| 2020–21 Big Bash League | |
| Fromdate: | 10 December 2020 |
| Todate: | 6 February 2021 |
| Administrator: | Cricket Australia |
| Cricket Format: | Twenty20 |
| Tournament Format: | Double round robin and Playoffs |
| Champions: | Sydney Sixers |
| Count: | 3 |
| Participants: | 8 |
| Matches: | 61 |
| Player Of The Series: | Josh Philippe (Sydney Sixers) |
| Most Runs: | Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder) (543) |
| Most Wickets: | Jhye Richardson (Perth Scorchers) (29) |
| Previous Year: | 2019–20 |
| Previous Tournament: | 2019–20 Big Bash League season |
| Next Year: | 2021–22 |
| Next Tournament: | 2021–22 Big Bash League season |
| Website: | bigbash.com.au |
The 2020–21 Big Bash League season or BBL|10 was the tenth season of the Big Bash League, the professional men's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia, with 61 matches played.[1] On 15 July 2020, Cricket Australia confirmed the fixtures for the tournament.[2] The tournament started on 10 December 2020, and finished on 6 February 2021,[3] with the majority of the matches played at night.[4]
The Sydney Sixers were the defending champions,[5] and they successfully defended their title following a 27-run victory over the Perth Scorchers in the final.[6]
Several changes for the season, including bonus points, substitutions and free hits for wides, were suggested by Cricket Australia.[7] [8] However, on 16 November 2020, Cricket Australia announced three changes to the BBL's playing conditions, which will add a more strategic element to the T20 tournament.[9] All three rules are designed to maximise interest throughout the full 40 overs of a contest and ensure strategic thinking is rewarded.[9] The three new rules are as follows:
Power Surge
The 'Power Surge' is a two-over period during which the fielding team is allowed only two players outside the inner fielding circle. The batting side can call for this at any point from the 11th over of their innings. The fielding restrictions replicate those of the usual Powerplay at the beginning of an innings, which has been shortened to four overs.[10]
The X-factor
An 'X-factor Player', named as either the 12th or 13th player on the team sheet, can come into the game beyond the 10th over of the first innings and replace any player who is yet to bat, or has bowled no more than one over.[10] The X-factor substitute was first used in the game eight of the tournament, on 15 December 2020.[11] The Adelaide Strikers replaced Danny Briggs with Matthew Short, and the Hobart Hurricanes replaced Johan Botha with Mac Wright.[12]
Bash Boost
The 'Bash Boost' will be a bonus point awarded halfway through the second innings. The team chasing will receive the bonus point if they're above the equivalent 10-over score of their opposition, while if they're trailing, the fielding side will receive the point. If the score at the 10-over mark is equal, both teams will get 0.5 points each. In case of a no result, both teams are given two points each and no Bash Boost is awarded. If a match has been shortened before a ball is bowled, the midway point of the innings is recalculated and points are given to who was above during the midway point. If a match is impacted by rain and is shortened, the Bash Boost target will be calculated via the DLS method.[13] Teams will also now be awarded three points for winning the match, as opposed to the traditional two.[9]
| Adelaide Strikers | Adelaide Oval Blundstone Arena | 55,317 19,500 21,000 | Travis Head | Jason Gillespie | |
| Brisbane Heat | The Gabba Metricon Stadium | 42,000 21,000 | Chris Lynn and Jimmy Peirson | Darren Lehmann | |
| Hobart Hurricanes | Blundstone Arena UTAS Stadium The Gabba | 19,500 19,500 42,000 | Adam Griffith | ||
| Melbourne Renegades | Marvel Stadium Kardinia Park Blundstone Arena | 47,000 36,000 19,500 21,000 100,024 | Aaron Finch | Michael Klinger | |
| Melbourne Stars | Melbourne Cricket Ground Metricon Stadium Junction Oval Manuka Oval | 100,024 21,000 7,000 12,000 | Glenn Maxwell | David Hussey | |
| Perth Scorchers | Optus Stadium UTAS Stadium | 60,000 19,500 55,317 12,000 | Ashton Turner | Adam Voges | |
| Sydney Sixers | Sydney Cricket Ground Coffs Harbour International Stadium Blundstone Arena | 48,601 20,000 19,500 21,000 12,000 55,317 | Moises Henriques and Daniel Hughes | Greg Shipperd | |
| Sydney Thunder | Sydney Showground Stadium Manuka Oval | 22,000 12,000 | Callum Ferguson | Shane Bond |
Below is a summary of results for each team's fourteen regular season matches, plus finals where applicable, in chronological order. A team's opponent for any given match is listed above the margin of victory/defeat.
| Team vs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | X | X | X | 5th | |||||||||||||||||
| → | X | 4th | |||||||||||||||||||
| X | X | X | X | X | 6th | ||||||||||||||||
| X | X | X | X | X | 8th | ||||||||||||||||
| X | X | X | X | X | 7th | ||||||||||||||||
| → | → | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||||
| → | → | → | 1st | ||||||||||||||||||
| → | → | X | X | 3rd |
On 23 November 2020, Cricket Australia confirmed the full schedule for the tournament.[14] 45 of the 61 games – including all the finals – were shown on Channel Seven, while Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports broadcast all of the matches.[15] On 5 November 2020, Cricket Australia announced the revised dates, start times and matchups for all 56 regular season games, with venues confirmed for the first 21 matches up until 31 December 2020.[16]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------