Explosion of T20 leagues amid packed cricket calendar challenges BBL resurgence

Twenty20 transformed the pace of cricket, so it’s fitting the sport is running out of time.

In Australia, the BBL final between the Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat at the SCG is sold out although the teams will have three key players missing after departing for commitments in the UAE’s ILT20.

World Test Championship contenders South Africa are sending a weakened side to New Zealand for a red-ball series next month, because it clashes with their new domestic T20 league SA20.

And some believe the congested schedule has undermined the performance of England’s cricketers, highlighted by their showing at last year’s 50-over World Cup in India when they finished below Afghanistan.

As more and more investment is funnelled into domestic, shorter-form tournaments, the calendar is being squeezed.

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Though it was launched after the Blast in England and Wales, the most influential T20 tournament – the Indian Premier League (IPL) – is the benchmark for player pay, catching the eye of even the most committed international players.

Australian bowler Mitchell Starc set a new record at the most recent IPL auction, drawing an A$4.4m bid from the Kolkata Knight Riders. In comparison, the BBL pays its top, “Platinum” imports less than a tenth of Starc’s potential haul. But the BBL is not competing with the IPL, which has its own March-April window in the calendar well and truly locked in.

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Instead Australia’s league is facing pressure from the explosion of franchise tournaments across the world: the UAE’s ILT20, South Africa’s SA20, and even the Abu Dhabi T10 – all well-funded competitions based in and around the Australian summer.

Heat captain Colin Munro and teammate Sam Billings, and the Sixers’ James Vince – all Platinum players – abandoned the BBL two weeks before Wednesday night’s final to play in the ILT20.

But Alistair Dobson, the general manager of BBL at Cricket Australia, says the competition can still compete with other leagues, even if they offer greater pay.

“Ultimately, our strength is combining now really competitive pay rates with the best experience players can have playing cricket around the world in front of big crowds, fun crowds, and in great venues in great conditions, and enjoying the best that the Australian summer can offer,” Dobson says.

“We think we’re in really good shape.”

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Some doubt his vision. One player agent, who requested anonymity, says the BBL simply can’t pay enough to attract the kind of international talent that would then drive higher international broadcast revenues.

“It’s a third-rate tournament for international players and the best of them will never come – and the broadcast fees will remain poor – unless and until we pay enough to justify those players travelling to Australia for over a month of ‘match play’ at a time of the year they’d prefer to either rest or get paid more to play,” the agent says.

The pay for top players increased from $420,000 this season, from $340,000 last year, but it was still not enough to convince some to play even after they were chosen by teams.

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English batter Harry Brook, who was taken by the Melbourne Stars with the second pick in the latest draft, withdrew a month before the competition began. Last summer’s No 1 draft pick, fellow Englishman Liam Livingstone, also pulled out at the last minute.

But Dobson believes the league is moving in the right direction. This season was reduced from 61 to 44 games and the average crowd has increased by more than 4,000, to about 21,000 a match.

Channel Seven, the free-to-air broadcast partner is also pleased with the product. Its head of network sport, Lewis Martin, says the schedule change meant “higher stakes and more do-or-die matches”.

“The BBL brand is greater than ever and has continued to produce strong audience numbers throughout the regular season and finals, regardless of who is lining up to play each night,” Martin says.

On Saturday and Monday, BBL finals came close to the ratings of Channel Nine’s main evening tennis session at the Australian Open, according to OzTAM VOZ, with a large share of viewers on Seven’s streaming platform.

But some television markets are doing better than others. Channel Seven reported audience growth in capital cites two weeks ago, but only cited Brisbane (24%) and Melbourne (2%) in its release.

Internationally, Star India secured seven years of broadcast rights for Australian cricket in 2022 at a reported cost of $360m. The deal covers BBL and WBBL, but its major focus is India’s tour to Australia next summer, including the first five-match Test series between the two sides since 1991-92.

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Dobson is happy where the BBL sits in the calendar, and is adamant the tighter schedule and uptick in crowds has laid a platform for a new period of growth, which will help keep the league internationally competitive.

While the international market for high-end players has drawn much of the media’s attention, Dobson says the appeal of the BBL has always been a mix of top local talent, emerging stars like Jake Fraser-McGurk, and internationals.

Yet Dobson signals changes are in the works to make the BBL more attractive to players. Following the final, the league will enter a period of consultation on reworking rules. Longer contracts and a reworked draft will be on the table.

Despite witnessing a revolution in cricket unfold since he took over in 2019, Dobson says the place of BBL in Australian cricket hasn’t changed.

“Crowds, full of children and full of families, enjoying the best of the Australian summer,” he says. “I think as a way to connect with the game and bring new audiences and fans into the game, that’s why the Big Bash is so important to Australian cricket.”

• This article was amended on 24 January 2024 to indicate that the Blast competition in England and Wales pre-dated the Indian Premier League.