Big Bash League: Sydney Thunder star Jason Sangha hopes for a crowd boost

The Sydney Thunder will open the BBL season against the Melbourne Stars at Manuka Oval on December 13, with the club to host a three-hour fan day at Phillip Oval from 3pm on Sunday in an effort to spark spectator interest before their tournament opener.

BBL crowds have been on a sharp decline since the 2016-17 season, when an average of 30,114 attended matches during the 35-game tournament.

Crowd figures have continued to slide as the season grows longer, with 18,575 the average mark when the BBL first moved to a 61-game competition during the summer of 2019-20.

Average attendances have dropped to 7766 and 6763 over the past two seasons - which have also been 61-game competitions - though those two tournaments were played against a COVID-19 backdrop with crowd restrictions, closed venues and neutral grounds significantly impacting attendance.

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"It's been tricky the past couple of years with COVID, we've been moving around everywhere," Sangha said.

"Last year, half the teams were based in Melbourne. It was tricky for us in terms of getting that fan engagement.

"We've accepted living in a world with COVID now and things are getting back to normal, so it's really special to see fans in the crowd and actually get to engage with them.

"We've always had some really good support down in Canberra and we've had a lot of good wins down there. We really enjoy driving on the bus down to Canberra and playing at Manuka in front of a nice crowd.

"It's always been a fantastic cricket wicket and a fun place to play cricket. We've had some really good success at Manuka so hopefully we can build on those performances from last year and beat the Stars."

Sangha enjoyed the best season of his career last year, emerging from two years in the BBL wilderness to score 445 runs at 49.44 with a strike rate above 132.

Now the 23-year-old wants to back it up to avoid another stint on professional cricket's rollercoaster, which took him from being the next big thing to a second XI staple.

Sangha's rookie BBL campaign started with 63 from 36 balls one night in Canberra. Little did he know he would spend the next two seasons without earning so much as one Thunder call-up.

When the Thunder went into a bubble in Canberra last year, Sangha gave himself two options: sit back and play the victim, or put himself back in the limelight.

He did the latter, and now looms as one of the Thunder's biggest weapons as the franchise chases its first BBL title since 2015-16.

"I think a lot of the time, Twenty20 cricket is so fast-paced and so intense that you can get a bit too caught up in the moment or have a rush of blood," Sangha said.

"I was just trying to stay calm in the moment and have a lot of fun [last season]. I think when I'm enjoying my cricket, when I'm smiling on the cricket field, that's going to bring the best out in me.

"The same themes and mottos will go into this year. If I'm having fun, it's hard not to enjoy the Big Bash and this time of year.

"Obviously having one little eye on going all the way and winning a trophy as well."

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