Twenty20 was always worth a bash and now it's here to stay in Australia, says Ben Dorries

BEN Dorries says the Big Bash could be on its way to becoming the biggest bash.

Not out more like it. The Big Bash has caught the imagination and looks to be a fixture on the calendar.

THE Big Bash has become the bigger bash and could be on its way to becoming the biggest bash.

Many years after Cricket Australia initially missed the boat with Twenty20 cricket, we finally have a product we can embrace.

The Big Bash is now tracking so superbly it could yet become a serious rival to the Indian Premier League for being the world's benchmark T20 competition.

That can't happen until we somehow clear a path to allow many more of Australia's best and the world's best cricket stars to play in the Big Bash. But where there is a will there is a way, and the skyrocketing popularity and power of the Big Bash is likely to unlock many new doors.

But right at this minute, we should simply appreciate what we've got.

News_Image_File: These sort of shenanigans are just what the Big Bash has evolved from.

No longer do we need past-it former cricket celebrities like Shane Warne to throw away the TV makeup and roll over the arm in a desperate bid to get bums on seats and boost broadcast audiences.

No longer do we need crazy gimmicks and innovations every five seconds to generate interest (note to Channel 10: we really don't need your silly Million Dollar Six competition).

This competition can now stand on its own two feet, with some of the world's best short-form cricketers strutting their stuff at ideal festive season viewing times in front of ever-growing commercial TV audiences.

It has been a long courtship but Australians have now fallen in love the Big Bash, with outstanding TV ratings figures from the first round of BBL matches having Channel 10 and CA executives high-fiving in the streets.

The Big Bash might be all about fun but the cricket itself has become a fabulous product.

News_Rich_Media: An incredible knock from Chris Lynn has rescued the Brisbane Heat in a thrilling rematch from last season's Big Bash League grand final - the Scorchers left devastated.

Anyone who watched the big hitting frenzies from Adelaide's English import Alex Hales or Brisbane's Chris Lynn would have been glued to their TV sets.

And what about the ageless Brad Hogg and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralidaran showing they won't be overshadowed by much younger men?

Speaking of younger men, up-and-coming NSW batsman Nic Maddinson produced an exhilarating knock that showed national selectors have it right when they earmarked him as an Australian player of the future.

There will be some dud games, but the general quality of the Big Bash competition is now so high that it has become a tremendous breeding ground for Australian ODI and T20 players of the future. Don't be surprised if plenty of short-form future Australian stars are plucked from the Big Bash without having played much first-class cricket.

News_Rich_Media: Brad Hogg turned back the clock playing for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, out-smarting his younger opponents with his wily bowling skills.

The Ashes has been tremendous but the biggest bonus for the Big Bash is the amount of people in pubs and clubs talking about the next T20 game.

Twenty20 cricket was once virtually ignored by Cricket Australia and thought of by many others as a fly-by-night fad.

But it is here to stay.

In non-Ashes summers when lesser ranked nations like New Zealand, the West Indies or Sri Lanka tour, the Big Bash will be the No.1 meal ticket for Australian cricket fans to get their teeth into. And it's a tasty feast indeed.