This really raises the problem of WBBL as a curtain raiser to BBL games. It only works during the regular season but not the finals. Both Sydney teams deserve to play their WBBL semi final at home and if either team wins, a home final this Sunday. With CBS as Ten’s new owner, covering finals at four different venues (two in Sydney) should not be an issue.
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What?! 
. Just because CBS owns 10 it doesn’t mean cricket Australia will jump and change it! Nor does it mean that CBS have money to grow around just to suit the WBBL. End of the day they are a business, it just happens this year that the two away teams, get home finals thanks to the male teams.
Like it or not, every team has the same conditions going into the match, also if they are good enough it won’t matter where they are played they should win -it’s a 22 yard wicket that has stumps at either end. All the same!
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additionally, and for context, I wasn’t talking about the cost - rather the facilities used by Ten’s OB provider NEP.
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Three NEP crews would have been required for each city (Perth, Adelaide and Sydney) if the Sixers and the Thunder were able to play their WBBL semi-finals at home. The same crew and facilities would work for Sydney matches two days in a row.
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not to mention the logistics of moving the facilities between the cities. There isn’t one in every state.
Perhaps they need to adapt the English model of having the finals (semis and final) played on one day each on a weekend (Women on Saturday, Men on Sunday) at a single venue.
Maybe they should require cities to bid for the final and finals.
or maybe, just maybe, leave it as it is because it works. It’s just that this year you have the lower placed teams ‘hosting’ the higher placed team
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Had a little bit of hope that the new stadium might not be the fortress for the Scorchers as expected, was not expecting this result! Last score I heard when I was doing my quiz was Scorchers 1 down and then when I got home it was 7/73. Very happy. Go the Cane Train! Still would have been good if you played that game in Launceston though. That was a shocker!
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I’m very pleased the Scorchers lost, even better that it was by such a big margin 
Means that we will have a first time BBL winner this year.
Happy to see any of Strikers, Renegades or Hurricanes win it from here. But I’d like to see the Strikers win. Cronulla Sharks colours - sort of
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Can’t believe it!! The Scorchers have won the last several seasons and deserved to be there again this year. I don’t think this was fair; the final should not have been played at the new stadium when the Scorchers don’t have an experience there.
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Wow, a big shock tonight, poor contest too 
Amazing win by the Hurricanes though!
Ten will be hoping for a thrilling semi-final tomorrow night and for the Renegades to make the final on Sunday (which is already against MKR and Married on their biggest night).
At the moment, no major city team is in, there’ll be a big drop-off in Perth.
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52 960 people came to the Optus Stadium to watch the #BBL07 game between Perth and Hobart.
- highest crowd in BBL07 season
- 2nd highest crowd in Optus stadium
- highest crowd in Scorchers game.
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Yes, you would expect those kinds of figures for a semi final at a new stadium though.
@LukeMovieMan The BBL final won’t be in prime time on Sunday. It’s a twilight game at 4:30 AEDST regardless of who is hosting it (which would have been a 1:30 start AWST had Perth won) and TEN is still showing “Celebrity” against MKR and MAFS from 7:30 (assuming the cricket finishes on time of course).
@Mitchell_Nock Playing at Optus does level the playing field somewhat, but I can’t see that the Scorchers would have been FORCED to play at there?
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Wouldn’t this make it the lowest crowd in Optus Stadium too?
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Yep. Embarrassing for BBL tbh.
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Doesn’t really matter if the cricket goes longer than 4.15-7.30 EDT as coverage moves to One at 7.30 EDT anyway.
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Except in WA where the entire coverage will be shown on the main channel due to time difference, finishing at 5.30pm local time.
I am not sure if switching to One at 7.30pm AEDT in most states is a good move, because fans will be forced to choose between watching post-match presentation or I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. In the original schedule, the final would be shown from 4.30pm to 8pm AEDT (match starting at 4.45pm AEDT) so some post-match presentation could be shown on the main channel.
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