Your Complete Guide to the Big Bash Finals

All the info on becoming a cricket genius over the next few weeks. 

With the summer of cricket nearly at an end, it’s almost time for the top-placed Big Bash League teams to go head-to-head in what’s shaping up to be a huge finals series.

After a couple of years impacted by COVID and international cricket fixtures, this series is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent history, and it all gets underway today.

If you’re not familiar with the Big Bash League, it’s a form of domestic cricket contested between eight Australian teams over the summer months.

The eight teams play 14 games across two months, and unlike other forms of Cricket, they play fast-paced, 20-over games highlighted with music, entertainment, showmanship, and some huge hits.

This year marks the 12^th annual season of the Big Bash, and it just keeps getting better.

With all 56 matches now wrapped up, the finals get underway tonight with The Sydney Thunder taking on The Brisbane Heat at Sydney Showground Stadium in “The Eliminator”.

How do the finals work?

Throughout the season, as teams play one another in regularly scheduled games, they fight for the best positions on the ladder. There are some intricacies into how the ladder works, but basically, the more wins you get and the bigger those wins, the higher you are on the ladder.

At the end of the season, the top five placed teams go into the finals, with the other three heading home.

Unlike other sports, where teams play in semi-finals, quarter finals, preliminary finals and so on, the Big Bash features four games, where higher-placed teams get double the chances and losing teams are eliminated, before the final two go head-to-head in “The Final”, set to take place on Saturday 4 February.

Teams placed first, third and fourth all get the home-ground advantage in their first finals game, with first-placed Perth Scorchers guaranteed two home finals. 

Image: Cricket Australia.

The final will be hosted either in Perth or Sydney on 4 February, with the winner of “The Qualifier” set to be the host.

Who are the top contenders?

This year, everyone’s eyes are on the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers.

The Scorchers have had one of their greatest seasons ever, finishing on top of the ladder for the fifth time in their history, and will be chasing an unprecedented fifth BBL Championship, and their second in a row.

Scorchers players have also individually had a great season, with bowler AJ Tye scoring the second-most wickets throughout the season, and batsmen Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis picking up the second and fifth most runs respectively.

On the other hand, the Sydney Sixers are a powerhouse that could take out the whole thing. At the end of the season, they sit just one game behind the Scorchers.

They were buffeted massively by the return of International Test Cricket star Steve Smith, who dominated in his first two games, scoring back-to-back centuries.

The Scorchers and the Sixers have a long-standing rivalry as the league’s two most successful franchises and stand well in front of the rest of the league this year – their face-off in “The Qualifier” is going to be one for the history books.

But that doesn’t mean we won’t see a surprise from any other team. Sides like the Melbourne Renegades have been putting pressure on more successful teams this year, and with luck on their side, they could go deep into the finals.

Anything can happen in cricket, and the stronger sides still need to be wary of the other two teams, the Sydney Thunder and the Brisbane Heat, who could take out the whole thing.

How can I grab tickets?

Tickets for the first three finals are on sale now through Ticketmaster, so get in quick to secure your spot at a huge finals series.

Tickets for the final two games will go on sale on 29 January at 1pm local time.

Alternatively, all the games will be streaming live on Channel 7, Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports.

Header image: Cricket Australia.