BBL season to stay the same: Moody

Western Australian Men's Cricket Team fast bowler David Moody says he expects the length of the Big Bash League season to stay the same next summer, despite growing calls to shorten the tournament.

Moody, who was with the Hobart Hurricanes for BBL09 but failed to play a game told Sports Drive on Monday he didn't expect things to change too much heading in to next summer.

"Certainly I don't think we would want it to get any longer," Moody said.

"It's very challenging, not just from a sense of keeping your interest going and making sure you've got the same fire from the first game to the last game, but also just the amount of time you spend travelling in transit can be tough on the body."

" I don't anticipate we will see it changed too much, but I don't think Cricket Australia will make it any longer either because they've been trying to find the fixtures that work and I think we are getting closer every year but I think we are pushing it to the end of the spectrum with regards to how long it can get and how many games we need to see."

This year's tournament featured 61 matches in 46 days, with all teams playing 14 home and away matches.

That was compared to 59 matches in BBL08 played over 56 days, with the tournament ending a week later on February 17th.

The focus now turns to the Sheffield Shield season, which recommences this Friday with Western Australia heading to Adelaide to play South Australia.

Moody said the Dukes ball, in use for the final four rounds of the season was an advantage for bowlers in the run to the Sheffield Shield final.

"It swings big from ball one, but it becomes really consistent with the way it behaves after about the 30th over." He said.

"You have to change your mindset as a bowler from needing to be damaging with the new ball and really patient and wear down a batsman with a kookaburra ball to all of a sudden thinking actually I'm the one who has the upper hand here, and the batsman needs to be one who are patient, because every ball can be dangerous, right up the 80th over."

"We'll see in some of these games teams won't take the new ball, because it's still swinging very well. It definitel stays harder and keeps it's shine for a lot longer."

Western Australia sits second ahead of the clash with the fourth placed Redbacks, which will be broadcast on 91.3 Sport FM from 8:00 PM Friday.

IMAGE: The Mercury.