A two-time BBL champion says the league is ready to play on Christmas Day and is “shocked” the BBL retreated from the Christmas Eve timeslot this season after a four-year experiment.
Sydney Sixers batter Jordan Silk warned Cricket Australia not to miss the boat as “more and more codes” schedule games on Christmas Day to fill a longtime vacancy in the national sporting landscape.
The NBL has held three games on December 25 over the last two years, with its fixtures poised to become an annual tradition, but the BBL has strayed further from a Christmas fixture, with an annual Christmas Eve clash in Hobart removed from the schedule this season.
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Silk, who has spent his entire 10-year BBL career at the Sixers, questioned why the game had been removed after four years in that slot.
“I was shocked that there was no game on Christmas Eve,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“In terms of Christmas Day, I think we are ready for it. The BBL … you are always looking for something to watch that afternoon.
“After you’re done playing backyard cricket, you want to put your feet up and have a beer.
“Something to watch would be great and it’d be a nice lead in to the Boxing Day Test.”
Big Bash general manager Alistair Dobson said in July a Christmas Day game “wasn’t completely off the table”, but there was no urgency from the league to break new ground with a match.
“We’ve discussed BBL games on Christmas Day from time to time but haven’t seen the need yet to act on that,” Dobson said.
“It’s not completely off the table, just not part of our considerations this season.”
Silk said he thought a BBL clash would be a television ratings winner.
“I can’t speak for all players but certainly watching or participating in a live cricket game on Christmas could be a pretty cool tradition,” he said.
“The more we see other codes taking up Christmas Day games, it’ll only get spoken about more and more.
“I think it would be a highly watched (BBL) fixture if it were to go ahead. I’m all for it. There’s no reason why you couldn’t play a game on that day.”
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