BBL goes back to the future in heat of the finals

Cricket's oldest unwritten rule is back in vogue.

The KFC BBL has gone full circle as conventional wisdom – that captains should always elect to bat first – has once again become the norm.

The Strikers' mishandling of a simple run chase at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night marked a third straight BBL match where the team batting first has prevailed in a pressure-laden finals encounter.

Veteran Peter Siddle insisted conditions could hardly have been more in favour of the Strikers' in their Knockout clash with Sydney Thunder.

Strikers captain Travis Head accurately judged that early assistance for bowlers would give way to night-time dew that would speed up the pitch and outfield to make batting easier.

But the hosts fell in a heap to lose 5-21 with victory in sight as they, just like Melbourne Stars the previous night at the MCG, failed to chase down a score that all parties agreed was below par.

And in The Eliminator final last Thursday when the Thunder batted first and posted an imposing target of 198, they cantered to a comfortable 57-run win over the Hurricanes despite Hobart boasting a top-order with as much firepower as any in the competition.

"The conditions were perfect for us," Siddle said after Adelaide's loss on Saturday night.

"(The pitch) was good for us to bowl on, the outfield started to get a bit dewy (in the second innings).

"It couldn't have been more perfect for us to win the toss and bowl first. We just didn't finish the game off the way we should have."

For more than a century, electing to bat first has been the preferred option for captains in all forms of cricket, underlined by a famous quote attributed to England legend WG Grace; "When you win the toss, bat. If you are in doubt, think about it, then bat. If you are still in doubt, consult a colleague, then bat".

But the preference in recent BBL seasons has been for teams to bat second, a trend matched in T20 leagues around the globe that is built on a desire to know precisely how many runs are required and at what exact rate.

That thinking peaked during BBL|06 when almost 80 per cent of captains who won the toss elected to bowl first, a figure that has plummeted to 49 per cent in BBL|09.

This season's numbers suggest the old-school ploy of batting first is a shrewd one; in addition to the three finals games all won by the team setting a target, the regular season saw more than 60 per cent of sides who batted first win the game.

"Runs on the board – it's always hard to chase in a final," said Thunder bowler Daniel Sams, who did add that captain Callum Ferguson would have also elected to bat first against the Strikers had he won the bat flip.

"You feel a lot of pressure as a batter with only two of you out there. In the field you've got 11. There's always, I feel, less pressure with the ball as opposed to with the bat."

It's a stark shift in thinking to previous seasons.

In BBL|09, 22 games have been won by the team that was won the bat flip and batted first. In BBL|08, there were just five.

The captains in all three of last season's finals, meanwhile, chose to bowl first, which was successful in the two semi-finals before the Stars' famous flop against the Renegades in the decider.

With two more knockout games left in the season - the Stars and Thunder face off on Thursday at the MCG with the winner to face Sydney Sixers in Saturday's Final at the SCG – it remains to be seen whether the old logic continues to prevail.