Canberra will host this summer's Big Bash League final, but the competition's general manager Mike McKenna says potential expansion into the capital is a long way off.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cricket ACT chairman Ian McNamee has stated Canberra is "ready to roll" when the BBL calls for expansion bids, but McKenna said Cricket Australia was taking a cautious approach to growing the eight-team competition.
"We're a long way from expanding the Big Bash League," McKenna said. "It hasn't really been considered and we're really conscious of what's happened in other sports where rapid expansion has led to some problems.
"You get around about season five or seven and often they've had a bit of a fallback, so we need to get through that before we start looking at expansion.
"I do know there are plenty of people around the country, Canberra and other places as well, that are very keen to participate in the Big Bash League."
In just three years, the BBL has captured the public's imagination, drawing big crowds, attracting international stars and gained free-to-air television coverage. Of the eight teams, only the Hobart Hurricanes didn't make a profit last season.
McKenna said Cricket Australia's focus was re-investing the money from media rights and sponsorships back into the BBL.
"We don't make a profit, but that's a deliberate growth strategy," he said.
"The Big Bash League is about bringing new audiences to the game and about reinvesting money to grassroots cricket.
The BBL final on January 28 is part of a big summer of cricket in Canberra, starting with Australia's one-day international against South Africa on November 19. Canberra will also host the PM's XI game against England and three World Cup games in February and March.
Tickets for the BBL final go on sale on Tuesday and, despite a crowded cricket schedule, McKenna predicted a full house at Manuka Oval.
One player hoping to be out in the middle is Canberra batsman Jono Dean. Dean will start his second season with the Adelaide Strikers in December after bursting on to the scene last season.
"It makes me nervous thinking about playing in front of the home crowd, which I've done once before, so hopefully the Strikers can put their best foot forward and get into the final, it should be a full house," he said.
One innovation for the BBL final will be the "smash session" to find the game's biggest hitter. Modelled on baseball's home run derby, batters will face up to a bowling machine and see who hits the biggest six.
