Heat locked out as seven BBL games are rescheduled

The Brisbane Heat have been locked out of Victoria, forcing their KFC BBL match against the Melbourne Renegades on Thursday to be shifted to Canberra and played in an empty stadium, while all matches in Sydney have also been relocated.

State border closures have forced further changes to the Big Bash schedule, with Cricket Australia today confirming the five remaining games that were to be held in Sydney have been shifted to either Adelaide or Melbourne after three Sydney games were moved to Canberra last week.

The Heat's match against the Renegades has also been moved from Marvel Stadium to Manuka Oval after CA was unable to get clearance for the Heat to enter Victoria despite Brisbane's citywide lockdown ending tonight following three days without community transmission in the Queensland capital.

Under current border restrictions, anyone arriving in Victoria who has been in Greater Brisbane since January 2 – which includes the Heat players and staff – are required to quarantine for 14 days.

It had been hoped that an exemption from the Victorian government could be secured given all BBL players and officials have been restricted in a bio-secure bubble during the tournament, which has helped CA to negotiate with state and territory authorities this season.

However, the bio bubble is not a guarantee that matches can proc­eed as planned and it's ultimately at the discretion of the relevant authority.

Like Victoria, the ACT had a hard border to those who had been in Brisbane since January 2, but that was relaxed at 2pm this afternoon, allowing the Heat a clear passage from their hub on the Gold Coast to Canberra.

CA's Head of Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson said the venue change will "create certainty that this fixture can be delivered", however the match will be played behind closed doors.

"Unfortunately, given the operational difficulties in providing a safe and secure environment for fans to attend at such short notice, including the ACT Government's requirement that all tickets go off sale 24 hours prior to the match, tickets to this match will not be available to the public," Dobson said.

"In addition, we will be shifting the Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat match (from the MCG) to Adelaide Oval as a result of that venue being re-engaged at the back end of the tournament, a great reward for Strikers members and fans."

The relocation of Thursday's game means the first BBL match in Melbourne this summer will be on Friday night at the MCG between the Stars and Strikers, with crowds to be limited to 15,000 people at both venues in the Victorian capital.

The Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers have already arrived in Canberra ahead of their game on Wednesday, with the ACT government granting early entry even though both clubs have also recently been in Brisbane.

Following the game in Canberra, the Heat are next scheduled to play the Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium on January 19, but it's yet to be seen if they will be able to enter Victoria for that clash.

The relocation of matches from Sydney means the two BBL ladder leaders, the Sixers and Thunder, won't play any home games this season, although the Thunder will have a total of seven games at their second home, Manuka Oval.

All Australian states and territories currently have restrictions of some kind on arrivals from NSW due to recent COVID19 cases in the state, with three more locally-acquired infections recorded today.

CA has been able to gain government exemptions to allow the third and fourth Vodafone Tests to be held in Sydney and Brisbane under tight restrictions, but the challenge of getting similar exemptions from multiple governments for all eight BBL clubs – which are currently spread across five states and territories – has proven too challenging.

"The decision to make these adjustments to the KFC BBL|10 schedule was necessary to ensure the continuation of the season in light of the ongoing public health situation and related state border closures," Dobson said.

"The movement of these games has been made possible thanks to a large group of stakeholders including Governments, our KFC BBL clubs and State and Territory Associations and our broadcast and commercial partners, whose hard work, understanding and flexibility we greatly appreciate.

"We'd also like to take the opportunity again to recognise the players, staff and match officials who have shown incredible resilience and flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing landscape and successfully implemented bio secure hubs in each market, which have allowed us to keep the BBL moving."

Players and officials have been under restrictions of some kind throughout the competition, with the scale of limitations depending on the state they are in and where they have come from.

The Thunder, Sixers and Renegades were forced into hard lockdown for their recent games in Perth and were given a police escort to and from games at the request of the Western Australian government, but the Scorchers and Hurricanes have been under more relaxed restrictions during their time in the west.

Putting players and officials in a bio-secure environment during the season has given CA some leeway in their discussions with government authorities as they've been able to point to negative test results and restrictions on player movement.

Despite the challenges created by the pandemic, the BBL season has so far proceeded without major incident, with a total of 35 matches played across five states and territories.

Sunday night's thrilling last-ball finish between the Heat and the Sixers was the second-most watched game of the season, drawing an average audience of 952,000 people.

BBL|10 schedule changes (all times local)

Jan 14: Renegades v Heat, moved from Marvel Stadium to Manuka Oval, 7.15pm

Jan 21: Strikers v Heat, moved from MCG to Adelaide Oval, 6:45pm

Jan 22: Sixers v Thunder, moved from SCG to Adelaide Oval, 6:45pm

Jan 24: Thunder v Strikers, moved from Sydney Showgrounds to Adelaide Oval, 3:35pm

Jan 24: Sixers v Hurricanes, moved from SCG to MCG, 7:15pm

Jan 25: Strikers v Thunder, moved from Sydney Showgrounds to Adelaide Oval, 6:45pm

Jan 26: Heat v Scorchers, moved from SCG to TBC, 1:05pm