MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 31: Steve Smith of the 6ers in action during Big Bash League Finals match between the Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Sixers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 31, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)
The Big Bash League is set for more night games and less double-headers during the 2022-23 summer, making for a potentially longer season once again as Australia's top players wrestle another busy international calendar.
A jam-packed schedule has been revealed for Australia, who face 18 months of almost non-stop cricket, and with other T20 leagues on at around the same time as the BBL, players committing to the Australian version seems an unrealistic possibility.
Potentially five or six home Tests this summer - to be played against the West Indies and South Africa - which will be followed by a four-Test tour of India in February, has left players with little time for rest, and The Sydney Morning Herald are reporting that Cricket Australia are powerless to stop players from opting out of the Big Bash.
A new bargaining agreement for the 2023-24 season will likely see Cricket Australia contracted players automatically assigned a BBL club as part of their contracts, which will mean when available, they are automatically included in Australia's premier T20 competition.
The report suggests Cricket Australia are well aware of the declining and dwindling interest in the BBL, but also have commercial agreements which state a full home and away season must be played, viewed by many as a detriment to the competition.
The BBL running into February seems almost guaranteed with less double headers, with the BBL then likely to go up against the start of the Indian tour - one which will see Australia complete its third sub-continent tour in the space of 12 months following a campaign in Pakistan, and the upcoming one in Sri Lanka.
Players have previously spoken out around the length of BBL - both Australian and international - being far too long to commit to.
It's understood this year's BBL will begin after the Adelaide Day-Night Test against the West Indies, which will be in mid-December, with Cricket Australia needing to release a summer schedule by the end of May under commercial agreements.