Scorchers, Strikers and Tasmania join the Renegades and Stars Academy sides in the NT’s expanded T20 tournament
More than half of the Big Bash League teams will be represented in an expanded Top End T20 series this year with clubs targeting the Northern Territory tournament as an ideal opportunity to ramp up their KFC BBL|14 preparations.
Five-time men’s champions Perth Scorchers, as well as Adelaide Strikers, will field teams in the tournament for the first time, to be held in Darwin from August 9-18.
Tasmanian Tigers will also join the nine-team competition – up from six last year – to provide state and Hobart Hurricanes players with preseason playing opportunities.
Pakistan Shaheens and a Bangladesh High Performance squad return for their second tilt at a Top End title, alongside defending champions the NT Strike, ACT Comets and Academy sides from the Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars.
Now in its third season, the Top End T20 continues to grow in stature each year with breakout Big Bash and Indian Premier League star Jake Fraser-McGurk among those to play in the 2023 edition.
Fraser-McGurk hit a 37-ball 51 last season, while Renegades teammate Will Sutherland scored 115 runs in five matches, with both using it as a springboard into the domestic summer where they earned their international debuts in February.
Sam Harper, both the Stars’ and Renegades’ Tom Rogers, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Mackenzie Harvey, Campbell Kellaway and Fergus O’Neill were among the other BBL-listed players to feature in last year’s tournament.
The Scorchers are set to debut in the series-opener against NT Strike on August 9, and while yet to announce their full squad, they said they would also use the tournament to provide T20 opportunities to Western Australia’s emerging talent, including opener Sam Fanning and Under-19 World Cup-winning quick Mahli Beardman.
“The competition adds another layer to what our pre-season would typically be, exposing players to tournament conditions ahead of the Australian domestic season,” said Kade Harvey, Perth Scorchers general manager.
“It’s also a great opportunity for some of WA’s most promising prospects to test themselves against quality opponents from Australia and Asia.”
The Stars Academy side will return to the NT for the third consecutive year and the club’s general manager Blair Crouch said the tournament played an important role in “identifying young talent within the T20 system in Victoria”.
Cricket Victoria recently appointed two T20 high performance managers in a bid lift their struggling Big Bash clubs with Clint McKay aligned to the Stars and Wade Seccombe the Renegades.
“(It) gives invaluable experience to our contracted players and those in the academy by being able to experience tournament conditions in what is traditionally the middle of their preseason,” Crouch said.
Fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, who claimed five wickets on Test debut in Perth last December, has been named in the Pakistan Shaheens squad for the tournament in his first national engagement since a side injury ended his Australian tour after the first Test.
Prior to the Top End T20, the Shaheens will also play two four-day matches against Bangladesh A in Darwin followed by two 50-over matches against NT and Bangladesh. The two red-ball matches will be former South Australia coach Jason Gillespie’s first tour since taking charge of the Pakistan Test side in April.
Gillespie will then return to Pakistan after the second four-day match concludes on July 29 to prepare for Pakistan’s upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh in August and England in October.
“This year we have added red-ball cricket matches to give more exposure to our cricketers and I am confident the players will benefit from this tour and will return as better cricketers,” said Usman Wahla, PCB’s director of international cricket.
NT Cricket CEO Gavin Dovey added: “To have two cricket powerhouses in Pakistan and Bangladesh now participating alongside half of the Big Bash League franchises is a testament to the potential of winter cricket in the Territory.”
The nine teams will each play six fixtures across 10 days culminating in a finals day on August 18.
2024 Top End T20 fixture
Friday August 9
6pm: Northern Territory v Perth Scorchers | DXC Arena
Saturday August 10
10am: Melbourne Renegades v Melbourne Stars | DXC Arena
3pm: Perth Scorchers v Pakistan Shaheens | DXC Arena
6pm: Tasmania v Adelaide Strikers | TIO Stadium
Sunday August 11
10am: Bangladesh HP v Melbourne Renegades | Gardens Oval
1pm: Adelaide Strikers v Northern Territory | Gerry Wood Oval
3pm: Pakistan Shaheens v Melbourne Stars | Gardens Oval
Monday August 12
10am: Tasmania v Northern Territory | TIO Stadium
2pm: Perth Scorchers v ACT Comets | DXC Arena
6pm: Tasmania v Bangladesh HP | TIO Stadium
Tuesday August 13
10am: Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers | Cazaly’s Arena
1pm: Northern Territory v Melbourne Renegades | DXC Arena
3pm: Melbourne Stars v ACT Comets | Cazaly’s Arena
6pm: Tasmania v Pakistan Shaheens | DXC Arena
Wednesday August 14
10am: Melbourne Renegades v Perth Scorchers | Cazaly’s Arena
1pm: Adelaide Strikers v Bangladesh HP | DXC Arena
3pm: Melbourne Renegades v Tasmania | Cazaly’s Arena
6pm: Northern Territory v Melbourne Stars | DXC Arena
Thursday August 15
1pm: ACT Comets v Bangladesh HP | TIO Stadium
3pm: Perth Scorchers v Adelaide Strikers | Gardens Oval
6pm: Melbourne Renegades v Pakistan Shaheens | TIO Stadium
Friday August 16
10am: Tasmania v Melbourne Stars | TIO Stadium
2pm: ACT Comets v Northern Territory | Gardens Oval
6pm: Pakistan Shaheens v Bangladesh HP | TIO Stadium
Saturday August 17
10am: ACT Comets v Adelaide Strikers | DXC Arena
2pm: Bangladesh HP v Perth Scorchers | TIO Stadium
6pm: ACT Comets v Pakistan Shaheens | DXC Arena
Sunday August 18
10am: Semi-final 1 | DXC Arena
10am: Semi-final 2 | TIO Stadium
4pm: Final | DXC Arena