The Twenty20 Big Bash was a cricket tournament sponsored by KFC and managed by Cricket Australia. Six state-based teams participated in the tournament including Victorian Bushrangers, New South Wales Blues, Southern Redbacks, Tasmanian Tigers, Western Warriors and Queensland Bulls. The Victorian Bushrangers emerged the most successful side, winning four of the six successful editions.
The Big Bash league replaced the Twenty20 Big Bash in 2011 as an annual event. The participating teams were now city-based teams and were eight in number. These were the Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder. A franchise can have 19 players of which only six can be overseas (non-Australian) players. In a playing eleven, a side cannot have more than three overseas players.
Each team plays the other in a round-robin in the league stage. A team secures two points for a win, zero for a loss, and one point to either side in case of a match with no result. At the end of the league stage, the top four sides qualify for the play-offs. The top two teams of the league stage play the first qualifier. Teams placed third and fourth play an eliminator. The second qualifier is played between the winner of the eliminator and the loser of the first qualifier. The winners of the two qualifiers contest the final.
The three rules unique to the Big Bash league are Power Surge, X-Factor, and Bash Boost. In the power surge rule, the batting side can call for a power surge any time after the 11th over. This is a period of two overs where only two fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle. The Bash Boost is an additional point that teams gain halfway into the match. If the side batting second scores more runs in the first 10 overs than the side batting first, then the batting side gets a bonus point. If the side batting second trails, then the fielding side gets the bonus point. In the X-Factor rule, a team can substitute a player after the 10th over of the first innings and replace a player who is yet to bat and has not bowled more than one over.
Ever since 2011, the BBL has been held annually. Perth Scorchers have been the most successful team with 5 titles. As of 2025, Sydney Sixers have won three titles whereas the Brisbane Heat has won twice. Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, and Sydney Thunder have won one title each. The Big Bash League also hands a wooden spoon award annually to the team that finishes in the last position. This ironic award has never been won by the Hobart Hurricanes.
The winning team of the BBL is awarded $450,000 and the runner-up side gets $260,000. Chris Lynn leads the count for scoring the most runs in the tournament (over 3900 runs). Sean Abbott’s tally of 175 wickets makes him the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
