Cricket Australia to introduce shortened Big Bash season from 2023/24

The regular season will be reduced from 56 matches to 40, with four teams – not five – qualifying for the playoffs

A shortened tournament structure will be introduced in the Big Bash from 2023/24.

The changes had been scheduled for 2024/25 due to a new TV rights deal but Cricket Australia have confirmed the reduced season will be brought in for BBL13.

The Women's Big Bash is unaffected by these changes.

The regular season will be reduced from 56 matches to 40 while the finals series will shrink from five teams to four. The playoff structure is yet to be determined.

This marks a return to the structure of the tournament in 2017/18, a season commonly thought to have been the 'prime' year of the competition.

^{It is hoped the reduced schedule will improve crowds and entice marquee players to commit to the competition [Quinn Rooney/Getty Images]}

Cricket Australia extended their seven-year broadcast deal with the Foxtel Group and Seven West Media which runs from 2024 (when the change to the BBL was due to take place) to the end of the 2031 summer.

The shortening of the BBL should allow the season to be played entirely over the Christmas holidays. A regular criticism of the BBL is that it was too long, with the IPL is the only domestic T20 league with a longer schedule.

The change should help the issue of declining average crowds which the league has struggled with since the pandemic as well as enticing overseas and domestic stars to commit to the competition.

Cricket Australia's general manager (BBL), Alistair Dobson, said: "Whilst no changes have been made to the WBBL schedule, it's vital that we make sure the tournament continues to be at the forefront of T20 leagues as the global women's game continues to evolve at a rapid rate."