BBL News – Canberra and Gold Coast could host BBL finals

The PBL finals could be played in Canberra and the Gold Coast due to venue conflicts, while the Players Association will be open for regular season matches on Christmas Day.

Aam Aadmi

View across Manuka Oval Good pictures

The Adelaide Strikers will be forced to take the Big Bash League final to Canberra if they qualify for the home final, with a place in the Test summer.

A possible clash with Australia's home Test against the West Indies is in the final week of the BBL, with Tests scheduled at both the Adelaide Oval and the Gabba in Brisbane.

If the Strikers finish first or third they will not be able to host the final in Adelaide and will instead play a qualifier or knockout round at Manuka Oval.

The Strikers currently sit fourth on the BBL ladder and have every chance of challenging for the third spot. Adelaide Oval will be available for the challenge on January 22 and the final on January 24 if the Strikers qualify.

The first-place Heat are affected by other clubs. The Heat can still play their home finals in south-east Queensland at the 27,000-seat Heritage Bank Stadium (Carrara Oval) on the Gold Coast.

Carrara will be used for any postseason games the Heat win the right to host, including the tournament finale on Jan. 24 with the GABA test starting the next day.

Colin Munro pulls behind the square in the Carrara Good pictures

This summer the BBL returned to a first-four finals series, with the first and second places competing for the right to host the final, and the third and fourth in a sudden-death match.

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Meanwhile, Australian Cricketers' Association president Todd Greenberg has said he is ready for the BBL matches to be played on Christmas Day.

The National Basketball League has seen ratings and attendance success in Australia playing on December 25 for the past two seasons, while American sports have also thrived on that day.

The BBL pulled out of the Christmas Day fixture this summer and scrapped their Christmas Eve fixture in Hobart. The Christmas night match is expected to be a huge ratings hit, especially in the form of local derbies to eliminate travel.

Sydney Sixers veteran Moises Henriques backed the call this week, but said the concern was mostly for support staff and other stadium officials and staff.

However, Melbourne Stars opener Tom Rogers summed up a major reluctance, saying his mother wouldn't let him leave the house to play.

The Australian Cricketers' Association has not surveyed players on the matter, but Greenberg said he was open to discussion.

„There will be people who don't want to play on Christmas Day and there will be people who don't want to work on it,” he told SEN. “But I feel like people are open to the conversation, and if you explain the benefits … the conversation becomes easier.

“The world evolves.

„But other games and other models are enabling it, so why don't we open our eyes?”

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