Big Bash expands to 20 matches

Australia's domestic Big Bash tournament will grow by nearly two weeks next summer, with the tournament set to stretch from late December to early February. In what is likely to be the last domestic Twenty20 tournament in its current format, the fixture has been expanded to 20 matches to ensure each team plays three home and three away games.

However, it is expected that this will be the final season during which the traditional state sides will compete in the Twenty20 competition. Cricket Australia is planning an eight-team tournament featuring city-based sides for its Twenty20 competition from 2011-12, with two new teams expected to come from growth areas in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland.

The 2010-11 season will kick off at the WACA on December 30 when Western Australia host Tasmania and it will culminate in a preliminary final on February 1 and the decider on Saturday February 5. Once again there are two spots at the Champions League up for grabs, after Victoria and South Australia qualified for the 2010 event by reaching last summer's final.

The popularity of the Big Bash spiked during 2009-10, when the states were encouraged to sign up to two international stars. Chris Gayle is returning for another season with Western Australia next summer and will be joined by his West Indies team-mate Kemar Roach, while their colleague Dwayne Bravo is again set to play for Victoria.

Kieron Pollard's successful stint with South Australia has earned him another deal with the Redbacks, Tasmania have signed Rana Naved-ul-Hasan for the second year in a row, and Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan will play for New South Wales. Specialist short-format players from England are likely to be targeted this summer with the end of the Ashes expected to overlap with the first few rounds of the Big Bash.

"We couldn't have asked for any more from last year's competition," James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive said. "The evenness and quality of matches, as well as the performances of the Australian and international players, were major reasons so many people watched it at grounds or at home on television."

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