Cricket Australia’s plan for the Big Bash was too hard, too fast

The season’s too long, the games are too late, and there’s not enough money for big name stars. But Cricket Australia still doesn’t want to admit it’s wrong, writes Greg Davis

The early days of the Big Bash, back when Dave Warner was just a chubby kid who hit big and Tim Paine’s hair was inspired by Beiber.

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The never-ending Big Bash League season is becoming more and more like the TV show, “Happy Days”.

And it’s not because there are games on “Sunday, Monday (Happy Days), Tuesday, Wednesday, (Happy Days), Thursday, Friday (Happy Days), Saturday…’’

Well, it used to be Happy Days but …

The main similarity is that Cricket Australia officials are just like the show’s main character, Fonzie, who could never say he was wrong.

Brendon McCullum looks at his shattered bat. Symbolic. Picture: Michael Dodge

Not only will they refuse to concede that the expanded full home-and-away format for this summer is killing the goose that laid the golden egg, it has been revealed that there were plans to drastically bump up the number of games to 72 and possibly even 96 games with more teams in the years to come.

This year’s season will have an excruciatingly long 59 games. Can you imagine the horror of 37 more? Won’t somebody think of the children???

The BBL finals would clash with the first State of Origin match in May.

The Fonz. Ayyyyyy.

The competition is in serious danger of “jumping the shark”.

You’ve heard that shark expression before.

It comes from the season five premiere of “Happy Days” when the Fonz goes water skiing and literally jumps over a shark while wearing his trademark leather jacket.

It was a gimmicky plot line that was a wild departure from the character’s normal too-cool-for-school, motorbike-riding, ladies-man persona.

It was seen as the beginning of the end for Happy Days which ran for another seven years but was never really the same.

“Jumping the Shark” has now become a widely used saying to describe something that was cool, has lost the plot and desperately tries to stay relevant with silly ploys.

Sound familiar?

The early days of the Big Bash, back when Dave Warner was just a chubby kid who hit big and Tim Paine’s hair was inspired by Beiber.

The BBL product was so good.

It was a short, sharp season that engaged – and sustained – the interest of the sporting public throughout the Christmas school holidays.

Every game counted, the stands were full, the TV ratings were super. There were very few legitimately dead rubbers and cricket superstars were littered throughout the competition.

The BBL had become the modern-day sound of summer.

So what Cricket Australia officials needed to do was simple.

They needed to follow the advice of the Fonz and “sit on it”.

Originally published as Cricket Australia’s plan for the Big Bash was too hard, too fast