Players call for Big Bash to be played in October The Big Bash, with all its attendant hoopla, has proved to be a hit this season. Australia's players have recommended to Cricket Australia that the Big Bash League be played in October in future. The domestic Twenty20 tournament has been an overwhelming success in the third edition of its city-based format, with rising crowds and ratings since its move to free-to-air television on Network Ten. The BBL's position on the cricket calendar - in the heart of the Australian summer and school holidays period - is where Cricket Australia believes it is most attractive, but its elevation has come at the expense of the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup. The Australian Cricketers' Association has lodged with CA a series of recommendations for change in a state-of-the-game report compiled last year. Central to the report is the scheduling and the impact of the BBL on the other competitions. The players believe it is too long and in the wrong place on the calendar, and have recommended that it be shifted to the start of the season in October and run for 4½ weeks, instead of seven, as it does now. The shield, compressed this season into six back-to-back matches before Christmas and then the remaining four after the BBL, would be more evenly spaced under the ACA's recommendations. And the Ryobi Cup, turned into a carnival-style standalone event in Sydney at the start of season, where states played only six matches each, would be extended to at least eight games a team. The chances of the BBL being shifted to October by next season are minimal as plans are already in place for it to be retained in the December-to-January period, and the ACA is understood to have made short-term recommendations as well, that take that into account. But while there are obvious commercial arguments against moving the tournament forward, the players believe it could be a success then, too. There is space on the sports scene at that time - just after the football codes have wrapped up finals- and the thinking is that cricket could own October. The shield's slide on the priority list was rammed home last week when Australia's 15-man squad for the Test tour of South Africa was announced. Despite an average of 61 in the shield this season, Phil Hughes missed a seat on the plane as selectors opted for Shaun Marsh, who is not in the top 30 run-scorers in four-day cricket this season, but who has done well for Australia's one-day team this month. The players, however, face a challenge convincing not only CA but the Ten Network of the merits of moving the BBL. Ten, which has a deal worth $100 million in cash and contra to broadcast the BBL for this season and the next four, is keen to retain the Twenty20 event's place on the schedule. Ten's head of sport David Barham said: "It's only our first year and it's gone really well, but I think you have to have consistency to build these things as well, and by having it at the same time every year it can help build popularity with regular crowds on television and at the grounds."