BBL passes talent test

The tournament is expected to be without the country’s Ashes Test squad, providing opportunities for local talent to burst onto the big stage.

“The league for many exciting, young Australian cricketers has played a significant role in their development and provided an entry point into international cricket,” says Team Performance general manager Pat Howard.

“We look forward to that continuing this season.” 

The league will make its free-to-air debut on Network Ten this summer, and the BBL clubs are comfortable with exclusion of their Test stars. 

"We won't have Clarke or Warner but they won't have Haddin or Smith," Sydney Thunder general manager Nick Cummins said of the Sydney Smash on 21 December. 

"We buy into Cricket Australia's vision that it's important to have a winning Test cricket side because if we're winning in Test cricket then that's good for all forms of cricket.
"We manage our squad accordingly, and we've still got another 16 good players. We're quite comfortable with the situation. If Pat Howard wants to let us know that Dave and Michael are available, then wonderful, but otherwise it's OK."
Sydney Sixers general manager echoes his cross-town rival’s comments. 

"Whilst it would be great to have those players we've built up our squad to have ex-internationals such as Brett Lee and Marcus North and our overseas players Michael Lumb and Ravi Bopara, who are current internationals," Remond said.
"It's always ideal to have the No.1 players in your team, we reckon we've got a great squad to fill in and do the best we can in that time when they're not available."

The omission of the national team is a slight blip on the league’s talented radar, boasting an incredible array of stars from all over the world, including:

 - The greatest wicket-taker in Test history – Mutiah Muralidaran
 - Four former international captains –Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Malik, Johan Botha & Cameron White
 - 43 former or current Australian international representatives
 - 27 former or current Australian Test representatives
 - 18 International (non-Australian) players
 - The number one ranked T20 batsman in the world – Alex Hales  
 - 2013 IPL highest run scorer – Michael Hussey
 - 2013 CLT20 Player of the Series – Dwayne Smith

The BBL has from its inception has mixed retired legends such as Mike Hussey, Brett Lee and Simon Katich, with international superstars like Dan Vettori and Lasith Malinga and Australia’s next generation of players including Ashton Agar, Mitch Marsh and Gurinder Sandhu.

The league’s general manager Mike McKenna says that one of the most pleasing achievements of the opening two seasons has been the performances of young Australian talent and the league’s role in giving them the opportunity to stake their claims to represent Australia.

“Last season, James Faulkner, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Cutting, and Kane Richardson converted their great BBL form into international selection for the first time. Aaron Finch and Ben Rohrer were also among those rewarded with their respective ODI and T20 international debuts as a direct result of their performances in the Big Bash.”

“We’re extremely proud that the league is playing a significant role in providing opportunities for so many young Australian cricketers to earn international selection. The players last year join a list of Australian players including David Warner, Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins who first made their mark in domestic T20 before playing for Australia in all forms of the game.

“It’s these players that are the backbone of the competition and provide so much excitement for fans around the country.”

Over 45,000 fans attended last year’s second Big Melbourne Derby, with the Stars and the Renegades hoping for another bumper crowd on 20 December to launch BBL|03.