Big Bash League’s best players to play more next season but no expansion planned

AUSTRALIA’S Big Bash superstars will be free to play most of next season under a proposed shake-up of the cricket calendar. Plus! Sam Landsberger goes head-to-head with BBL boss Kim McConnie.

Aaron Finch in action for Melbourne Renegades.

AUSTRALIA’S Big Bash superstars will be free to play most of next season under a proposed major shake-up of the cricket calendar.

Next summer’s main white-ball series against South Africa is slated for October and November, which would help to eradicate most of the clashes with BBL games that have long compromised the league.

The reshuffle would mean one-day international and T20 stars Aaron Finch, Cameron White, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, AJ Tye and Travis Head could play more BBL games and help their club’s assaults on the trophy.

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There was also the strong likelihood Cricket Australia would flood next summer with an extra 16 BBL games, creating a full home-and-away fixture in the first season of a new broadcast deal.

BBL boss Kim McConnie told the Herald Sun “we don’t have the answer yet for next season”, but the ICC futures program reveals a window for the BBL to shine.

McConnie also revealed:

Aaron Finch in action for the Melbourne Renegades.

Marcus Stoinis in action for Melbourne Stars.

EXPANSION was “a long away off” with no new franchises to be considered for multiple years.

NO BBL club has shown any interest in throwing Chris Gayle a lifeline.

CHRISTMAS Day cricket was no certainty to occur.

CRICKET Australia was “really comfortable” one-town franchises were not manipulating the salary cap by bundling BBL and Sheffield Shield contracts.

Next summer Australia is set to host India in a four-match Test series in December, Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series in January and Sri Lanka for three ODI matches in January.

A day-night January Test would block out at least four nights of BBL matches.

But there are no international T20 games scheduled after the white-ball series against South Africa, which will launch the summer of cricket.

That means the BBL guns are likely to only be called away for the January ODI series against Sri Lanka.

David Warner in action against England.

Australia then travels to India for a white-ball tournament in February. Exact dates for the summer are yet to be confirmed.

McConnie said CA was exploring whether to add extra games to next summer’s BBL.

“We’re already starting to look at some of the data to say, ‘Hey, does that make sense?’” she said.

“Ultimately we’re going to be guided by fans. The magic sauce on BBL is we’ve put fans first.”

McConnie said scheduling was “definitely one of the hardest things” they were faced with.

“We’ve been pretty vocal and clear that it’s not perfect,” McConnie said.

“We acknowledge the scheduling is not ideal and it’s something we spend a lot of time, energy and focus on.”

But McConnie said there was no urgency to allow the likes of Steve Smith to play BBL.

“The league has never really had that and you think about the growth of the attendance and the viewership.

“Those players are phenomenal, but they’re not the be all and end all for the fans. It gives a great opportunity for the rising stars as well.”

Australia captain Steve Smith.

Steve Smith in action for Sydney Sixers in 2014. Picture: Mark Evans

BIG BOSS, BIG ISSUES

Sam Landsberger goes head-to-head with BBL boss Kim McConnie

Landsberger: When will a new franchise enter the BBL?

McConnie: We’re a long way from that. For the next couple of seasons we’re very much looking at our current clubs. We’re focused on building WBBL and taking our current clubs to new markets. We’ve been floored by the success of going to Geelong, Launceston, Alice Springs and on Wednesday we go to Canberra.

SL: Will the Renegades play more games in Geelong next year?

KM: You’ve got to be cautious because you don’t want to take too much content away from your core fans at (Etihad Stadium).

SL: Should captains be suspended for slow over rates?

KM: We’re going to (review) after this season. The fans want the game to be quick and lively, we get almost a third of our fans coming who haven’t been to a cricket game before. We definitely don’t want players missing. No one wants that. We’re also getting some player feedback and we can make adjustments if needed.

SL: Are Christmas Day games inevitable?

KM: Definitely not. We are in early stages of exploratory discussions with the ACA. We’ve met with them and talked to them about the opportunity, it’s something we want all involved to embrace and feel really good about.

SL:Chris Gayle wants to return. Is he welcome?

KM: We haven’t had any expressions of interest from him. Ultimately it’s up to the clubs. We want the best cricketers playing in our competition. It’s up to them how they develop their roster and who they look at.

SL: Are you happy with crowds this season?

KM: Definitely we are. Our attendance is a little bit behind where we were last year, but you’ve got to remember we’ve been growing 20-30 per cent, (which is) pretty aggressive growth.

SL: Is it too hard for two-team towns to compete?

KM: There are pros and cons. Definitely it ebbs and flows and sometimes we hear about the benefits of being a two-team town. Melbourne and Sydney have much bigger markets versus competing with a Perth, which has a much smaller market. I think it all nets out in the end.

SL: Is there potential for one-town teams to bundle BBL and Sheffield Shield salaries?

KM: Our clubs are really well-versed with the contracting rules and from a CA and an integrity point of view we’re really comfortable that they know the rules, and follow the rules.

SL: What’s been your highlight of the summer?

KM: We cracked the 100,000 attendance for WBBL (on Thursday), so that was a bit of a milestone for us. That’s about 30 per cent ahead of last year.