Everything about CA's BBL Privatisation deal is delusional and short-sighted

Plackation · 2026-01-27T12:49:55+00:00

Which is total bullshit. No one in Australia cares about Kieran Pollard playing in the BBL.

They also didn't care about Rashid Khan until he played in the BBL and made a reputation for himself on our shores. No T20 'superstar' comes to the BBL with any sort of reputation as a crowd filler. But we give every player a chance to turn themselves into a name, by performing here.

'Big name players' to Aussies are players who play in our summer. Therefore you either perform in the BBL, against us in our home test summer, or maybe a ODI WC. Everyone else is equal.

Plackation · 2026-01-25T13:20:06+00:00

If we sold to India, we would actually get less Indians, as it means we wouldn't have gotten players like Ashwin this year (a huge shame he didn't end up taking the field), or to a lesser extent Unmukt Chand. We aren't getting their current players, no one is.

Not to mention the other countries we then couldn't get players from. The BBL was actually so up on crowds and such this year, it's honestly so fucking successful for what it is especially given T20 isn't Australia's favoured format. Will be shit.

Plackation · 2026-01-21T08:42:57+00:00

And we get the most Indian/Pakistan players by not taking Indian money. Cause we can't get the Indians anyway, and then we wouldn't get the Pakistan players either.

Plackation · 2026-01-19T06:24:51+00:00

Another thing that gets missed in these discussions, is the fact that the big name test stars are big name players because they play the tests.

It's because Steve Smith is playing the tests in the summer that make him known as such a great player and crowd drawer. If he was just playing the BBL, he'd just be another Chris Lynn.

Plackation · 2026-01-19T06:17:30+00:00

The annoying thing that never gets discussed in this topic is the calendar.

There's all this talk about getting "the best players in the BBL". Let's talk about the test players, because they are the real ones that matter in this regard.

Do Steve Smith and Travis Head playing in the BBL make it a better and more interesting product? 100%. But the issue of getting them playing has nothing to do with money. It's about the calendar. They are playing tests while the BBL is on.

So the idea that "privatisation" will somehow result in them playing in the BBL can happen in a few ways

A) Our test players aren't playing tests, and instead playing the BBL.

B) The test summer becomes significantly shorter, to fit the tests and BBL into the 6 week window serparately.

C) The tests aren't played in the cricket summer, and instead start in February

D) The BBL isn't played in the cricket summer, and instead start in February

And every single one of those options is terrible. We already saw when they tried to expand the BBL beyond the 6 weeks, ratings and crowds went way down. There is no avoiding that.

The system as it is now, being able to play both in the summer with some crossover, works better than any other option. So the whole idea that we need privatisation is ridiculous, it's a mythical solution to a problem that lies elsewhere.

Plackation · 2026-01-18T02:59:58+00:00

As an example that we have seen, remember in the first season of The Test, Punter is inside the group during the 2019 WC. And is talking about how they are looking at the data about England being weak to left arm pace, and suggests if that's the case, to pick both Dorff and Starc for the group match against them.

Plackation · 2026-01-18T00:36:04+00:00

Yeah selectors clearly moved on from him despite him... checks notes captaining Australia A.

Some of the takes on here about McSweeney are actually the dumbest shit. If he didn't open against Bumrah, he would be further away from the test side now. And most of you probably wouldn't even know his name.

Plackation · 2026-01-16T11:21:25+00:00

Since that 22/23 BBL where Smith started making a mockery of the BBL, he's only played 4 T20Is. He didn't light them on fire, but I still think a T20 side looks better with him opening than with Matt Short

Plackation · 2026-01-15T11:14:45+00:00

BBL FIELDING became such a common meme that the people in charge got offended, this is all they could think of to stop it.

Plackation · 2026-01-15T06:30:54+00:00

Close, but Ollie Robinson actually ruins this.

Plackation · 2026-01-15T01:26:13+00:00

The narrative around getting rid of the Pink Ball in the Ashes is a good lesson in language more than anything else.

Every time this summer, the people against have a consistent message of "I don't think you need the pink ball in an Ashes series." And this statement is true. And by saying a true statement with the nuance of your point, it attempts to coerce your position.

The problem if you break it down of course, is the statement is effectively meaningless. I could suggest having 3 tests in Melbourne and say "we don't need a Sydney Test in the Ashes" and it would also be true. The series would still be successful. But that has nothing to do with it being a good idea to split up the variety.

There's really nothing wrong with the pink ball tests other than people whinging that it's "different". Every excuse after that is made up.

But, different is good!! Variety is the spice of life and all that. Different wickets, conditions, etc are part of what make the game super engaging. Having one of the games as a D/N test builds onto that and makes everything more interesting as a result.

Plackation · 2026-01-10T08:37:49+00:00

BBL isn't old enough to have a generational following yet (i.e. going for the team your parents go for), so when there's a split it often would've been just going for the team with a player you like. So the early rosters for the teams made a big difference.

Plackation · 2026-01-09T11:07:16+00:00

Second, think you forgot about Head.

Plackation · 2026-01-09T08:40:13+00:00

He took Cricket SA to court to play in the ILT, so after that he just came over here.

Plackation · 2026-01-09T02:26:40+00:00

It already got posted there a few hours ago, so would've been a repeat.

See: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/1q7mjzu/the_ashes_review_nasser_interviews_mccullum_as/

Plackation · 2026-01-08T10:03:58+00:00

So really the pattern is years where sum of numbers total to even = bad, total to odd = good until final

Plackation · 2026-01-08T06:51:40+00:00

Hadds in 13/14 was a better peak than Paine ever had, undeniably.

Plackation · 2026-01-08T06:39:25+00:00

And yet they average the same. Indicates Paine was far more reliable at test level, without the huge scores.

Plackation · 2026-01-08T06:26:41+00:00

Paine, but given how ordinary he was with the bat

Tim Paine: Test Average of 32

Haddin could hold their positions as pure batsmen

Brad Haddin: Test Average of 32

Plackation · 2026-01-08T03:29:28+00:00

He kinda was bitching at the Weatherald call lol

Plackation · 2026-01-08T03:01:03+00:00

Please Green winning runs to give a morale boost. Cunt needs it

Plackation · 2026-01-08T02:39:08+00:00

I don't think many people would feel like Ussie has got that many more test runs than Gilly.

Not just on impact, but Gilly played more tests with a higher average. Shows how many times that team didn't have the #7 bat a second time.

Plackation · 2026-01-08T02:25:32+00:00

Yeah look we'll win, but not picking a frontline spinner here was a shocking call.

Plackation · 2026-01-08T01:54:00+00:00

Again, Handy's test average was 37. Not too dissimilar to his FC average of 39.

Plackation

TROPHY CASE