The 13th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL 13) is all set to kick-start from Thursday, December 7 with 2022/23 finalists Brisbane Heat taking on Melbourne Stars at the Gabba in Brisbane.
In Short
- BBL 13 to kick-start on Thursday, December 7
- Brisbane Heat to take on Melbourne Stars at the Gabba in opening match
- New finals structure in place for 13th season of Big Bash League
When does it start?
This Thursday is set to kick off the KFC BBL 13 with an exciting match between last season’s runners-up, Brisbane Heat, and Melbourne Stars at the Gabba on December 7. The clash promises to be a real treat for cricket fans. Notably, World Cup winners Marnus Labuschagne (playing for Heat), Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis (both with the Stars) are confirmed for the season opener, along with Test opener Usman Khawaja.
The action continues on the second night of the season when Sydney Sixers play host to Melbourne Renegades at the SCG. Aussie superstar Steve Smith, representing the Sixers, and the country’s top white-ball spinner Adam Zampa, playing for the Renegades, will also be in action.
Get ready for some thrilling cricket as these top players bring their skills to the BBL arena!
What’s the schedule of BBL 13?
Experience a revamped summer of BBL 13 action as the competition returns to a 10-game regular season schedule in BBL 13. After five years of facing each rival twice, this season brings a fresh format with 40 home-and-away matches. Each club engages in three double encounters, including the highly anticipated Melbourne and Sydney derbies.
The excitement kicks off with five teams—Heat, Scorchers, Renegades, Stars, and Sixers—playing two games in the first week. The tournament then takes a strategic five-day break from December 14-18 to avoid overlapping with the first Test between Australia and Pakistan in Perth.
Keep an eye out for the thrilling four-team finals series, starting just two days after the Thunder and Renegades face off at Sydney Showground on January 17. The top two teams enjoy a double chance, battling for a spot in the final on January 19. The losing team from that clash gets another shot, taking on the winner of the 3rd versus 4th match for the chance to claim the BBL|13 title on January 24.
Don’t miss the twists and turns of this new-look BBL 13 season!
To get Full Schedule for BBL 13 Click here
NEW STRUCTURE
The upcoming BBL 13 season is all set to kick off on December 7, 2023, and will run through January 24, 2024. There’s an exciting twist this time around with a new finals structure. The round-robin matches will keep us entertained until January 17. Then, mark your calendars for the ‘Qualifier’ on January 19, where the top two teams from the league stage will battle it out for a direct spot in the final.
Things heat up with the ‘Knockout’ on January 20, featuring the third and fourth-place teams. The ‘Challenger’ on January 22 will see the winner of the ‘Knockout’ facing off against the losing side from the ‘Qualifier.’ The ultimate showdown arrives with the final on January 24, where the winner of the ‘Challenger’ takes on the triumphant team from the ‘Qualifier.’ Get ready for a thrilling BBL season with this revamped finals format!
Where will BBL 13 matches be telecast?
53,886 fans packed Optus Stadium for last summer’s BBL|12 Final // Getty
The BBL 13 matches will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network in India.
The BBL 13 matches can be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website.
BBL 13 squads
(as at December 3)
Adelaide Strikers
Wes Agar, James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Travis Head, Adam Hose (England), Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton (England), David Payne (England), D’Arcy Short, Matt Short, Henry Thorton, Jake Weatherald
Ins: James Bazley (Heat), Brendan Doggett (Thunder), Jamie Overton, David Payne (Scorchers), D’Arcy Short (Hurricanes)
Outs: Harry Conway, Ryan Gibson, Peter Siddle (Renegades), Rashid Khan (injured)
Brisbane Heat
Xavier Bartlett, Sam Billings (England), Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Jack Wildermuth, Paul Walter (England), Jack Wood
Ins: Jack Wood, Paul Walter
Outs: James Bazley (Strikers), Mark Steketee (Stars), Sam Heazlett (Hurricanes)
Hobart Hurricanes
Corey Anderson (USA), Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Liam Guthrie, Sam Hain (England), Peter Hatzoglou, Sam Heazlett, Caleb Jewell, Chris Jordan (England), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright
Ins: Corey Anderson, Nikhil Chaudhary, Liam Guthrie, Sam Hain (Heat), Peter Hatzoglou (Scorchers), Sam Heazlett (Heat), Chris Jordan (Sixers)
Outs: Wil Parker, Chris Tremain, Joel Paris (Stars), D’Arcy Short (Strikers), Tim Paine (retired)
Melbourne Renegades
Joe Clarke (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Harry Dixon, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Ruwantha Kellapotha, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson (c), Shaun Marsh, Fergus O’Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon Wells, Adam Zampa
Ins: Harry Dixon, Nathan Lyon (Sixers), Peter Siddle (Strikers), Adam Zampa (Stars), Quinton de Kock, Joe Clarke (Stars), Fergus O’Neill
Outs: Zak Evans, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Jack Prestwidge, Corey Rocchiccioli, David Moody, Fawad Ahmed
Melbourne Stars
Scott Boland, Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Dawson (England), Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Joel Paris, Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Imad Wasim (Pakistan), Beau Webster (replaced by Jono Merlo for first game)
Ins: Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Scott Boland, Sam Harper (Renegades), Joel Paris (Hurricanes), Corey Rocchiccioli (Renegades), Mark Steketee (Heat), Imad Wasim
Outs: Adam Zampa (Renegades), Liam Hatcher, (Thunder), Sam Elliott, Clint Hinchliffe, Cameron McClure, Tom O’Connell
Perth Scorchers
Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Zak Crawley (England), Laurie Evans (England), Stephen Eskinazi (England), Aaron Hardie, Liam Haskett, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Hamish McKenzie, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye
Ins: Zak Crawley, Laurie Evans, Liam Haskett, Hamish McKenzie, Sam Whiteman (Thunder)
Outs: Cameron Bancroft (Thunder), Cameron Green, Peter Hatzoglou (Hurricanes)
Sydney Sixers
Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Tom Curran (England), Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed (Afghanistan), Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith, James Vince (England)
Ins: Tom Curran, Joel Davies, Mitch Perry
Outs: Dan Christian (retired), Nathan Lyon (Renegades), Mickey Edwards
Sydney Thunder
Cameron Bancroft, Oliver Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Liam Hatcher, Zaman Khan (Pakistan), Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Will Salzmann, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha, Jason Sangha (c), David Warner
Ins: Cameron Bancroft (Scorchers), Liam Doddrell, Liam Hatcher (Stars), Zaman Khan, Will Salzmann
Outs: Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett (Strikers), Joel Davies (Sixers), Baxter Holt, Sam Whiteman (Scorchers)