In 2005, Cricket Australia introduced the Twenty20 Big Bash League which was sponsored by fast food chicken outlet, KFC. Based on the T20 format, 6 state-based teams participated in this tournament: Victorian Bushrangers, New South Wales Blues, Southern Redbacks, Tasmanian Tigers, Western Warriors and Queensland Bulls. The tournament ran for a total of 6 editions, out of which 4 were won by Victorian Bushrangers.
In 2011, the Big Bash League replaced the Twenty20 Big Bash. The new event had eight city-based teams instead of the state-based teams. The six teams were: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunders. The BBL is usually held between December and February.
The BBL follows a double round-robin and knockout format. Power Surge, X-Factor and Bash Boost are some of the hallmarks of the tournament. A franchise can have 19 players, 6 of which can be overseas players. The playing XI of a side can have no more than 3 overseas players.
Ever since 2011, the BBL has been held annually. Perth Scorchers have been the most successful team with 5 titles. Sydney Sixers have won three titles and the Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat have won the title one time each.
The winning team of the BBL is awarded $450,000 and the runner-up side gets $260,000. Chris Lynn leads the leaderboard for scoring the most runs in the BBL (over 3400 runs) and Sean Abbott is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament (153 wickets).
