Barnett wants Big Bash final moved to WACA
Premier Colin Barnett has taken a swing at Australian cricket administrators for scheduling the Big Bash Final on neutral turf in Canberra rather than the Perth Scorchers’ home venue, the WACA Ground.
The Premier accused sporting administrators of failing to take sufficient regard of fans and taxpayers when they scheduled their events.
The Scorchers will take on the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League final at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Wednesday evening after they defeated the Melbourne Stars in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,289 at the WACA on Sunday.
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Manuka Oval’s capacity is about 13,500 and tickets to the final are sold out.
“I don’t know what sporting administrators are doing these days. It is about the players, it is about the audience, the fans, and it is about using the best facilities Australia has to offer,” Mr Barnett said.
“Successive governments have spent hundreds of millions, billions, of dollars to build world-class facilities. They should be
used.
“For the Scorchers game against the Sydney Sixers, as I understand it the Scorchers finished on top (of Sydney). The game should be held at the WACA so you can get maximum crowd.
“That’s the traditional rules. Second best, hold it in Sydney where you can get a big crowd.”
The decision to host the Big Bash Final was announced by Cricket Australia in July last year.
A CA spokeswoman said the governing body understood there would be Scorchers fans disappointed not to have the team play a home final.
“It is important to note that staging the BBL Final in the neutral venue of Canberra is a one-off as a result of Australia hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup,” the CA spokeswoman said.
“Next year we will revert to the final being played in the home city of the top-qualifying team.
“This year, with the staging of the World Cup, there are significant demands placed on venues and ground staff around the country.
“A number of venues would have been unavailable or underprepared to host the BBL Final leading to a situation where some teams could host a final at their home ground and others could not.
“As an example, in Perth, we faced the issue of the WACA having to host as many as four matches in eight days had we scheduled the BBL final there.
“In order to be fair, and to provide as much certainty as possible for teams, fans, broadcasters and ground staff in this unique summer of cricket, Canberra was identified as a suitable location for the BBL Final.
“Manuka Oval is a neutral venue and has adequate time to prepare facilities for the match.”
But Mr Barnett rubbished the Canberra venue.
“The WACA versus Manuka? I mean, I played football on Manuka – it’s no great oval,” he said.
“That’s Canberra, it’s got nothing to do with the final, it should be hosted by the winning, top side. This time it’s the Scorchers, and it should be held at the WACA.
