An epic BBL season is drawing to a close as the five-team finals series looms ever closer
Ultimate guide: All you need to know for the BBL|12 finals
The Big Bash has roared back to its best this summer with thrilling finishes, outstanding individual performances (with centuries and hat-tricks galore), as well as plenty of controversy, and it all comes to a head next week when the KFC BBL|12 finals get underway.
Ahead of the start of the finals series on January 27, here's a comprehensive guide of when and where the BBL|12 finals will take place and how to secure your seat to watch history unfold.
BBL|12 finals schedule
Friday January 27: The Eliminator, 4th v 5th
Saturday January 28: The Qualifier, Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers
Sunday January 29: The Knockout, 3rd v winner of The Eliminator
Thursday February 2: The Challenger, loser of The Qualifier v winner of The Knockout
Saturday February 4: The Final, winner of The Qualifier v winner of The Challenger
*The full BBL|12 finals schedule including venues and start times will be confirmed following the conclusion of the regular season on January 25.
Image Id: A28E32E5CC2A4B99B23589238A66B459Where will the finals be played?
Teams finishing fourth (The Eliminator), first (Perth Scorchers) and third (The Knockout) with each host finals during the first weekend, with the winner of The Qualifier hosting the decider the following Saturday and the loser The Challenger on the Thursday.
That's good news for Scorchers fans - as the top-placed finisher in BBL|12, they are guaranteed to host two home finals this summer. After being on the road for the majority of last season and being forced to play home finals at Marvel Stadium due to Western Australia's pandemic border closure, Perth Stadium will see BBL finals cricket for the just the second time.
The first final the Scorchers hosted at the venue was just days after it's official opening in 2018 where a crowd of 52,960 saw the Hurricanes take down the home side to advance to the BBL|07 decider.
On Saturday, January 28, the Scorchers will host the Sydney Sixers in this summer's Qualifier final.
At the time of writing, five teams are still jostling for the remaining three positions in the playoffs, and they won't be decided until after the final game of the regular season when the Stars host the Thunder at the MCG on January 25.
Who will qualify?
Perennial title contenders the Scorchers and the Sixers have locked up the top two spots, respectively.
The Melbourne Stars will not, and were the first team eliminated from contention this season.
The race for the final three spots is going down to the wire heading into the last week of the regular season with the Renegades, Strikers, Hurricanes, Thunder and Heat all within three points in the BBL|12 standings at the time of writing.
When do tickets go on sale?
The early confirmation that Perth and Sydney will play in the Qualifier will see tickets for that event go on sale early, and they will become available on Wednesday, January 25. There is a pre-sale from 10am Perth time for club members, and general public tickets will be on sale from 1pm Perth time.
Tickets for The Eliminator and Knockout finals will go on sale on Thursday January 26 at 1pm local venue time with a three-hour pre-sale period opening at 10am on the same day.
Tickets for The Challenger and Final go on sale on Sunday January 29 at 1pm local venue time with another three-hour pre-sale period opening at 10am on the same day.
Tickets can be purchased here.
How do I watch?
All BBL|12 finals will be broadcast live on Channel 7, Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports with live ball-by-ball radio coverage available on SEN.
Kayo offers a free trial for new subscribers, and you can sign up for that here.
SEN radio coverage is also able to be streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.
What about live scores, news and highlights?
Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app will have live scores for every game of BBL|12, including finals, as well as wicket replays in the match centre to go with extended video highlights, reports and interviews from our reporters throughout the competition.
Make sure you're following @cricketcomau and @BBL on social media to get the best bits of every match direct to your feed as well.
Will the Aussie Test stars play?
In short: Yes! But there are some caveats with such a highly-anticipated India Test tour on the horizon. Spinners Ashton Agar (Scorchers) and Todd Murphy (Sixers) will not feature in the Qualifier final on January 28, and will instead attend a spin-focused pre-tour training camp in Sydney that weekend. The other 11 Test squad members playing in the BBL have been cleared to play in the first week of the finals, including Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon, who will make the trip to Perth for the Qualifier. But with the finals schedule still up in the air at the time of writing, there may be some late changes: Brisbane Heat leg-spinner Mitch Swepson and Melbourne Renegades batter Peter Handscomb will only be eligible to play in the Knockout final on Sunday January 29 if it is hosted by the Sydney Thunder, as they will otherwise be required at the pre-tour spin camp.
The Test squad flies out on January 31, after the Australian Cricket Awards in Sydney the previous night, so no Test players will be available for the Challenger or Final in the second week of the finals. Here's a club-by-club rundown:
Adelaide: Alex Carey, Travis Head: available for Eliminator/Knockout
Brisbane: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw: available for Eliminator/Knockout. Mitchell Swepson: available for Eliminator, Knockout only if hosted by Sydney Thunder
Perth: Lance Morris: available for Qualifier. Ashton Agar: not available
Renegades: Peter Handscomb: available for Eliminator, Knockout only if hosted by Sydney Thunder
Sixers: Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith: available for Qualifier. Todd Murphy: not available
Thunder: David Warner: available for Eliminator/Knockout