BBL 2020-21: Full schedule, venues and match timings
Cricket Australia has released the entire schedule and venue list for the action-packed Big Bash League 2020-21 season. In what comes as a major boost to the BBL fans, every club will play in front of their home fans this summer, subject to the COVID-19 situation in the country.
The 10th edition of the BBL will begin on 10th December when defending champions Sydney Sixers take on the Hobart Hurricanes in the Blundstone Arena. The Melbourne Stars will then play two consecutive matches against the Brisbane Heat and the Sydney Thunder on 11th and 12th December respectively.
The Melbourne Renegades will play the Perth Scorchers in their first game on the 12th, while the Adelaide Strikers will open their account against the Hurricanes the next day.
"The league is delighted to confirm the boldest schedule in Australian sport since the pandemic began by committing to take matches to every club's home market in BBL 10," said Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia's Head of Big Bash Leagues.
"This schedule is a testament to the strength of the League and ensures our fans around the country will get the chance to see their KFC BBL clubs in action on home soil," Dobson said.
Melbourne and Sydney to host BBL 2020-21's second-half
CA had confirmed the BBL 2020-21 schedule earlier this month, but only gave a list of venues till December. In the revised schedule, Melbourne and Sydney will be the major hosts of the second half of BBL 2020-21.
Melbourne will host 11 matches in 12 days in the second half of the tournament. Five of these will be held at Marvel Stadium and six at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This will also include a double-header at the MCG on 26th January, which is the last day of the league stage.
Perth's Optus Stadium has been allocated 5 matches while Sydney will host eight games. Sydney's SCG and Sydney Showground Stadium will take four games each.
There are also three additional matches for the Adelaide Oval, four games at the Gold Coast's Metricon Stadium, two at the Gabba, and another two at Blundstone Arena in January.
The BBL qualifier stage was revamped in 2019 and will come with a new 5-match system which will give the top two teams two chances to stay in the tournament. The qualifier stage will take place over a week from 29th January to 6th February.
For the audience, the BBL timings will vary anywhere between 12:00 am GMT to 8:45 am GMT to all 59 games. The matches are expected to be played behind closed doors.