BBL 2019-20 | Road to BBL-09 Final; 5 teams make it through

So, if five teams qualify for the knock-out stage, how is the tournament tough because there are only eight teams? Well if you are a Heat-fanatic or a Scorchers sensation or even if you are supporting the Melbourne Renegades after last season, sadly, your teams did not make it through the bare five. Cricket Australia have revamped the structure of the competition to better reward the teams that finish in the top-two of the points table. 

"The number one element is to give the best chance for the teams finishing first and second to make it through," said Cricket Australia's Head of the BBL, Alistair Dobson, at the launch of the 2019-20 BBL fixture.

Watching the Big Bash for the first time, what was the format last year?

Prior to the 9th edition of the Big Bash, only four teams would qualify for the knock-out stages. In that format, the team that ended up at the top of the table would play the team that ends in the fourth place. Meanwhile, the second-placed team would take on the third-placed team for a place in the finals. The winners, of course, would play in the finals where one of them would be crowned champions. Last season, it was the Melbourne Renegades, who got the better of their city-rivals Stars to win the title for the first time. 

This season, five teams qualify for the knock-out stage in a rather strange format, which includes the array of names - The Eliminator, The Qualifier, The Knock-Out, The Challenger and The Final. Two teams out of the five would again fight each other for the title and the bragging rights until next year. 

The Eliminator:

The Qualifier:

The Qualifier or a bragging right is the top-of-the-table clash between Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Sixers on the 31st. While Glenn Maxwell and co would like to continue their merry run through the group stages, they would face tough-contenders in the form of a Moises-Henrique led Sixers side. How close is the encounter going to be, one team finished on 20 points while the other finished narrowly second at 19. The Stars would be without the trio of Hilton Cartwright, Haris Rauf and Sandeep Lamichhane would miss out from the qualifier, while the Sixers will boast a full-strength side. 

Adelaide Strikers at home will be waiting patiently to have a go at the winners from the Eliminator. The encounter which will kick off February will also be crucial to the two sides chances of making it to the Challenger phase where they will have a chance at making to the finals. As the name suggests, if one of the team loses the Knockout, they will be out of the tournament for the good, one last time. 

The Challenger:

The Final:

Winner of the Qualifier vs Winner of the Challenger, as simple as that for the Big Bash title. If the Sixers or Stars do make it through the challenger round, there might a rematch between the top two sides in the group stages in the Final. The winner of the qualifier will have the home advantage going into the finals of the tournament. Three of the sides have won the Big Bash previously, Sydney Sixers, Thunder and Strikers. Will the Stars be third time lucky? 

Sixers, Thunder and Strikers have won a BBL each, in 2011-12, 15-16 and 17-18 respectively. However, the other two sides, Stars and the Hobart Hurricanes have never laid a hand on the prestigious trophy. Stars have reached the finals in two seasons, back in 2015-16 against the Thunder and recently against Melbourne Renegades in 18-19.