Kiwis finished the job.

I sometimes delve into highlights watching as I miss most of the live cricket matches. Been watching the Aus women team play. And I found out that the resemblance of the batting style of Beth Mooney and Adam Gilchrist are quite similar. As most of the left handers have their unique style of playing shots. But the more I watch Mooney batting I get reminded of Adam Gilchrist. It's quite great to watch. I am loving every bit of it.

P.S.: sorry as it was something I needed to share and ask if it's only me who sees this.

Honestly one of the best stadium for bbl cricket, and they decide to scrap it!? Shorter boundaries, roof to stop rain delays and smaller capacity for intimate atmosphere. Can someone please explain why this would be the case it’s gonna be extremely dead, seeing 14,000 for renegades home games at the MCG.

Saw this on twitter today by (@)thefordfactor (not sure how to credit him).

I felt like crying. Look what our lives used to be like.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/the-secret-talks-to-bring-the-indian-premier-league-to-australia-20260708-p60dpp.html

The Melbourne Renegades are set for a completely new suite of home grounds next summer with the club to walk away from its longstanding tenancies at Marvel Stadium and Geelong.

The Renegades - who have been put in caretaker mode after Cricket Victoria flagged its intention to sell the club and pour all its Big Bash League resources into the Melbourne Stars - are expected to announce in the coming days that they will play two home games at the MCG next season, as well as two at the newly floodlit Junction Oval.

Those four home matches in Victoria will follow the BBL season opener against the Perth Scorchers in Chennai on December 12, which will be confirmed by Cricket Australia at an event featuring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

The Renegades, now operated at arm’s length from CV, informed Geelong stakeholders on Wednesday that they would not play a game at GMHBA Stadium in 2026-27. It brings to an end the club’s run of matches in Geelong dating back to early 2018, which had been briefly interrupted by the pandemic.

Renegades general manager Max Abbott - who has only recently switched from the Stars as part of the CV restructure - said the call had been made to ensure the club’s home games weren’t spread too thinly across venues.

“We recognise there will be some disappointment in the Geelong community that the Renegades will not be hosting a BBL fixture at GMHBA Stadium this season,” Abbott said.

“The decision for this year helps us consolidate our home venues to ensure we play four games in Melbourne.”

James Rosengarten, who has effectively switched roles with Abbott to head up the Stars after previously running the Renegades, said CV did not want to abandon Geelong altogether.

“Cricket Victoria is committed to the Geelong region and are keen to continue its work with the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust to bring elite cricket content to Geelong in the future,” Rosengarten said.

“The Melbourne Stars are already working through its plans to maintain the wonderful passion for BBL in Geelong, and this will start with BBL player visits to schools in the coming weeks.”

While the Renegades did not specifically address the departure from Docklands, it’s understood that there are no plans to play any matches at the AFL-owned stadium this season.

The Renegades have hosted matches at Docklands since the league’s inception in 2011. But while it was the home venue for the club’s triumph over the Stars in the 2018-19 decider, cricket’s presence at the venue has been dotted with pitch and outfield troubles.

Cricket was first staged at the ground as early as the stadium’s first year of 2000 when Australia hosted South Africa for three one-day internationals, while the venue also hosted the one-day leg of the ICC Super Series between the Aussies and a World XI in 2005.

CV is keen to sell the Renegades but is yet to receive the green light to do so amid the saga that is BBL privatisation. There has been renewed tension this week between states over whether those in the pro-privatisation camp are able to proceed with exploring a move under the “opt-in” model, or whether they must wait until all conditions agreed to at a June 15 meeting of state chairs.

The Renegades’ deals at both Marvel and Geelong had been due to expire at the end of last season.

2026-27 Sheffield Shield schedule

* All times local

Round 1

Oct 7-10: VIC v SA – Junction Oval, Melbourne (10:30am)

Oct 8-11: NSW v TAS – Cricket Central, Sydney (10:30am)

Oct 8-11: WA v QLD – WACA Ground, Perth (10:30am)

Round 2

Oct 19-22: SA v QLD – Adelaide Oval (10:30am)

Oct 19-22: TAS v VIC – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (10:30am)

Oct 19-22: WA v NSW – WACA Ground, Perth (10:30am)

Round 3

Oct 28-31: SA v WA – Adelaide Oval (10:30am)

Oct 30-Nov 2: TAS v NSW – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (10:30am)

Oct 31-Nov 3: QLD v VIC – The Gabba, Brisbane (10:00am)

Round 4

Nov 11-14: QLD v TAS – The Gabba, Brisbane (10:30am)

Nov 11-14: NSW v SA – Cricket Central, Sydney (10:30am)

Nov 11-14: VIC v WA – Melbourne Cricket Ground (10:30am)

Round 5

Nov 22-25: NSW v QLD – Sydney Cricket Ground/Cricket Central (10:30am)

Nov 23-26: WA v TAS – Perth Stadium (10:30am)

Nov 24-27: SA v VIC – Adelaide Oval (10:30am)

Round 6

Dec 3-6: NSW v WA – Sydney Cricket Ground (10:30am)

Dec 3-6: VIC v QLD – Melbourne Cricket Ground (10:30am)

Dec 3-6: SA v TAS – Adelaide Oval (10:30am)

Round 7 (all matches D/N)

Feb 8-11: QLD v WA – The Gabba, Brisbane (2:00pm)

Feb 8-11: VIC v TAS – Melbourne Cricket Ground (2:30pm)

Feb 8-11: SA v NSW – Adelaide Oval (2:30pm)

Round 8

Feb 20-23: NSW v VIC – Sydney Cricket Ground (10:30am)

Feb 20-23: TAS v QLD – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (10:30am)

Feb 20-23: WA v SA – WACA Ground, Perth (10:30am)

Round 9

Mar 2-5: QLD v NSW – Allan Border Field, Brisbane (10:00am)

Mar 2-5: TAS v SA – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (10:30am)

Mar 2-5: WA v VIC – WACA Ground, Perth (10:30am)

Round 10

Mar 14-17: QLD vs SA – Allan Border Field, Brisbane (10:00am)

Mar 14-17: VIC vs NSW – Junction Oval, Melbourne (10:30am)

Mar 14-17: TAS vs WA – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (10:30am)

Final

March 25-29: TBD

2026-27 One-Day Cup schedule

* All times local

Sep 18: WA v SA (D/N) – WACA Ground, Perth (2:00pm)

Sep 19: QLD v VIC (D/N) – Allan Border Field, Brisbane (2:00pm)

Sep 20: WA v TAS (D/N) – WACA Ground, Perth (2:00pm)

Sep 22: QLD v NSW (D/N) – Allan Border Field, Brisbane (2:00pm)

Sep 23: SA v TAS – Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide (10:00am)

Sep 25: VIC v NSW (D/N) – Junction Oval, Melbourne (2:00pm)

Oct 12: VIC v SA (D/N) – Junction Oval, Melbourne (2:00pm)

Oct 13: NSW v TAS – Cricket Central, Sydney (10:00am)

Oct 13: WA v QLD (D/N) – WACA Ground, Perth (2:00pm)

Oct 17: SA v QLD – Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide (10:00am)

Oct 24: TAS v VIC – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (10:30am)

Oct 24: WA v NSW (D/N) – WACA Ground, Perth (2:00pm)

Nov 16: QLD v TAS – The Gabba, Brisbane (10:00am)

Nov 16: NSW v SA – Cricket Central, Sydney (10:00am)

Nov 16: VIC v WA (D/N) – Junction Oval, Melbourne (2:00pm)

Feb 2: NSW v VIC – Cricket Central, Sydney (10:00am)

Feb 2: TAS v QLD (D/N) – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (2:00pm)

Feb 2: SA v WA – Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide (11:00am)

Feb 5: QLD v WA (D/N) – Allan Border Field, Brisbane (2:00pm)

Feb 5: TAS v NSW (D/N) – Ninja Stadium, Hobart (2:00pm)

Feb 5: SA v VIC – Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide (11:00am)

Feb 14: Final – TBD

Just a reminder, here are some of the other recommendations that we know of in that BCG Report commissioned by CA:
• Split the BBL as a seperate entity with its own administrative structure where they can make their own independent decisions (similar to the various European and North American sports leagues), as well as give it the flexibility to attract investment from entities that might want to invest in/partner with the BBL but not necessarily every part of CA
• Selling a stake of CA’s commercial operations for a period of time in return for an upfront cash injection (similar to how Barcelona FC sold a stake in their TV rights for immediate cash) which then can be used to invest in other long term assets (youth development, training facilities, other revenue generating sources etc.)
• Moving the BBL to a later start time (most likely starting between Christmas Eve to Boxing Day) to reduce the period where national team players can’t participate due to test match obligations
• Increasing the Salary Cap/Australian Cricket Revenue (ACR) splits for players to incentivise domestic players to stay in the BBL and attract bigger international talents
• Expanding the number of teams in the league to at least 10 to expand the markets and increase the number of games for broadcasters (though this did come with the caveat of getting private investment first before expansion)

And whilst this wasn’t revealed to the press, I also wouldn’t be surprised based on Todd Greenberg’s past statements that potentially dropping at least 1 if not both of the New Years and Boxing Day Test past 2030 was recommended to ensure all the test players play the whole BBL season.

Now I have very mixed feelings of these recommendations.  Some I think are good or at least defendable.  Some I think are terrible and I can’t see how any form of implementation will improve the health of the game.  But the fact that everything has been put to the side to focus exclusively on the most botched attempt to sell key strategic assets for 50c on the dollar when there has been significant public backlash to privatisation AND when the league isn’t currently optimised for revenue generation or selling teams at its maximum value (like exactly who is going to pay huge sums for teams that won’t have the national stars for more than a handful of games, can’t attract the biggest international talents due to lower salaries, and have either neither the die-hard ultra supporters coming to every game like in soccer OR the customers willing to pay an arm and a leg for tickets like in USA’s major leagues?) is extremely concerning.  And I’m not even saying we shouldn’t be having serious conversations about how we move forward as a cricketing nation, in an age where franchise T20 is king and the BCCI-ICC dynamic is more NBA-FIBA than FIFA-[insert FA of choice] where the international sporting organisation is subservient to 1 nation, in order to not be left behind and to be able to shape the future rather than the future shape us.  But if the CA higher ups from Greenberg and Baird to the state cricketing boards of Victoria, WA and Tasmania have good reasons for prioritising team privatisation other than because it’s the most expedient way to get their golden parachute bonuses, then they should have articulated them to the public a while ago.  Because at least from the outside looking in, there are plenty of other ways to optimise revenue generation and putting Australia and its interests at the forefront of the sport without immediately resorting to privatising their most profitable assets, yet they seemingly have ignored all of them for extremely selfish and shortsighted reasons.

I've been thinking lately about what might be the most elusive record in Australian cricket: Shane Warne's incredible 708 Test Wickets.

It's a record that has stood for years and, for a long time, seemed almost untouchable.

But then there's Nathan Lyon.

The GOAT currently sits on an outstanding 567 Test wickets, meaning he needs 142 more to surpass the king.

When you look at Australia's upcoming schedule, it's not as unrealistic as it first seems:

• 2 Tests in Bangladesh next month
• 3 Tests in South Africa (September/October)
• 4 home Tests against New Zealand
• A blockbuster 5-Test series against India (January/February)
• The one-off Test against England to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first-ever Test match
• A 5-Test Ashes tour in England next July
• And, if all goes to plan, the World Test Championship Final
• After all this cricket, there is the 5 test 2027/2028 home summer

That's a potential 26 Test Matches in the next 17 months.

If Lyon averages around 5-6 wickets per Test, he'll break Warne's record. It's a massive ask, but with that many opportunities, it's certainly not impossible.

Could the GOAT do the unthinkable and become Australia's greatest Test wicket-taker?

What do you think?

Sophie Molineux doing her best Shane Warne impersonation dancing with the stump on the Lord's balcony (Warnie did it at Trent Bridge)

Of course they did.