Australian great Nathan Lyon leads push for Canberra Big Bash franchise

After a stunning surge into the national consciousness in it's early years, the domestic Twenty20 league has appeared to wane in interest over the last couple of summers.

While COVID has played a role, a number of other factors, including the length of the season have contributed to the decline.

The competition expanded in order to capitalise on record broadcast revenue, however the move appears to have backfired.

With attendances declining, there have been calls for teams to play fewer matches to raise the stakes of each game.

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Such a move would likely result in a reworked, and less lucrative, television rights deal.

Lyon's solution, then, is to add at least one additional franchise to not only shake up the competition but also allow administrators to reduce the number of games each team plays without significantly affecting the overall number of matches.

And Canberra, he feels, is first in line for a new licence.

"Adding a Big Bash team in Canberra would be the right approach," Lyon said.

"You've got world-class facilities here at Manuka Oval. If there's another team coming into the BBL, ACT Cricket is the one that should be selected."

Lyon's comments come as Cricket ACT continues to push the case to promote the Comets to the Sheffield Shield and Australia's one-day domestic competition.

It's a move the national governing body has acknowledged is in the pipeline and the mechanics are being investigated as part of a strategic review.

Cricket ACT are staunch in their belief that completing the men's pathway and providing more elite opportunities to play in Canberra will result in an increase in junior participation numbers and boost the sport's popularity.

It's a strategy that has seen Australia play England in two international Twenty20 fixtures at Manuka Oval this week while the return of the Prime Minister's XI match was officially confirmed on Friday morning.

The latter is likely to see a selection of emerging Canberra players have the chance to line up against a near full-strength West Indies team.

Lyon was in town to commentate Friday night's Twenty20 clash between Australia and England.

While he did not take to the field, the former Manuka Oval groundsman is eager to line up for a Test match at his home ground in the near future.

"Having Manuka here, it's a world-class facility," he said. "There should be more international cricket here.

"I'd love to see more Test matches played here. I'm all for seeing more Australian games here, that's for sure."

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