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The Big Bash is back! All you need to know for BBL|10

With a season unlike any other to start tonight, this is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about BBL|10

When is it?

After countless administrative headaches, fixture rewrites and date changes, the KFC BBL season will begin tonight, in Hobart, when the Hobart Hurricanes host the defending champion Sydney Sixers from 7.15pm AEDT.

What's different this summer?

In a word, plenty. The COVID19 pandemic has changed the world and cricket is no exception. While Australia largely has the virus under control right now, the second wave that locked down Victoria for more than 100 days in the winter proved things can change quickly. To combat the public health risks, BBL|10 will be played with blocks of matches at different venues around the country. It's not quite as extreme as the sixth season of the Rebel WBBL that saw the entire competition in a bubble, but the men’s schedule looks pretty different, and there'll be a handful of games played at neutral venues.

Away from the public health issues, there's plenty of other stuff that's new this season. We've got new rules for starters – we'll explain more about that below – more imports, bigger squads and, for the first time, up to three internationals in the playing XI. And if that's not enough, keep an eye on the umpires who, in a world first, will have sponsor branding in the armpits of their kit after a new deal with Rexona.

How do these mini-hubs work then?

The BBL|10 season will start in Tasmania, with 10 games split between Hobart and Launceston, while there also clubs in Canberra, before the season moves on to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

It's a marvel of logistical engineering that every team will get to play home games this season, with Adelaide and Perth hosting blocks in the mid-season before Sydney and Melbourne bring it home before the finals.

In summary, the cities with BBL|10 action are as follows:

Blundstone Arena, Hobart: December 10 – January 4: eight games

UTAS Stadium, Launceston: December 15-16: two games

Manuka Oval, Canberra: December 11-29: six games

The Gabba, Brisbane: December 23 – January 4: five games

Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast: December 26 – January 10: six games

Adelaide Oval: December 28 – January 11: five games

Optus Stadium, Perth: January 3-12: five games

Sydney Showground Stadium: January 13-25: four games

SCG, Sydney: January 16-26: four games

Marvel Stadium, Melbourne: January 14-23: five games

MCG, Melbourne: January 15-26: six games

A full BBL|10 fixture is available HERE or click on the below image to expand it.

You can sync an eCal to your phone's calendar for every game or just your team HERE.


Can I go? Will there be crowds?

Yes and yes!

The NSW and Queensland governments currently have no restrictions on crowds at sporting venues, so there should be full houses and plenty of tickets to go around for matches in those states. The others have varying rules and restricted capacities – but that continues to evolve. Your best bet is to be organised early and get your tickets booked. Keep an eye out on cricket.com.au/tickets as additional tickets may become available closer to the start of each game.

Tell me more about these new rules?

The BBL has introduced three new innovations this summer:

Image Id: https://www.cricket.com.au/~/media/News/2020/11/16PoerSurge?la=en&hash=18F628085696866054D5A11561956A6E5F1121CA

The'Power Surge' is a two-over period during which the fielding team is allowed only two players outside the inner fielding circle. The batting side can call for this at any point from the 11th over of their innings. The fielding restrictions replicate those of the usual Powerplay at the beginning of an innings, which has been shortened to four overs.

Image Id: https://www.cricket.com.au/~/media/News/2020/11/16Xfactor?la=en&hash=AE4F2CAE85E610A09A7B40E20E7F4EE89A6D0B14

An 'X-factor Player', named as either the 12th or 13th player on the team sheet, can come into the game beyond the 10th over of the first innings and replace any player who is yet to bat, or has bowled no more than one over.

Image Id: https://www.cricket.com.au/~/media/News/2020/11/16BashBoost?la=en&hash=4F84249D346099B8B6F3284CEF776A56C785ACD8

And the 'Bash Boost' will be a bonus point awarded halfway through the second innings. The team chasing will receive the bonus point if they're above the equivalent 10-over score of their opposition, while if they're trailing, the fielding side will receive the point. Teams will also now be awarded three points for winning the match, as opposed to the traditional two.

For a more detailed explanation on these new innovations, click HERE

How can I watch and listen?

Every match of BBL|10 will be shown live in Australia on Foxtel for subscribers, while the Seven network will show 45 games on free to air.

For the digital savvy who prefer the convenience of live streaming, you can watch every game via the CA Live app and cricket.com.au’s match centre with a subscription to Kayo. Sign up here for a 14-day free trial to Kayo that will allow to watch every single ball of the summer of cricket as well as a host of other sports.


A radio broadcast of every BBL match will be provided by SEN, which can be heard through cricket.com.au's Match Centre or the CA Live app. The ball-by-ball coverage can also be heard on 1116 SEN in Melbourne, 1629 SEN SA in Adelaide and for the first time on the new 1170 SEN Sydney, 1053 AM Brisbane, 1620 AM Gold Coast and 657 AM Perth as well as SEN Spirit 621 AM in Bunbury and 1629 AM Mt Gambier. This will also extend to regional Australia where SEN has exclusive AM and FM radio commercial radio rights to broadcast and syndicate its BBL coverage.

What about live scores, news and highlights?

Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app will also have live scores and video replays of every wicket in the match centre to go with video highlights, reports and interviews from our reporters on the ground throughout the tournament.

You can also catch up on all the latest news via The Unplayable Podcast, where cricket.com.au's own Sam Ferris will be joined by special guests to dissect all the talking points throughout the summer. Don’t miss the comprehensive season preview with reigning player of the tournament Marcus Stoinis. Subscribe where you get your pods!

For all the latest on social media, cricket.com.au has you covered on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Want to play BBL Fantasy?

We've got you covered with the Official BBL Fantasy competition thanks to Dream11. For everything you need to know about Fantasy, click right HERE

Who are the overseas stars?

There are plenty of big names, and some new faces in BBL|10, and lots and lots of Englishmen. Due to the way its worked out with international schedules and the COVID19 pandemic, we've got more West Indians and New Zealanders in the BBL than in recent summers too.

Under BBL rules, clubs can sign up to SIX internationals for their squad for the season, and now for the first time can have THREE in the playing XI.

Some familiar faces like Afghan superstars Rashid Khan (Adelaide Strikers) and his compatriots Mohammed Nabi (Melbourne Renegades), Zahir Khan (Melbourne Stars) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat) have all returned.

England big-hitter Liam Livingstone is back for the Perth Scorchers, and he's bringing World Cup-winning opener Jason Roy with him, and they'll be joined by Colin Munro in a power-packed line-up.

The Melbourne Stars have snared West Indian duo Nicholas Pooran and Andre Fletcher to boost their batting.

And the World's No.1 ranked T20 batsman, England's Dawid Malan, will be suiting up for the Hobart Hurricanes.

Adelaide Strikers: Danny Briggs, Rashid Khan, Phil Salt

Brisbane Heat: Lewis Gregory, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Hobart Hurricanes: Sandeep Lamichhane, Dawid Malan, Keemo Paul, Colin Ingram, Will Jacks

Melbourne Renegades: Mohammad Nabi, Rilee Rossouw, Imran Tahir, Noor Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Benny Howell

Melbourne Stars: Andre Fletcher, Zahir Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Dilbar Hussain

Perth Scorchers: Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro, Jason Roy, Joe Clarke

Sydney Sixers: Jake Ball, Carlos Brathwaite, James Vince, Jason Holder

Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Adam Milne.

Got a list of every team's squad?

Official squads have expanded to 19 this summer, but with some players away on Test duty and the various quarantine requirements for some late-arriving internationals, many squads have swelled beyond that with replacement players. Here's the full list of everyone on the books for each club right now:

Adelaide Strikers: Wes Agar, Danny Briggs (ENG), Alex Carey**, Harry Conway**, Ryan Gibson*, Travis Head**, Spencer Johnson, Rashid Khan (AFG)**, Michael Neser**, Harry Nielsen, Liam O'Connor, Matthew Renshaw, Phil Salt (ENG), Liam Scott, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall.

Brisbane Heat: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazely, Max Bryant, Joe Burns**, Tom Cooper, Lewis Gregory (ENG)**, Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne**, Ben Laughlin, Dan Lawrence (ENG), Chris Lynn (c), Simon Milenko*, Morne Morkel, Jimmy Peirson, Lachlan Pfeffer*, Jack Sinfield*, Mark Steketee, Connor Sully*, Mitchell Swepson**, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (AFG), Jack Wildermuth**, Jack Wood*, Matthew Willans**

Hobart Hurricanes: Scott Boland, Johan Botha*, Tim David, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Colin Ingram (SA)**, Will Jacks (ENG), Sandeep Lamichhane (NEP)**, Dawid Malan (ENG)**, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, David Moody, Mitch Owen, Tim Paine**, Wil Parker, Keemo Paul (WI)**, D'Arcy Short, Matthew Wade (c)**, Nick Winter, Charlie Wakim*, Mac Wright

Melbourne Renegades: Noor Ahmad (AFG)*, Cameron Boyce, Brody Crouch*, Zak Evans, Aaron Finch (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris**, Mackenzie Harvey, Peter Hatzoglou*, Jon Holland, Benny Howell (ENG)*, Josh Lalor, Shaun Marsh, Mohammad Nabi (AFG), James Pattinson, Mitch Perry, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Rilee Rossouw (SAf), Will Sutherland**, Imran Tahir (SAf)**, Beau Webster, Imad Wasim (PAK)*

Melbourne Stars: Hilton Cartwright, Jackson Coleman, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Dunk, Andre Fletcher (WI)**, Seb Gotch, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Dilbar Hussain (PAK)*, Zahir Khan (AFG), Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell (c), Lance Morris, Tom O'Connell, Nicholas  Pooran (WI)**, Will Puckovski**, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Perth Scorchers: Ashton Agar**, Fawad Ahmed, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Joe Clarke (England)**, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green**, Liam Guthrie*, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Liam Livingstone (England)**, Mitchell Marsh (c), Colin Munro (NZ), Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli*, Jason Roy (England)**, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman

Sydney Sixers: Sean Abbott, Justin Avendano, Jake Ball*, Nick Bertus*, Jackson Bird**, Carlos Brathwaite (WI), Dan Christian, Tom Curran (ENG)**, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques (c)**, Jason Holder (WI)**, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon**, Ben Manenti, Lawrence Neil-Smith*, Stephen O'Keefe, Josh Philippe, Lloyd Pope, Tom Rogers*, Gurinder Sandhu*, Jordan Silk, Mitchell Starc**, James Vince (ENG)

Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings (ENG)**, Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Callum Ferguson (c), Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (ENG), Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne (NZ), Arjun Nair, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris Tremain

*Replacement player; **Replaced on main squad list due to injury, national commitments

How are the teams shaping up?

We bring you the inside word on each team after our team of journalists spoke with the coaches in the build up to tonight's opener:

Adelaide Strikers: Head coach Jason Gillespie

Brisbane Heat: Head coach Darren Lehmann

Hobart Hurricanes: Head coach Adam Griffith

Melbourne Renegades: Head coach Michael Klinger

Melbourne Stars: Head coach David Hussey

Perth Scorchers: Head coach Adam Voges

Sydney Sixers: Head coach Greg Shipperd

Sydney Thunder: Head coach Shane Bond