Wide Wally's BBL 2011/12 thread

[embee]

This article has made my eyes bleed .....


Twenty20 cricket is the game's version of the 100m sprint; fast, furious and over in the blink of an eye.


But what was once regarded as nothing more than a light-hearted game of hit-and-giggle (think Andrew Johns playing for New South Wales in 2007), T20 cricket is now taken much more seriously.

And the 20-over game in Australia is about to get a whole lot more serious when the inugural KFC T20 Big Bash League gets underway on Friday night.

With big-name imports like Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi set to meet returning veterans like Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden, it's easy to see why the first season of the BBL will revolutionise the game in this country.


And the recent elevation of Patrick Cummins, Nathan Lyon and David Warner to the Australia Test team is proof that T20 cricket is about more than just big crowds, big money and big hits.

The rookie trio are an example of how the Big Bash League is a fertile breeding ground for Australia's future Test stars.

This time last year, Cummins and Lyon were virtual unknowns preparing to make their state debuts in the 2010-2011 Big Bash. Fast forward 12 months and both are in the 'next big thing' category of the Australia Test team, boasting five-wicket hauls on debut in the baggy green this year.

Their rapid rise to the top proves the Big Bash League is a way for players to fast-track themselves to international stardom, according to Fox Sports commentator Mark Waugh.


"I think Twenty20 has really provided players with an opportunity to perform on the big stage ... and people get to know them," Waugh told foxsports.com.au.

"I think it's helped the profile of state cricket and that gets you up in the limelight. People take notice of you and people start to talk about you. It's amazing how it filters through up to the top. It's really given the state players that stepping stone and the profile to make people aware of them."

Once regarded as no more than a Twenty20 slogger, Warner is another example of how skills polished in the Big Bash League can translate to the longer form of the game.

The nuggety left-hander has been regarded as one of the best T20 players in Australia since he made a blistering 89 on debut against South Africa in 2009.


Warner has since honed those skills at first-class level and on he became just the fourth Australian to carry his bat in the fourth innings of a Test match in the dismal seven-run loss to New Zealand in Hobart.

Less than a week after his maiden Test hundred, Warner is set to open the batting alongside Chris Gayle when Sydney Thunder take on Melbourne Stars in front of a huge crowd at the MCG on Saturday night.

Warner's ability in both forms of the game is another example of how T20 slogging and patient batting aren't mutually exclsuive.

"The thing with Twenty20 is it's not just the big bashers that score runs," Waugh said.


"You have to play proper cricket shots. And even the spinners, people thought spinners would be no good at Twenty20 then Nathan Lyon came along.

"There are certain skills you can use in all forms of the game, it's not just bash and barge. It's quite skilful in it's own right.

"It's a different game, but the basics apply in all forms of cricket. If you do them well in one form you'll do well in all forms."

Waugh says Melbourne Renegades deserve to be favourites for the Big Bash League, but the competition is wide open.

"It's a really even competition. It's really hard to pick a winner at this stage, which is the good thing about it I think. You're not really going to know until three-quarters of the way through the competition which teams are coping the best.

"Every team can beat each other on any given day. That's the beauty about Twenty20 cricket; it's very difficult to predict.

"I'm looking forward to it. It's unique and it's obviously the first time this sort competition as happened, where you've got players playing interstate in different teams, the overseas players and a few old timers coming back as well."

[skully]

I hate Y-Gen.

[WideWally]

Why isn't this thread rikkied?

[skully]

Reminds me of when Dello went apesh!t and created a separate forum for the IPL, including starting threads for every game, all of which ended up with one post - the OP.

FFS and FMD, how silly does he look now?

[Nath]

Pollard is injured and out for the whole tourney

[WideWally]

The Big Bash is quickly turning into a big M*A*S*H*.

[horace]

Kjnr is x gen skully....what an embarassing series of claims...I hope he got paid more for this tosh than for the pitch information

[skully]

Massively Abysmal Slogfest Happening?

[WideWally]

Something like that.

[horace]

what has the great game decscended to?

who to blame for this blight?...Modi....Sutherland?...nah its















skully

[Big Dog]

what has the great game decscended to?

who to blame for this blight?...Modi....Sutherland?...nah its










Phil Hughes.............or Bruce Francis if you are using Lardy goggles.

[skully]

Heh, "lardy goggles". Sounds like a good idea for a thread.

[WideWally]

Dan Christian top scores with 32 off 22 balls. Surely he has played his way into the eleven for the Boxing Day Test.

[WideWally]

Honestly. This stuff really is crap. Think I'll watch the A-League instead.


Go Gold Coast!

[Nath]

crowd number looks slightly disappointing