The Big Bash League is an Australian men's professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, and features eight city-based franchises instead of the six state teams which had participated previously. The competition has been sponsored by fast food-chicken outlet KFC since its inception. It was in 2016/17 one of the two T20 cricket leagues, alongside the Indian Premier League, to feature amongst the top ten domestic sport leagues in average attendance. The winner of BBL 13 (2023/2024) was the Brisbane Heat, who beat the Sydney Sixers by 54 runs in the final.
Perth Scorchers taking on Hobart Hurricanes at the WACA in 2011
Shane Warne bowling against Sydney Sixers in 2011 at the SCG
Ben Cutting of Brisbane Heat batting against Melbourne Stars in 2014
Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG on 6 January 2016
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innings each, which is restricted to a maximum of twenty overs. Together with first-class and List A cricket, Twenty20 is one of the three current forms of cricket recognised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as being at the highest international or domestic level.
Lasith Malinga bowling to Shahid Afridi in the 2009 T20 World Cup Final at Lord's, London.
Former England batsman Andrew Strauss batting for Middlesex against Surrey
Crowd during a match of the 2015 IPL season in Hyderabad, India
Twenty20 matches can have some exciting displays, such as when the batsmen run out to the pitch
