The first season of the Big Bash League T20 will begin this year from December 16. Eight teams will participate in the tournament.
The Big Bash League T20 2011 will be played over a round-robin cum knockout format. The eight sides take on each other in a round-robin league with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals, followed by the winners of these two semi-finals meeting in the final.
The eight teams participating in the first edition of the Big Bash League 2011-12 are Adelaide Strikers, Perth Scorchers, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Sydney Thunder, Sydney Sixers, Hobart Hurricanes and Brisbane Heat.
The Strikers will be led by Michael Klinger, Marcus North captains the Scorchers, Andrew McDonald captains the Renegades while the Stars will be skippered by Cameron White. The Stars are favourites to win the inaugural edition, 5/1 at
Boylesports, while the Melbourne Renegades are 11/2 (
Paddy Power) to lift the cup.
The Thunders will have David Warner as their captain, while Brad Haddin leads the Sixers. The Heat and the Hurricanes will be led by James Hopes and Tim Paine.
Two foreign players are allowed for every team and likes of Kieron Pollard, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs and Brendon McCullum will all be a part of the Big Bash League T20.
Other former international stars like Matthew Hayden, Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg will also turn out in the Big Bash League after having earlier announced their retirement from all forms of the game. The biggest draw, however, should be Shane Warne, who has signed up for the Melbourne Stars. He should be in action at the Melbourne Cricket Ground through most part of the summer.
At the end of the 28-match league stage, where all sides will seven games apiece, the top four on the basis of points will qualify for the knock-out stage. The two semi-finals and the final will be played on January 20, 21 and 28 respectively.
The Big Bash League 2011 schedule and fixtures are as follows. All times are in GMT.
Dec 16, 2011
08:00, Sydney Sixers vs Brisbane Heat, 1st T20, Sydney
Dec 17, 2011
08:00, Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder, 2nd T20, Melbourne
Dec 18, 2011
07:00, Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Renegades, 3rd T20, Adelaide
10:00, Perth Scorchers vs Hobart Hurricanes, 4th T20, Perth
Dec 20, 2011
08:30, Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars, 5th T20, Brisbane
Dec 21, 2011
08:00, Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers, 6th T20, Hobart
Dec 22, 2011
08:00, Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers, 7th T20, Melbourne
Dec 23, 2011
08:00, Sydney Thunder vs Adelaide Strikers, 8th T20, Sydney
Dec 27, 2011
08:00, Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars, 9th T20, Sydney
Dec 28, 2011
08:30, Adelaide Strikers vs Hobart Hurricanes, 10th T20, Adelaide
Dec 29, 2011
10:00, Perth Scorchers vs Brisbane Heat, 11th T20, Perth
Dec 30, 2011
08:00, Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Renegades, 12th T20, Sydney
Jan 1, 2012
08:00, Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder, 13th T20, Hobart
Jan 2, 2012
08:00, Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Sixers, 14th T20, Melbourne
Jan 3, 2012
08:30, Brisbane Heat vs Adelaide Strikers, 15th T20, Brisbane
Jan 4, 2012
08:00, Melbourne Stars vs Perth Scorchers, 16th T20, Melbourne
Jan 6, 2012
08:30, Brisbane Heat vs Hobart Hurricanes, 17th T20, Brisbane
Jan 7, 2012
08:00, Melbourne Stars vs Melbourne Renegades, 18th T20, Melbourne
Jan 8, 2012
07:00, Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers, 19th T20, Sydney
10:00, Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strikers, 20th T20, Perth
Jan 9, 2012
08:00, Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Stars, 21st T20, Hobart
Jan 10, 2012
08:30, Adelaide Strikers vs Sydney Sixers, 22nd T20, Adelaide
Jan 11, 2012
08:00, Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers, 23rd T20, Sydney
Jan 12, 2012
08:00, Melbourne Renegades vs Brisbane Heat, 24th T20, Melbourne
Jan 17, 2012
08:30, Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Thunder, 25th T20, Brisbane
Jan 18, 2012
05:00, Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Renegades, 26th T20, Hobart
08:00, Sydney Sixers vs Perth Scorchers, 27th T20, Sydney
Jan 19, 2012
08:00, Melbourne Stars vs Adelaide Strikers, 28th T20, Melbourne
Jan 20, 2012
TBC vs TBC, 1st Semi Final T20, TBC
Jan 21, 2012
TBC vs TBC, 2nd Semi Final T20, TBC
Jan 28, 2012
TBC vs TBC, Final T20, TBC
