The 13th edition of Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) kicks off with a thrilling match at the Gabba on December 7, featuring last season's runners-up Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars. World Cup champions Marnus Labuschagne (Heat), Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis (both Stars) have confirmed their participation in the season opener, along with Test opener Usman Khawaja.
Australian cricket sensation Steve Smith (Sixers) and the country's top white-ball spinner Adam Zampa (Renegades) are set to join in for the second night of the season when Sydney Sixers host Melbourne Renegades at the SCG.
The 40-match group stage concludes on Wednesday, January 17 and is followed by a four-team playoff series from Friday, January 19.
The final will take place on Wednesday, January 24.
Which teams are involved?
As per usual, eight teams will vie for the BBL trophy. There are two teams hailing from Sydney (Thunder and Sixers) and Melbourne (Stars and Renegades), in addition to the Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, and the defending champions Perth Scorchers, who are aiming for their sixth title.
The Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars are the only teams yet to claim their inaugural title.
What's the format?
In light of criticism over the competition's duration, BBL 13 will feature a reduced schedule of 44 matches (down from 61 in BBL 12).
Each team will compete in 10 group games instead of 14, and the knockout stage has been trimmed from five teams to four.
The top two teams will compete in the Qualifier, with the winner advancing directly to the final. The runner-up will move to the Challenger match, facing the victor of the Knockout (third versus fourth) for a chance to secure a spot in the final.
The venues for the knockout stages will depend on the teams progressing to the playoffs.
What are the new rules?
After two batters scored six runs by hitting the Marvel Stadium roof in the same match last season, Cricket Australia has abandoned the rule that automatically granted a six for sending the ball into the Marvel ceiling. The updated regulation, effective from BBL13, will empower umpires to determine whether the ball was destined to cross the boundary.
If they ascertain it was, they will award the batter six runs; otherwise, it will be declared a dead ball.
This marks the third alteration to the rule since the inception of the competition in 2011 and follows an incident involving the Renegades during a match against local rivals the Stars last season. Englishman Joe Clarke and Beau Webster had their catching opportunities thwarted when their shots hit the roof on separate occasions. On both instances, the ball landed within the 30-yard fielding restriction area.
Another change for BBL 12 involves third umpire referrals for stumpings, which will solely scrutinise the stumping decision, omitting other dismissal methods, aiming to reduce play interruptions. Captains can still request the third umpire to examine other forms of dismissal but will need to utilise their review for this purpose. Each team will have one unsuccessful DRS challenge per innings."
Who are the overseas players?
English players were highly sought after in September's draft, with over a dozen set to participate in BBL 13.
The defending champions, Perth Scorchers, enlisted Test opener Zak Crawley and Laurie Evans – a member of their BBL 11-winning squad. Meanwhile, the Adelaide Strikers (Jamie Overton and Adam Hose), Brisbane Heat (Sam Billings and Paul Walter), and Hobart Hurricanes (Chris Jordan and Sam Hain) also opted for a pair of English players.
Fan-favourite Alex Hales, the top overseas run-scorer in the competition, will once again represent the Sydney Thunder, while Tom Curran returns to the Sydney Sixers after missing last year's tournament due to injury. He'll be accompanied in magenta by James Vince. Additionally, Joe Clarke (Melbourne Renegades) and Liam Dawson (a partial replacement signing at Melbourne Stars) represent England in the league.
Colin Munro (Brisbane Heat), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Quinton de Kock (both Melbourne Renegades), and the Pakistan stars Imad Wasim, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars) and Zaman Khan (Sydney Thunders) are among the other international players participating in BBL 13.
However, Adelaide Strikers regular Rashid Khan (back injury) has withdrawn from the Big Bash, while English players Harry Brook (Melbourne Stars) and Rehan Ahmed (Sydney Sixers) have also opted out of their respective contracts.
As BBL 13 coincides with the SA20 and ILT20 in January, some high-profile players might depart towards the end of the tournament. Moreover, due to the Test series against Pakistan (December 14-January 7) and West Indies (January 16-29), several Australian red-ball players like Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, and Usman Khawaja may miss the entire season.
BBL 13 schedule
Thursday, December 7, Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars, Gabba, 7:15 pm local time
Friday, December 8, Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades, SCG, 7:15 pm local time
Saturday, December 9, Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Oval, 7:15 pm local time
Sunday, December 10, Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers, GMHBA Stadium, 7:15 pm local time
Monday, December 11, Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers, University of Tasmania Stadium, 7:15 pm local time
Tuesday, December 12, Sydney Thunder vs Brisbane Heat, Manuka Oval, 7:15 pm local time
Wednesday, December 13, Melbourne Stars vs Perth Scorchers, MCG, 7:15 pm local time
Tuesday, December 19, Adelaide Strikers vs Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Oval, 7:15 pm local time
Wednesday, December 20, Perth Scorchers vs Hobart Hurricanes, Optus Stadium, 7:15 pm local time
Thursday, December 21, Melbourne Renegades vs Brisbane Heat, Marvel Stadium, 7:15 pm local time
Friday, December 22, Sydney Sixers vs Adelaide Strikers, SCG, 7:15 pm local time
Saturday, December 23, Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder, Lavington Sports Ground, 3:30 pm local time;
Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Renegades, Blundstone Arena, 7:15 pm local time
Tuesday, December 26, Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars, SCG, 6:05 pm local time;
Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Renegades, Optus Stadium, 9:15 pm local time
Wednesday, December 27, Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Thunder, Gabba, 7:15 pm local time
Thursday, December 28, Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Stars, Blundstone Arena, 7:15 pm local time
Friday, December 29, Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers, Marvel Stadium, 7:15 pm local time
Saturday, December 30, Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers Sydney, Showground, 7:15 pm local time
Sunday, December 31, Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Stars, Adelaide Oval, 7:15 pm local time
Monday, January 1, Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder Blundstone Arena, 4 pm local time;
Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Sixers Gabba, 7:15 pm local time
Tuesday, January 2, Melbourne Stars vs Melbourne Renegades MCG, 7:15 pm local time
Wednesday, January 3, Sydney Sixers vs Brisbane Heat C.ex Coffs International Stadium, 6:05 pm local time; Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strikers Optus Stadium, 9:15 pm local time
Thursday, January 4, Melbourne Renegades vs Hobart Hurricanes Marvel Stadium, 7:15 pm local time
Friday, January 5, Adelaide Strikers vs Perth Scorchers Adelaide Oval, 7:15 pm local time
Saturday, January 6, Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers MCG, 7:15 pm local time
Sunday, January 7, Brisbane Heat vs Hobart Hurricanes Gabba, 7:15 pm local time
Monday, January 8, Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers Sydney Showground, 7:15 pm local time
Tuesday, January 9, Adelaide Strikers vs Hobart Hurricanes Adelaide Oval, 7:40 pm local time
Wednesday, January 10, Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers Gabba, 7:40 pm local time
Thursday, January 11, Hobart Hurricanes vs Adelaide Strikers Blundstone Arena, 7:15 pm local time
Friday, January 12, Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder SCG, 7:15 pm local time
Saturday, January 13, Perth Scorchers vs Brisbane Heat Optus Stadium, 4:15 pm local time; Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars Marvel Stadium, 7:30 pm local time
Sunday, January 14, Sydney Thunder vs Adelaide Strikers Manuka Oval, 7:15 pm local time
Monday, January 15, Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes, MCG, 7:15 pm local time
Tuesday, January 16, Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers, Optus Stadium, 7:40 pm local time
Wednesday, January 17, Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Showground, 7:15 pm local time
Friday, January 19, Qualifier, TBC
Saturday, January 20, Knockout, TBC
Monday, January 22, Challenger, TBC
Wednesday, January 24, Final, TBC
What happened in BBL 12?
The Perth Scorchers clinched their fifth BBL title, triumphing over the Brisbane Heat by five wickets at Perth Stadium. They maintained dominance throughout the competition, securing the top spot on the regular season table with 11 victories out of 14 matches.
In contrast, the Brisbane Heat surged from the rear of the pack to reach the final. They progressed to the playoffs in fifth position, overcoming the Sydney Thunder, Melbourne Renegades, and Sydney Sixers.
Unfortunately, the Melbourne Stars had a forgettable campaign, finishing at the bottom with only three wins.