Cricket Australia announces fixtures for upcoming BBL season, Perth Scorchers to play in opening game

New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday announced the action-packed schedule for the Big Bash League (BBL) Season 14, promising every match to be a blockbuster event. The BBL season 14 will kick off on December 15, at Optus Stadium with the Perth Scorchers facing Melbourne Stars. This season includes a series of 14 BBL matches coinciding with the Men's Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series, potentially featuring returning Australian Test players after the series concludes on January 7, thanks to a larger window for their participation in January.

The regular season runs uninterrupted from December 15 to January 19, excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, ensuring fans can enjoy consistent Big Bash cricket. The finals series begins on January 21, concluding with the Final on January 27. Some of the noteworthy matches of the season will be on December 21 when Sydney Thunder will take on Sydney Sixers at ENGIE Stadium.

The Boxing Day doubleheaders will be played between Sixers and Stars at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Scorchers will take on Brisbane Heat at Optus Stadium. Adelaide Strikers vs. Scorchers at Adelaide Oval on the New Year's Eve. Hurricanes will face Sixers at Blundstone Arena and Heat lock horns against Stars at Gabba on New Year's Day. Fans can look forward to thrilling Melbourne Derbies between the Renegades and Stars on January 4 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and January 12 at Marvel Stadium. Additionally, four clubs will host matches outside their traditional venues, adding variety to the season's fixtures.

"The League is delighted to deliver fans a schedule of 44 blockbuster matches for KFC BBL|14. This is a brilliant schedule for fans, with uninterrupted action every night of the regular season and all the marquee games our fans love. We also can't wait to welcome back members of the Australian Test team once again in January, taking advantage of a bigger window following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series," Cricket Australia's General Manager Alistair Dobson was quoted in a release from CA as saying.

"The shift to an optimised competition length last season, together with the recruitment of world-class players, led to incredible crowds and experiences off the field and cricket on it. We can't wait to see that grow in BBL|14," he added. (ANI)