CA introduces 5-team finals series for BBL 2019-20

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Cricket Australia has given a fresh new look to their premier T20 event, the Big Bash League. The cricket board has made a few changes to the tournament, including five-match finals to decide the eventual winners of the tournament

Played over two weekends, the new five-match finals system guarantees a double-chance for teams that finish first and second in the regular season. The finals will start on January 30, 2020, and run across two weekends, culminating in a Saturday night decider on February 8.

The five finals have all been given unique monikers; The Eliminator, The Qualifier, The Knock-Out, The Challenger and The Final.

As per the new format, the teams finishing fourth and fifth will play 'The Eliminator' on January 30 while the teams finishing first and second will play 'The Qualifier' on the next day.

On February 1, the Winner of 'The Eliminator' will take on the third-placed before the action unfolds on the next weekend. In 'The Challenger', the loser of 'The Qualifier' will go up against the winner of 'The Knock-Out' on February 6 to have a chance to get to 'The Final'. The Final will be played on February 8 between the winner of 'The Qualifier' and the winner of 'The Challenger'

"The number one element is to give the best chance for the teams finishing first and second to make it through," said Cricket Australia's Head of the BBL, Alistair Dobson, at the launch of the 2019-20 BBL fixture.

"We want to reward the teams finishing first and second as well as we can.

"(We want) more fans to be part of the finals and this model also gives us a chance for the team hosting the final to have more preparation," he added.

Table-toppers in the Big Bash League have been on the wrong end of the results in semi-finals over the last 8 seasons, with the league leaders being knocked out six out of eight times once the semi0finals commences.

The tournament will start on December 17 with Brisbane Heat taking on Sydney Thunder in a home game as the tournament will go on for 42 days this time instead of 54 with 56 games being played.

The top cricketers from around the world take part in the Big Bash League which shows off a world-class spectacle to the fans every year.

With inputs from IANS

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