Everything You Need to Know About the Big Bash League Franchise in Australia

Published on: Sep 22, 2021

One of the biggest T20 cricket leagues in the world, the KFC Big Bash League (BBL) completed its 10th edition earlier in the year, in January. Before we know it, the 11th edition of the BBL will be on us too, as the Franchise is all set to get started on 5th December this year. Ahead of the Big Bash League 2021 – 22, here’s a brief introduction to everything you need to know about the T20 cricket league.

The Big Bash League: Inception, Franchise, and Sponsorship

The Big Bash League was formed to promote both cricket and cricketers. While the league itself gave plenty of opportunities to Australian cricketers, it was the decision to adopt the T20 format which breathed new life into Australian cricket’s declining popularity. It should be noted that well before BBL replaced it as the premier domestic T20 league, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was doing pretty much the same thing from 2005 – 06.

However, the Big Bash League Franchise is of much grander stature, as it has proven itself to be more successful in viewership, promotions, and revenue generation. The KFC Big Bash League is administrated by Cricket Australia (CA) and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) remains the T20 league’s main sponsor to date. Other co-sponsors of the BBL are Toyota, Commonwealth Bank, Weet-Bix, Wrigley Extra, Dream11, Woolworths, BKT Tires, '47, and Nike.

The Format

The format was simplified just before the 2018 – 19 season started, and ever since then, the following format is being followed:

· There are in total, eight T20 Teams, owned and managed by eight different franchises.

· Each team plays one home match and one away match against each of the other seven teams in the league.

· All teams end up playing 14 matches each during the league stages, which comes to a total of 56 matches.

· The top five teams at the end of the group stages would be chosen for the Finals.

During the finals, there would be a total of six matches played out in the format as stated below:

1. The Eliminator: 4th vs 5th (loser is eliminated from the tournament)

2. The Qualifier: 1st vs 2nd (winner goes straight to the final)

3. The Knock-Out: 3rd vs the team that won The Eliminator (loser loses all chances of winning the tournament)

4. The Challenger: the team that won The Knockout faces the team that lost the Qualifier.

5. The Grand Final: The Qualifier winner faces the team that won The Challenger to decide the season’s winning team.

The Current Teams and Franchises

As of now, there are eight Australian City Franchises, although only six cities are involved in the league. Online betting on any of the Big Bash League’s eight teams is completely legal, and below we have the eight teams with their winning records listed for your convenience:

· Sydney Sixers (3x Champions and 2x Finalists): Won the 2011 – 12, 2019 – 20, and 2020 – 21 BBLs

· Perth Scorchers (3x Champions and 6x Finalists): Won the 2013 – 14, 2014 – 15, and 2016 – 17 BBLs

· Melbourne Renegades (1x Champion): Won the 2018 – 19 BBL

· Sydney Thunder (1x Champion): Won the 2015 – 16 BBL

· Adelaide Strikers (1x Champion): Won the 2017 – 18 BBL

· Brisbane Heat (1x Champion): Won the 2012 – 13 BBL

· Hobart Hurricanes: 0 wins and 2x finalists

· Melbourne Stars: 0 wins and 3x finalists

As we can see from their records, the Perth Scorchers are the most successful teams in the league’s decade-long history, with three wins and six appearances at the Grand Final. However, the Sydney Sixers have an advantage over the Scorchers because they are the defending champions and are presumed to be in the best form out of all the eight teams.

That doesn’t mean the Scorchers are to be left out of consideration, though, because they were the finalists last season as well. The other teams have not shown great promise yet, but one should watch out for the Melbourne Renegades this season as well. Just like every other season, they have a good team and a good chance at the season’s championship.

That is pretty much all you need to know about the Big Bash League if you are looking to get started. The rest you will find out as the season starts on 5th December 2021.