The crowds at the Big Bash make the tournament but have been dropping in recent years. We have looked over the data for the last 10 years’ BBL matches and found the top 35 matches. We will kick off with the top 5, full data is available at the bottom of the page.
5 biggest crowds in the BBL
1 – Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades 2/1/16 MCG – 80,333
This matchup takes the top 3 positions for crowd size. The redeveloped MCG is the largest cricket stadium in Australia and will regularly hit these numbers for test matches held there, including the Ashes matches.
The rivalry between the two sides means that it draws a big crowd for the Melbourne grudge match!
In this game, the 80,833 fans saw the Stars win by 7 wickets with 5 balls to spare. This game was a night match under the lights which will have helped to draw in this large crowd. The biggest ever crowd in domestic cricket in Australia.
Here are the highlights of the match
2 – Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades 1/1/17 – 71,162
The same fixture appears on our list a year later with the New Years’ day match-up between the same two teams. This did not draw in quite the crowd of the 2016 match-up, possibly because people were still feeling the effects of New Year’s Eve!
This match ended with rain meaning the last two overs could not be bowled. This handed victory to the Melbourne Renegades by 7 runs and meant all the fans had to go home in the rain.
3 – Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades 22/1/20 – 54,478
It’s that game again, only this time with 25,000 fewer people than the top game but is still 3rd overall.
This match was a cruise for the Stars who won by 8 wickets after chasing down 143 to win.
4 – Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes 1/2/18 – 52,960
This is the only game at the Perth stadium that appears in the top 25 crowds. This was a semi-final match with the Perth Scorchers at home for it. This clearly drew in lots of Perth fans. The Scorchers managed a win by 4 wickets.
This was the last ever Scorchers match at the Perth Stadium before they moved to their new home at the Optus Stadium.
5 – Adeleide Strikers v Sydney Sixers 24/1/15 – 52,633
Number 5 on the list is another home team in a semi final with the Adelaide Oval hosting this match in 2015. It drew in more fans than the final! The Adelaide Oval features in three of the top 10 on the list and 15 times in total in the top 35 matches.
At the time, in 2015, this was the largest ever domestic cricket match in Australia. The Stars v Renegades at the top of the list now holds that record.
Full list of the top 10 biggest crowds in BBL history!
- 80,833 – Stars v Renegades – MCG – 2/1/16
- 71,162 – Stars v Rengades – MCG – 1/1/17
- 54,478 – Stars v Renegades – MCG 4/1/20
- 52,960 – Scorchers v Hurricanes (semi final) – Perth Stadium – 1/2/18
- 52,633 – Strikers v Sixers (semi final) – Oval – 24/1/15
- 49,115 – Srtikers v Hurricanes – Oval – 13/1/16
- 48.699 – Strikers v Thunder – Oval – 21/1/16
- 48,086 – Stars v Renegades – MCG – 6/1/18
- 47,672 – Stars v Thunder (grand final) – MCG – 24/1/16
- 47,672 – Stars v Sixers – MCG – 21/1/17
Full data on Git Hub: github.com/Cricketics/BBL-Crowds