The 9th edition of Big Bash League will be introducing a new finals structure

The T20 World Cup is set to roll in a year and now the teams will be focusing on building their sides for the shortest format. For the first time, the tournament will be played in Down Under with 16 participants eyeing the coveted championship. It will be a different challenge for the sides with Australia’s bouncy pitches and bigger boundaries.

For the hosts, it will be their biggest opportunity to win their first title in the slam-bang cricket. Apart from their final appearance in the 2010 edition, the Kangaroos have never really made their mark in this format. Still, the team is full of hope as their T20 domestic tournament, BBL has done its part of producing raw talents.

Big Bash has been one of the most entertaining leagues and that’s why it has completed 8 successful years. Players from around the world have enjoyed their time and even the cricketing fraternity has rated the top-class action. Now in this December, the league is ready to unveil its 9th chapter with a new twist in the tale.

Fans opinions matter

In the last decade, the action-packed cricket has flourished due to the T20 premier leagues and BBL is one of them. It has helped the domestic talents of Australian cricket to showcase their talents. Again in the 2019 edition, the league will be witnessing some of the youngsters and established cricketing stars playing for 8 different teams.

Over the years the tournament has been played in the double round-robin format followed by knock-outs but this time there is a minor change in the finals set-up. It has been changed as per a fan’s opinion and it will intensify the winning chances of the top two teams at the end of group-stages.

“We’ve listened and now have a shortened fixture, more consistent timeslots, a continued regional footprint and a stronger finals format which will give fans the best opportunity to experience the BBL,” said Big Bash League head of leagues Alistair. According to the BBL head, Alistair the five-team finals will increase the excitement factor in the series. The finals will be played in four stages with a qualifier played between the top two teams and the winner goes straight to the finals.

Then the bottom two sides will be playing an Eliminator to play the 3rd placed team, which is called as Knock-Out. Then the winner of Knock-Out will face the loser of Qualifiers in a Challenger and the, in the end, a traditional final between the two best sides.

“We’ve listened and now have a shortened fixture, more consistent timeslots, a continued regional footprint and a stronger finals format which will give fans the best opportunity to experience the BBL,” said BBL head of leagues Alistair. “The finals format has been set to make it the best possible end to the season, rewarding the top two teams with a double chance and giving the winner hosting rights of The Final,” he added.