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KFC Big Bash - Aussie T20 League

Desi Cartman

By Desi Cartman
in Cricket Talk

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Chris Gayle's injury not serious Chris Gayle's injury not serious West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has been cleared of serious injury after undergoing scans. Gayle has been cleared of serious injury after undergoing scans following Western Australia's Big Bash loss to South Australia Redbacks. Gayle injured a muscle on his left side in just the second over of what proved a disappointing Warriors run chase as they lost by 29 runs in the twenty20 contest. Despite playing in obvious distress, Gayle continued to produce some trademark big hits before being forced to retire hurt on 40. Having iced the injury, the star import came out to the crease once more, but only faced a further four balls before losing his wicket to Shaun Tait for 44 off 24 balls. The 30-year-old was reportedly in significant distress after the match, however, and Warriors fans and officials feared he may have torn a muscle, forcing him out of the entire competition. But the Western Australian Cricket Association announced on Wednesday that scans have indicated Gayle has merely suffered a muscle strain, meaning he should be available to play against New South Wales next Tuesday after missing the New Year's Day clash with Tasmania.

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Hughes, Smith lift Blues to win Hughes, Smith lift Blues to win Phillip Hughes and Steven Smith starred in New South Wales Blues’ 31-run victory over the Tasmanian Tigers in their KFC Twenty20 BigBash opener at Bellerive Oval. Hughes carried his bat through the innings to remain unbeaten at 71 as the defending champions posted a challenging 194 for four in their 20 overs. Electing to bat first, the Blues got off to a flying start with Hughes and David Warner rattling up 97 runs inside the first seven overs before the latter failed to make his ground off a George Bailey throw. The innings lost some momentum after the first wicket but skipper Moises Henriques chipped in with a run-a-ball 37 and partnered Hughes to stitch 57 runs for the third wicket. The Tiger’s foreign recruit Naved-ul-Hasan Rana was the pick up of the bowlers, snapping up two wickets but his four overs went for an expensive 41 runs. Phil Jaques and Dwayne Smith failed with the bat and only some tight spells by JP Faulkner and XJ Doherty stopped the Blues from going past 200. The Tigers got off to a promising start with openers RPG Lockyear and Tim Paine bringing up 44 when the former was removed by MA Starc for a 20-ball 25. That sparked a mini collapse for the hosts, who raced away to 108 in the first 10 overs but lost four wickets by then. Last year’s leading wicket-taker, Aaron Bird struck twice in his opening two overs to to see off Paine (48) and Bailey (16) to ensure the Tigers had no chance of a fightback. However, it was a four wicket haul by 20 year old Steven Smith that hastened the Tigers’ collapse in the middle overs. The young leg-spinner exhibited great skills as he unsettled the lower order batsmen with his guile and spin as the required run rate shot up for the Tasmanians infont of an expectant home crowd. West Indies allrounder Dwayne Smith failed with the bat but struck a decent line in his first T20 game in two years, picking up TR Birt and conceding 20 runs in his three overs. Some late order attack by Rana and Doherty was not enough to save the day for the Tigers, who were bundled out for 163 in 19 overs.

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Naved-ul-Hasan to take on Shaun Marsh Naved-ul-Hasan to take on Shaun Marsh Tasmanian Tigers and Western Warriors, both of whom had lost their respective opening games, are all set to take on each other. Action returns to the Bellerive Oval in the new year after fans witnessed some fantastic knocks from the NSW Blues' opener David Warner and local hero Tim Paine two days earlier in their Big Bash opener. On Friday, the Tigers will face the Western Warriors. Both teams lost their opening games. Tigers were beaten by the Blues while the Warriors ran out of luck against the Southern Redbacks. The pitch at the Bellerive Oval is a delight for the batsmen. The fans will miss the Warriors' star Chris Gayle in action as he was advised to rest by team's medical staff after he strained a muscle against the Redbacks on Tuesday. With Gayle's absence, Warriors will have to find the right opener to accompany Shaun Marsh. Having already tasted defeat, Marsh will be expected to quick-fire Warriors' innings. He will be a key in providing them a good start. Spinners will play a huge role in restricting the batsmen. For the Warriors, Aaron Heal will come handy. The Tigers need to watch out for captain Adam Voges who is in a good form. Voges played cautiously against the Redbacks and scored 45 off 36 balls. He was a nightmare for the bowlers who couldn't get him out till the 18th over. The Tigers have a better luck with their opening pair. Rhett Lockyear and Paine provided a strong 44-run stand against the Blues on Wednesday. The Warriors will be wary of captain George Bailey and Brett Geeves. In their bowling department, the Tigers will be looking at Pakistan fast bowler Naved-ul-Hasan Rana to provide them early break-through. Naved-ul-Hasan scalped two wickets on his Big Bash debut against the Blues. Medium-pacer James Faulkner and off-spinner Xavier Doherty halted the increasing run-rate of the Blues. They will be imperative in stepping up the Tigers' bowling attack. With both the team equally placed on the points table with one defeat, it will be a keen battle.

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Afridi rates KFC T20 tougher than IPL Afridi rates KFC T20 tougher than IPL Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash is higher and tougher than the Indian Premier League. Afridi, who had earlier said that Australia's domestic tournament would help him get ready for the upcoming one-day series and Twenty20 International against Australia in February, was quoted as saying the 'Big Bash is very tough.' "Compared to IPL and all the other Twenty20 tournaments I think the KFC T20 Big Bash tournament is very tough," Afridi told reporters. The all-rounder was further quoted as saying that there are good tracks and good cricket in Australia and that would help him prepare for the ODI series in Australia. Afridi bagged the man-of-the-match award for his superb match winning bowling spell of 4-19 in the KFC Big Bash match against Western Warriors. Afridi is likely to feature in Pakistan’s upcoming one-day series against Australia and is also set to lead his country in the Twenty20 showdown between the two countries in Melbourne in February.

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KFC T20 deserves its own window KFC T20 deserves its own window A 37 percent jump in KFC Big Bash T20 TV ratings this week shows that ambitious plans for the format’s expansion as an Aussie-style IPL are well founded. "The KFC Big Bash season launch this week resulted in big crowds in Brisbane, Perth and Hobart and the Twenty20 cricket on FoxSport was the week's most popular subscription TV viewing," Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said. "The inclusion of overseas stars such as Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Shahid Afridi is making this season's contest a Bigger Bash, so to speak, and performances by increasingly high profile state players such as Dave Warner, Stephen Smith and Tim Paine this week are also helping the turnstiles click faster". "Our long term planning has a way to go but I could see the time come when the KFC Big Bash has its own summer time window so that we can bolster it even further by having our Test and ODI players available for interstate Twenty20 duties". Mr Sutherland thought that strong performances by NSW and Victoria in the inaugural Airtel Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) best-versus-the-best tournament against winning sides from the IPL and equivalent contests in England, South Africa and elsewhere had also captured Australian fans' imaginations, which added further interest to this week's KFC Big Bash launch. NSW won CLT20's lucrative prize money and bragging rights as the best club championship level T20 team in the world and Victoria was a semi finalist when CLT20 was played in India in October. The finalists in this summer's KFC Big Bash will automatically qualify for the next Airtel CLT20 and a chance to contest its US$12 million prize money. The Big Bash continues over the New Year holiday weekend with games in Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide on January 1, 2 and 3 respectively which are also expected to draw big crowds. Mr Sutherland said he was pleased KFC Big Bash crowds and ratings were so strong on the same days that the 3 Mobile Boxing Day Test in Melbourne was also drawing good crowds and TV ratings, confirming his long-held view that cricket's different formats can enjoy simultaneous success. CA and State Associations are urging fans to arrive early at KFC Big Bash matches over the holiday weekend to avoid queues and to avoid the risk of missing early overs.

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