BBL introduces Trade Period

The KFC T20 Big Bash League will feature a Trade Period this season under contracting rules released by the competition today.

BBL teams will be free to start contracting players from tomorrow and will be required to sign a minimum of 10 players by Friday, July 19, 2013.

Teams will then have until Friday, December 6 to complete their 18-player squads.

Following a review of the contracting rules after BBL|02, the league has announced a number of key changes for BBL|03, specifically:

• Introduction of an annual Trade Period;
• Change to the Tournament-Ending Injuries rule; and
• Changes to the Round One Contracting Date requirements.

With the ink still drying on a new broadcast deal with Network 10, Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager Operations, Mike McKenna, was understandably upbeat.

“It’s an exciting time for the BBL, with a new free-to-air broadcast partner and changes to the contracting rules designed to give teams the flexibility to build their strongest possible squads heading into the third season of the league,” McKenna said.

“After conducting an extensive review after BBL|02, a number of changes have been made to the contracting process for this season.

“The introduction of a Trade Period later in the year will allow teams to address any gaps in their contract lists before the season starts in late December.

“The number of players that teams are required to sign in the first contracting window has also been reduced from 14 to 10 and a trade period introduced before the season starts.

“We want fans to be able to watch the best players as much as possible, so the rule regarding tournament-ending injuries has been changed. It will now be possible for players to return to their squads after regaining fitness even if they’ve been replaced by another player.

“The move to Network Ten for the next five years confirms the league has arrived as the Australian’s summer’s best sporting league.  With every match broadcast live and free-to-air around Australia, the BBL will be available to a new audience all around the country.

“The league has already introduced new fans to the game and earned its place as an attractive product on free-to-air TV.”

Trade Period

A BBL Trade Period will be introduced and held in mid-November prior to the deadline for teams to submit their final squad lists to Cricket Australia.

The Trade Period will allow teams to trade/transfer contracted players to another team at any stage of their contract (with the approval of all three parties).

Players cannot be traded without their consent.

Teams must honour or better the financial terms of the existing player contract of the players they are receiving.

The teams involved in the trade can negotiate a part or full payment of the traded player’s retainer amount.

A team may trade a player to another team without receiving a player in return in order to receive salary cap relief by letting the player move to another team.

Multi-team trades are also permissible.

Round One Contracting Dates and Minimum Requirements

The minimum number of players required to be contracted at the end of the Round 1 Contracting Date (Friday, July 19, 2013) has been reduced from 14 to 10 players.

Each BBL Team must have entered into between 10 and 18 BBL Player Contracts on this date.

Tournament-Ending Injuries

The existing Tournament Ending Injury rule will be amended for BBL|03 on a trial basis.

An injured player will be able to be replaced by a Local Replacement Player upon the receipt of a satisfactory medical certificate stating the player will be unable to participate in the BBL team’s next match.

Once the injured player is declared fit to resume playing (as evidenced by a medical certificate) he may return to the BBL team’s squad and the Local Replacement Player will be removed. 

A Local Replacement Player may only represent one BBL team in any given season. At any one time, a BBL squad shall contain no more than 18 players. 

The rule change will be reviewed post season to consider whether it should be adopted on a permanent basis.