Melbourne to host Christmas Eve clash, more matches in Canberra and a January 26 final highlight BBL|16 schedule
Christmas Eve cricket returns to the summer calendar in 2026-27 as the Big Bash League prepares to break new ground in its 16th season.
Melbourne Renegades will the host Hobart Hurricanes under lights at Melbourne’s Junction Oval on December 24 in the first Christmas Eve BBL match in four years.
Cricket Australia today released the full 44-game schedule for KFC BBL|16, which will begin with the league’s landmark first match in India between the Renegades and reigning champions Perth Scorchers on December 12, straight after play on the fourth day of the first Trans-Tasman Trophy Test.
View the full schedule here
The season opener at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will be followed by an opening night in Australia featuring the Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers at the Gabba three days later.
There will be Big Bash matches every night (except Christmas Day) across the next 34 days with the regular season to conclude with a mouthwatering weekend of double-headers on January 16-17.
Key points
– 44-game season runs from December 12 to January 26
– Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers to launch BBL|16 in Chennai, India
– Brisbane Heat to host Sydney Sixers in opening night in Australia on December 15
– Marquee matches on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
– Thunder (December 16 and January 11) and Sixers (January 3) to play home games at Manuka Oval – the most Canberra matches in a BBL season (excluding Covid-affected BBL|10)
– Three prime-time matches under lights at Junction Oval, with nine matches in Melbourne for the season – up from seven last summer
– Both Melbourne derbies at the MCG
– Saturday, Sunday double-headers to close the regular season
The four-game finals format remains unchanged with the top four teams to vie for the BBL|16 title, beginning with the Qualifier on Tuesday, January 19 and culminating with season decider a week later on January 26 (for which a reserve day is available).
The date for the decider avoids a clash with the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur from January 21-25 and coincides with a public holiday. Australia’s all-format stars are unlikely to feature in the BBL this summer with the Test squad to leave for India straight after the four-match series against New Zealand, scheduled to conclude in Sydney on January 8.
There are six double-headers across the BBL|16 season, including on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The Strikers will also host the Melbourne Stars in their annual New Year’s Eve fixture at Adelaide Oval.
All eight teams will play in their home cities prior to Christmas, as well as hosting matches in the final week of the home-and-away campaign.
The frequency of interstate travel is at its lowest point in four seasons, with the fewest count of teams playing two matches in three days and no teams playing three games in the space of five days this season.
There will also be an extra days’ break between the Challenger and grand finals this season to avoid a repeat of runners-up Sydney Sixers’ heavy travel schedule last summer when they flew across the country to Perth three times in six days during the tournament’s knockout phase.
The Sixers – who are not scheduled to travel to Perth during the regular season – will give Coffs Harbour a miss for the first time in five years this summer, instead hosting the Strikers in Canberra on January 3 when the SCG is unavailable due to the fourth Test between Australia and New Zealand.
There will be more BBL matches in the nation’s capital this season than any other (excluding the 13 it hosted in BBL|10 as a quarantine bubble during the Covid pandemic), with the Thunder to also play two matches there against the Strikers on December 16 and Stars on January 11.
The Renegades have a new suite of home grounds in BBL|16, playing two games each at the MCG and Junction Oval, as well as being the designated home team for the season opener in Chennai against the Scorchers.
The club announced last Friday it had ended a 15-year association with Marvel Stadium, and there will be no BBL game in Geelong this summer either, with the ‘Gades men’s team to call the MCG its ‘primary home ground’ moving forward.
It means there will be two Melbourne derbies at the MCG – on January 4 and 16 – with the Stars to also play a home game at Junction Oval on December 21 against the Heat.
With the new floodlights at Junction Oval making the St Kilda venue a more enticing host for men’s Big Bash matches, the number of regular season fixtures in Melbourne has risen from seven to nine in BBL|16.
“We’re hugely excited by the opportunity to open the season in Chennai and can’t wait to see the return of Christmas Eve cricket under lights at Junction Oval,” league boss Alistair Dobson said in a statement.
“The Big Bash was built on the spirit of innovation and evolution, and our new designated batter and fielder rule will come into effect this season, giving teams more strategic options and creating new dynamics for fans to enjoy.”
The Hurricanes’ return to Launceston for the first time in three years has been confirmed for Sunday, January 9 against the Strikers, and they’ll also host the Sixers in Hobart on the final day of the regular season.
The two Sydney Smash fixtures bookend the BBL|16 games in the harbour city this summer, with the Thunder hosting their crosstown rivals at Engie Stadium for the Saturday night opener in Australia (December 19), before the Sixers return the favour at the SCG in the final Friday night game of the season (January 15).
Fans will have to wait for a rematch of perennial rivals and last season’s finalists with the Sixers to meet the Scorchers at the SCG on January 10.
Every BBL|16 match will be shown on Kayo Sports and Foxtel, including 10 matches exclusive to Fox Cricket, while 30 regular season matches and all four finals will be shown live and free on Seven and 7plus.
Sign up to CricketPlus for pre-sale tickets access for BBL|16 from August 18 before tickets go on public sale on August 20.
