BBL 2021-22: COVID-19 outbreak pushes remaining tournament into Victorian hub

Amidst all the chaos in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2021-22, the Australian T20 league has relocated all eight teams to a Victorian hub. As the Covid-19 outbreak has impacted several teams, this move has been taken in order to tackle the problems caused by the deadly virus.

As a matter of fact, the outbreak resulted in several matches getting postponed. Two of these postponements have been rescheduled in the amended fixtures, for January 10-16, which is jam-packed with 11 games. While the Melbourne Stars were scheduled to play against the Perth Scorchers on December 30, these two sides will now lock horns against each other on January 11. It is to be noted that the Maxwell-led side had 13 players who tested positive to Covid-19.

Their game against the Adelaide Strikers, which was postponed as well, will now take place on January 15. In the meanwhile, the players and support staff of all the teams will be based in Victoria for the remainder of the tournament, under enhanced biosecurity protocols. However, there will still be a few matches that will be played in other states under a fly-in, fly-out model.

BBL 2021-22 to continue despite Covid-19 situation

According to the fixtures, the homes games for the Strikers against the Scorchers and Stars on January 14 and 15 respectively shall take place at 10:10 AM. Despite the current situation with respect to the Covid scenario in the country, the BBL officials seem adamant about completing the tournament. The T20 league is all set to confirm the schedule for the remainder of the tournament, which is supposed to end on January 19.

“The past week has thrown many Covid-related challenges the Big Bash’s way, but throughout, we have remained steadfast in our resolve to safely and successfully complete the season,” said the BBL general manager Alistair Dobson.

“These changes are designed to help the league and clubs deliver on this, while also reducing risks to players, support staff and the matches themselves. Having our players based in one state provides significantly greater flexibility to manage any further impacts of Covid-19,” he added. Thus, it is to be seen if the tournament can continue to take place without any further roadblocks. The number of covid-19 cases in Australia have been increasing daily.