Shorter again
After five seasons of 56 league matches, Cricket Australia cut the thirteenth Big Bash League back to 40. Each side played ten of a possible fourteen fixtures, which meant an uneven draw, and the season was compressed into seven weeks between 7 December 2023 and 24 January 2024, entirely within the school holidays. The finals series was cut from five matches to four: a Qualifier between the top two, a Knockout between third and fourth, a Challenger, and a Final. Attendance was 881,701.
The weather was the other novelty. Three matches were abandoned without a ball bowled and two more ended without a result, so five of the 40 league fixtures produced no winner. In a ten-game season that mattered a good deal to the table.
The league stage
Brisbane Heat finished first with seven wins, one defeat and two washouts. Sydney Sixers were second with six wins and two washouts, Perth Scorchers third and Adelaide Strikers fourth. Sydney Thunder, who won once, finished last.
Matthew Short of Adelaide Strikers made 541 runs and was named player of the tournament for the second consecutive season. Xavier Bartlett, in his first full season for Brisbane, took 20 wickets and was picked for Australia within weeks. Colin Munro's 99 not out on the opening night at the Gabba and Ben Dwarshuis's 5 for 21 were among the better individual performances of a low-key league stage.
The finals
Sydney Sixers went to Heritage Bank Stadium at Carrara for the Qualifier and bowled Brisbane Heat out for 113, winning by 39 runs and taking the direct route to the final. Adelaide Strikers won the Knockout at Optus Stadium, dismissing Perth Scorchers for 105 to win by 50 runs, Lloyd Pope taking 4 for 22.
That sent Brisbane and Adelaide to the Challenger at Carrara on 22 January, and it produced the innings of the season. Josh Brown, a 30-year-old opener who had spent most of his career in Queensland grade cricket, made 140 from 57 balls in a total of 214 for 7. It is the highest score made in any Big Bash League finals match. Adelaide were bowled out for 160.
The final
Sydney Cricket Ground, 24 January. Brisbane Heat made 166 for 8, a total nobody thought decisive on that ground. Sydney Sixers were then bowled out for 112 in 17.3 overs. Spencer Johnson took 4 for 26, the best analysis recorded in a Big Bash League final, and was named player of the match.
It was Brisbane's second title, eleven years after their first in 2012-13, and the longest gap between titles by any club. It was Sydney Sixers' fourth defeat in a final, against three wins.