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Sydney - Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash League will increase
the number of games next season, Cricket Australia said Friday, as it looks to
capitalise on huge turnouts at matches.
The Big Bash League - a quick-fire, high-octane format - has
drawn huge crowds across Australia over the past few weeks, with the final to
be held in Perth this Saturday.
Eight matches are being added to the competition although the venues have yet to be announced, CA said.
One option was to hold the opening round in Hong Kong to
capitalise on the league's popularity, Cricket NSW chief Andrew Jones told the
Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
"We're always looking at opportunities to grow the game
and expand our fan base beyond traditional markets and demographics," Big
Bash head Anthony Everard said in a statement.
"We haven't yet finalised the locations of these
additional matches yet, but we are working closely with clubs to explore
options."
He added that there were no plans at this stage to increase
the number of teams in the league.
More than one million spectators attended matches this
season, while the league has attracted an average television viewership of more
than a million each night, CA said.
The final between the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers
at the 24 500-capacity WACA Ground sold out in just over an hour, The West
Australian reported on Thursday.
The enormous turnouts for the Big Bash place it narrowly ahead of the US Major League Baseball's most recent season with an average attendance of just over 30 000, according to the Herald.
