things for extra coin we don't need anymore of it.

 

[Nostradumbass]

All that's left now is a tippity comp with an automatic keeper.