Adelaide Strikers skipper Travis Head says the small crowd for Saturday night’s final against Sydney Thunder was noticeable
Adelaide Strikers played in front of their lowest crowd for the season during Saturday night’s knockout final against the Sydney Thunder. Skipper Travis Head says weather was likely a big factor.
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Adelaide Strikers captain Travis Head concedes Saturday night’s match “didn’t feel like a final” because of the crowd size, but he would not weigh into debate about whether the Big Bash had gone on too long.
The Strikers lost their knockout final to Sydney Thunder in front of just 15,963 people – the team’s smallest home attendance of the season and well short of its 2019/20 Adelaide Oval average of 26,449.
A night earlier, Melbourne Stars’ qualifying final against Sydney Sixers featured a crowd of only 13,275.
There has been some discussion about whether the Big Bash, which has 14 minor rounds, needs to be shortened after attendances dropped noticeably this season.
Head did not comment on the length of the BBL, but said poor weather was among the reasons for Saturday night’s low crowd.
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“We’ve gone from having big crowds in the high 30s (30,000s) and 40s over the year to ... I don’t know how many there were last night, but it didn’t feel like a final,” Head said.
“There was probably a lot of factors in that – the rain, it wasn’t the greatest day.
“I haven’t read too much into it.
“It’s one of those things and I don’t know what we can change.
“The crowd that were here were exceptional, but I think a few got taken away with the weather or whatnot.
“It’s one of those things.”
A day later, a huge crowd of 34,219 turned out at Adelaide Oval to watch the Crows take on Port in the T20 Showdown to raise money for the SA Bushfire Appeal.
Strikers ‘extremely disappointed’ by finals implosion
Head reckons his team would probably win from the position it was in against Sydney Thunder “nine times out of 10”, but instead struggled to handle the pressure of the Big Bash knockout final.
The Strikers looked well placed to progress to the ‘Challenger’ preliminary final when they restricted Sydney Thunder to 7/151 at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night and were 3/115 in reply in the 15th over.
But Alex Carey (28) getting run out changed the game’s momentum.
Rashid Khan and Matt Short both fell for ducks soon after with just two runs being added to the total, before Adelaide ultimately fell eight short.
Head believed the team was “leading up to something really special”, making the loss even more difficult to take.
“I felt like we set the game up and played 85 per cent of the game really, really well so it’s extremely disappointing to be out and be done,” Head said on Sunday, ahead of the T20 Showdown to raise money for the SA Bushfire Appeal.
“The way we were able to start, restricting them to 151 on a cracking wicket, it was a little disappointing to finish the last five overs the way we did.
“I felt like we went from overs six to 13 really, really well and set the game up beautifully.
“At that stage, when you’re three down, you probably win nine times out of 10 but again, T20 cricket, finals cricket, it’s disappointing that the pressure, probably, we couldn’t cope with.
“It’s obviously a missed opportunity.”
Head said Carey’s dismissal was influential, “but we still had the batters behind that to get the job done”.
“He’ll be disappointed not to get the game over the line, but he set the game up beautifully for us to knock them down at the end there and it wasn’t to be,” he said.
Head said the Strikers, who won the BBL07 title two summers ago, would not need to tinker with their squad to challenge again next season.
“We’ve got an amazing group – the last six weeks I’ve been here have been fantastic and so enjoyable,” he said.
“We’ve got the make-up to win titles or push for them at least.
“I 100 per cent believe this is the right group to go forward.”