The Big Bash League may only have two seasons left in its current format as Cricket Australia reportedly begins to ponder mass change to the competition.
While crowds were down all season - and COVID most likely played a substantial part in the demise - TV ratings and overall interest was also down.
It was reported shortly after the grand final that ratings for the deciding match of the season were down roughly half a million on last year.
The current TV broadcasting deal is up for renewal in just two years time, with it to expire at the end of the 2023-24 summer, and it could see radical change to Australia's short form domestic competition.
According to a News Corp report, the 14-game season could also be shortened, with it being a major deterrent for players from overseas, while the BBL will also look to speed the pace of play up in an attempt to bring games to an average of no more than three hours.
It's understood that if the BBL goes to expansion, then Canberra, Geelong, the Gold Coast, a second Western Australian team or far North Queensland would be in the picture.
“We’re in a phase of the comp now where we have to be as bold as the people who created the competition in the first place,” Big Bash boss Alistair Dobson told the publication.
“There were lots of risks and leaps of faith that at the time people thought were crazy ideas.
“We have to re-imagine that level of courage and ambition from the people that brought it to life in the first place.”
It's understood expansion could be used to keep the same number of matches, but less per team, while the idea of playing games to schedule - 2 hours and 55 minutes - will continue to be worked with.
Dobson said this season actually ran for longer than they wanted to given the Ashes, and that scheduling would continue to be tinkered with.
“It’s obviously one of the key discussion points,” Dobson said.
“Firstly, it’s understanding what role a 14-game season plays not only in broadcast, but what that scale allows the rest of cricket to do.
“Invest in things, community cricket and obviously there‘s been great growth in women’s cricket and being able to leverage your strong assets like the BBL to drive outcomes in other areas.
“We certainly hear the commentary around the length of the season and the number of games. We played 56 games, but some people forget the season was only 46 days long.
“This year was a little bit longer than we like on the basis that we had five Ashes Tests to squeeze around.”
Expansion or major changes to the BBL aren't expected to be made before the next broadcast deal is confirmed.
