What is Big Bash League ?

Since the inception of the BBL in 2011, the tournament has followed the same format every year except the inaugural season.The first BBL season had 28 group stage matches, before expanding to 32 in the following season.

Currently in the eight team format, each team plays every other team at least once during a season. However, each team is also assigned a particular "rival" with which they play for the second time in the same season. The assigned 'rival' for a team does not change generally in different seasons.

Cross-town teams such as Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars have been assigned as "rivals" to each other. This allows BBL to have 2 Melbourne derbies as well as 2 Sydney derbies within a single season.

In the early years of the tournament, the group stage matches were divided into eight rounds, with four matches played in each round. Each team played eight group stage matches, four at home and four away, before the top four ranked teams progressed to the semi finals.