Expansion of the Big Bash robs competition of its special quality
The “snap and crackle” of the Big Bash in previous seasons was tone perfect so why even mess with it, asks Robert Craddock.
Cricket
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They say you should never weaken a strength to strengthen a weakness but Big Bash bosses could not help but have a peep into their neighbour’s backyard.
The start of the Big Bash’s wobbles can be traced back to the decision to expand the competition by 16 games and take it deep into February because of the fear the AFL was taking over this month with its women’s league and generally claiming cricket grounds for too much of the year.
It’s an understandable urge.
The Big Bash was flying yet cricket’s wings were being clipped at the same time.
Cricket was getting bigger yet feeling smaller. Yet the expansion undermined the essence of what made the Big Bash special — its snap and crackle and the breathless format of a league which moved so quickly if you blinked you might miss a six or even the competition itself.
So short and tight was the competition that everyone seemed to be alive and kicking in the last week, unlike Friday’s basically meaningless clash at the Gabba between two of the competition’s biggest drawcards — the Brisbane Heat and Perth Scorchers.
Big Bash officials say you cannot insist their season is too long when you compare it to the NRL and AFL but this is a poor comparison.
The AFL and NRL competitions are the “big shows’’ in their sport. The Big Bash isn’t — not on a world scale or even locally. And the footy codes have a rest in the middle of the week to allow anticipation to build for the weekend while the Big Bash grinds on night after night.
In a column written for News Corp on July 18, Adam Gilchrist subtly forecast every one of this season’s challenges — from getting overseas stars to play in an expanded league, to the declining standard that could result from their absence to a potential February drop-off in crowds.
Having Chris Lynn earn more money in one Indian Premier League stint ($1.86 million) than the entire Brisbane Heat squad are paid under the salary cap ($1.7 million) is a fact of life the Big Bash has learnt to live with.
But the deal that really hurt was when almost every Big Bash franchise courted South African superstar AB de Villiers and he decided in a heartbeat to play in the Bangladesh Premier League instead because he can earn twice as much money ($450,000) for staying half as long.
The appeal of the Big Bash, with superstars Shane Warne, Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen playing, initially drew players for average money because they loved Australia and just wanted to be part of the experience.
But the world has changed even since then.
As Bob Dylan once crooned, money doesn’t talk, it swears. The Big Bash needs to expand its salary cap — or shorten its format — otherwise it will be bashed itself.
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Originally published as Expansion of the Big Bash robs competition of its special quality