5 old warhorses that rocked the sixth edition of the Big Bash League
It is an upstart in many ways, but the growing popularity of the Big Bash League epitomises how aggressive marketing coupled with fascinating cricket could be forces of disruption.
How does any product safeguard the future? The answer is pretty simple-- engage and enthrall the youth, and the BBL has managed to achieve just that. It was established with a single point agenda of drawing families and young fans into the audience and over these years this approach has been a roaring hit.
Though many-a-times compared with the glitz-and-glamour struck Indian Premier League, the BBL is very much different compared to the former (other than the number of teams that play the league).
Where the Indian Premier League (IPL) is more extravagant in nature and exists in a country that adores the sport of cricket, the Big Bash League, which was started in 2011 by Cricket Australia, is a “family friendly’ tournament targeted to promote cricket among kids and families in the land of the Kangaroos.
With no celebrities associated with the league, coupled with affordable ticket prices at the grounds and the fact that the BBL teams pick a social cause each, to promote during the course of the event, are factors that have made it favourable to the masses there.
In early January 2015, a report in the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ mentioned that the BBL has propelled into the list of the world’s most attended sports leagues, sitting at the ninth rank, nudging the famous Japan’s professional baseball league. This is commendable because the BBL T20 tournament was only five years old at the time of the report.
As far as the Indian Premier League is concerned, it stood at number six and was founded only two years before the BBL. Much of the credit for this goes to Cricket Australia’s unflinching commitment to keep the franchise clean and non-commercial.
The finals of the sixth season of BBL saw the Perth Scorchers celebrate their victory on the dais, once again, as they clinched their third title.
Also Read: Best XI of the Big Bash League Season 6
The current league witnessed some amazing emerging talents, while it also gave us reasons to cheer for the stars who just get better with time. Here’s a look at five such old warhorses who sizzled once again in the format which many believe is for the 'younger crop'.
#1 Brad Hodge
The veteran did not have a very encouraging start to his career way back in 1993. Unfortunately, he was facing a lot of competition to get into the national team owing to many established stars who had already cemented their spots. His International career faced a roadblock when he got a fresh lease of life through the India Premier League as the much-hyped franchise Kolkata Knight Riders roped him in for 2 years.
He took to T20 like a duck takes to water, and subsequently was handed the mantle for the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL. His career in the BBL has been one success story as his ability to keep calm under pressure scenarios is unparalleled.
Not only has he been picked for all the BBL seasons, but he also is one of the marquee players in the tournament. He holds the number 5 spot in 'players with most number of runs list (1344 in 40 innings), number 4 spot for 'most sixes by a player' (48) and 'most wins' (24). To add to the list, Hodge is the 7th best player of BBL season 6 to have scored the most runs (286).
Hodge has this remarkable quality of an old-school compassionate man. While playing for Victoria at first class level, he was also at the forefront of expressing his solidarity with Indian students, following the racist attacks on them. He participated in a street match in Melbourne between Victorian Police and Indian students to promote peace. Currently, he coaches the Gujarat Lions in IPL.
A superstar who rocked this year too, and who refuses to age!