The venues for the initial games of the Big Bash League Season 10 are confirmed with Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory set to host the opening matches in December. With that, Queensland and South Australia will also host a few games in the month.
In what can be considered as a major boost for the local teams hailing from these regions, the moves come amidst the ongoing pandemic and strong efforts to thwart the transmission among the players.
In Tasmania, the cities of Hobart and Launceston were chosen to conduct the BBL matches while in the ACT, it will be the capital city Canberra that will get to see its fair share of the games.
A Possible Strong Start for Hobart Hurricanes?
Hobart Hurricanes, all set to play in their 10th season of the BBL, find themselves starting with a significant home advantage. Hobart’s Bellerive Oval (also known as Blundstone Arena) and Launceston’s York Park are among the few stadiums that will host the early matches of the Big Bash League.
The opening match of the BBL|10 will feature Hobart Hurricanes lock horns with Sydney Sixers in the Blundstone Arena on December 10.
The Tasmanian side is set to play four of their six matches at home in Hobart and Launceston, paving the way for a solid start. Still seeking their first BBL trophy, the team came close to winning it not once, but twice. On both occasions, they had to settle for the runner-up trophy.
Last season, the Hurricanes finished at 4th place and were knocked out in the playoffs.
Coming to Canberra, the Manuka Oval has been chosen as the venue to host the other matches early in the tournament. It will see its start on December 11 by hosting the game between Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat.
It is also worth mentioning that Canberra is among the few venues that will serve as neutral grounds for the teams in this first phase of the competition. With that in mind, when we look at the Big Bash cricket betting tips for these matches in December, it wouldn’t be surprising to see bookies favor the Hurricanes.
Queensland, South Australia also in the Play
A few matches, notably those set to be played in the final week of December, will be hosted in Queensland and South Australia. In the former, the cities of Brisbane and Gold Coast got the nod to host the matches while in South Australia, it is Adelaide that will get to see some cricket action.
Brisbane will host its first game on December 23 between Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers at the iconic Gabba Stadium. As for Adelaide, it will host only two games this year at the Adelaide Oval. Of course, we can expect this venue to host more matches in the next phase of the league.
Needless to say, this gives some edge to the Heat and Adelaide Strikers – both of whom will be playing a fair few games on their home turf.
So far, the fixtures have been announced for the first 21 matches that will be played in December. We can expect Cricket Australia to release the ties and venues for the remaining matches as we move closer to the competition. We can also expect cities like Melbourne and Sydney to join the fray soon.