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When the Big Bash League was launched in 2011-12, no one could have foreseen how successful and entertaining the competition would become. It attracts viewers from across the globe with the timing of the games perfect for watching over breakfast in the UK and over lunch across India and Pakistan. One of the reasons for the success of the tournament has been the range of teams to make it onto the Big Bash winners list. Over the course of 11 seasons, we have seen six separate teams lift the trophy with only two sides yet to be crowned as Big Bash winners.
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Who is on the Big Bash Winners List The Most?
Current champions, Perth Scorchers, are top of the Big Bash winners list with four titles in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2021-22. They were far and away the strongest side across the opening seasons, reaching the first four finals and getting to at least the semi-final in the first seven. Indeed, from 2013-14 to 2016-17, the only team other than Perth Scorchers to be crowned as Big Bash winners were Sydney Thunder.
After finishing in eighth and sixth in BBL8 and BBL9, the Scorchers look to have once again entered into a period of dominance. They finished as runners-up in BBL10 before earning their fourth title last year. Perth Scorchers are the side that other Big bash League teams fear.
Last season, Sydney Sixers were one victory away from becoming the first side to be Big Bash winners in three successive years. After beating Melbourne Stars by 19 runs in the 2019-20 Final, and Perth Scorchers by 27 runs the following season, the Scorchers wrestled the trophy from the Sixers with a dominant 79-run victory.
The defeat in the 2021-22 Final prevented Sydney Sixers from joining Perth Scorchers with four entries on the Big Bash winners list. However, the Sixers will always have the honour of being the first team to win the BBL back in 2011-12.
So with Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers accounting for seven of the 11 BBL titles, who else has got their hands on the trophy in the other four seasons? Brisbane Heat were victors in 2012-13, Sydney Thunder in 2015-16, Adelaide Strikers in 2017-18 with Melbourne Renegades becoming the last first-time winners in 2018-19.
Which was the most dominant BBL performance?
The most dominant BBL season ironically comes from a team who are yet to make it onto the Big Bash winners list. Melbourne Stars went through the entire 2013-14 group stage with a 100% record, winning all eight of their matches. However, when it came to the knockout stage, they were blown away by future Australia Test captain, Tim Paine, who top scored 65 for Hobart Hurricanes in the semi-final at the MCG.
With four BBL titles, it is no surprise to see that Perth Scorchers have won the final by large margins on occasions. They dominated Sydney Sixers in 2016-17 to win by nine wickets with 25 balls remaining, before trouncing the same opposition by 79 runs at the Docklands Stadium in BBL11.
And the worst BBL performance?
Sydney Thunder broke the record for the lowest team total in the BBL when they were dismissed for only 15 against the Adelaide Strikers earlier this season. But they have since bounced back to challenge at the top of the ladder. The same could not be said for their performance in the 2012-13 campaign when their record read: P8 L8!
It was a tough introduction for Thunder who finished bottom of the table in each of the first three BBLs, winning only three games across 23 fixtures. They moved up one place in 2014-15 before turning the tables around to win the tournament the following season. Seeing Sydney Thunder on the Big Bash winners list for that season remains an outlier, with them finishing no higher than sixth across seven of the eight first seasons.
Melbourne Renegades have taken on the tag of the ‘Wooden Spoon’ dominators in recent years. And in spite of picking up 16 points across BBL11, they recorded their third successive last place finish. Time will tell if they are able to become the first of the Big Bash League teams to collect the Wooden Spoon four years in a row.
Who are still waiting to lift the trophy?
As covered earlier in this article, six of the eight Big Bash League teams have at one stage or another won the tournament. But that leaves another two sides still patiently waiting to lift the trophy after 11 failed attempts!
Melbourne Stars have reached the final on three occasions but have been beaten by Sydney Thunder (2015-16), Melbourne Renegades (2018-19) and Sydney Sixers (2019-20). They also had that perfect group stage back in 2013-14 but failed to take that form into the knockout stages. The Stars reached the semi-final or the final in all but one of the first nine BBL competitions but for some reason, the stars have not aligned for them to take that final step.
It was Hobart Hurricanes who knocked Melbourne Stars out in 2013-14 but they are the other team yet to make it onto the Big Bash winners list. They have reached the final twice but lost to Perth Scorchers in BBL3 and to Adelaide Strikers in BBL7. And the year after losing to the Strikers, they were many pundits’ choices to be Big Bash winners after topping the group stage with 10 wins from 14 games. However, once again it wasn’t to be, with the Stars eliminating the Hurricanes on this occasion.
With zero last-placed finishes and no BBL title, some would say that Hobart Hurricanes have been the least interesting team in BBL history. Until they join those other teams on the Big Bash winners list, they may well have to settle for that unwanted title.
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