MELBOURNE: Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash League (BBL) was on Thursday pushed back a week, but organisers confirmed it will be played in multiple cities with state borders reopening after coronavirus (Covid-19) shutdowns.
The 10th season of the eight-franchise tournament was initially due to begin on Dec 3, but it will now start seven days later. Cricket Australia (CA) locked in the schedule for the opening 21 matches, with the first bracket from Dec 10 starting in Tasmania state and Canberra before moving to Queensland and South Australia later in the month.
The women’s version is currently being played entirely in Sydney and there were concerns that also might be the case for the men.
But news in recent days that several state borders are set to reopen following a sharp drop in new coronavirus cases has allowed Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide to host all those matches during December.
CA said it would confirm the schedule for the remaining 35 regular season matches and the finals series later.
“This is without doubt the most complex scheduling task ever undertaken by the BBL and we are excited with where it has landed,” said Cricket Australia’s Big Bash League head Alistair Dobson. “It has been a difficult year for so many people around Australia and we look forward to bringing the BBL to every state should border conditions allow us to.”
All three of the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 players — spinner Rashid Khan, batsman Dawid Malan and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi — have signed on to play the tournament.
The action will start in Hobart with the Hurricanes facing the Sydney Sixers before the Melbourne Stars take on Brisbane Heat a day later in Canberra.
Australia’s states and territories have relaxed domestic travel and border controls as Covid-19 infections have slowed to a trickle.
The nation’s most populous state New South Wales said on Thursday it would reopen its border to southern Victoria state by the end of the month.
Victoria has had six consecutive days without any new cases of Covid-19 after containing a second wave with a four-month hard lockdown.
South Australia on Tuesday said it would also reopen its border to Victoria in two weeks.
The BBL is also expected to be boosted by crowds at stadiums.
A capped, sold-out crowd of 26,500 attended the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday for the opening ‘State of Origin’ rugby league game between Queensland and New South Wales.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2020
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