# 2015–16 Big Bash League season
The 2015–16 [Big Bash League](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-bash-league) season (BBL|05) was the fifth edition of the Big Bash League, Australia's city-based domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, contested by eight teams from 17 December 2015 to 24 January 2016.[1](https://www.crictracker.com/bbl-2015-16-teams-squads-schedule-fixtures/) • [2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16) [Sydney Thunder](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-thunder) won their first title, defeating Melbourne Stars by three wickets in the final at the [Melbourne Cricket Ground](https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cricket-ground).[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition | Fifth season of the Big Bash League, founded in 2011[1](https://www.crictracker.com/bbl-2015-16-teams-squads-schedule-fixtures/) |
| Dates | 17 December 2015 to 24 January 2016, 35 Twenty20 matches[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16) |
| Teams | Eight city-based franchises[1](https://www.crictracker.com/bbl-2015-16-teams-squads-schedule-fixtures/) |
| Champion | Sydney Thunder, first title, beat Melbourne Stars by 3 wickets in the final[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport) |
| Player of the season | Chris Lynn (Brisbane Heat), 378 runs with 27 sixes and 23 fours[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16) |
| Leading wicket-taker | Clint McKay (Sydney Thunder), 18 wickets in 10 matches[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16) |
| Attendance | Average crowds placed the BBL among the world's top 10 most-attended sports leagues for the season[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/11/high-average-attendances-put-big-bash-cricket-in-top-10-sports-leagues-in-world) |
## Format and schedule
The eight teams played a group stage followed by knockout finals. [Cricket Australia](https://www.edgepedia.org/cricket-australia) released the fixture in July 2015 with two headline changes: the final returned to the home ground of the highest-qualifying team, and every match was broadcast live into all markets on Network Ten, including four prime-time doubleheaders.[5](https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3268085) The season opened on 17 December with the Thunder hosting the Sixers at Spotless Stadium, the Thunder's new permanent home base.[5](https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3268085) Traditional fixtures continued, with a [New Year's Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-eve) match at [Adelaide Oval](https://www.edgepedia.org/adelaide-oval), a Boxing Day match at the WACA, and the Melbourne derbies across the first two Saturdays of January.[5](https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3268085) Post-Christmas, historically the league's highest-attended period, carried 27 matches in 29 days.[5](https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3268085)
**Reigning champions.** [Perth Scorchers](https://www.edgepedia.org/perth-scorchers) entered the season as defending champions and the most successful team in the league's short history, having won the 2014–15 title; [Sydney Sixers](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-sixers) and Brisbane Heat were the other previous Big Bash League champions.[1](https://www.crictracker.com/bbl-2015-16-teams-squads-schedule-fixtures/) • [8](https://www.bigbash.com.au/history/sydney-thunder) • [9](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/who-has-won-the-big-bash-league-a-list-of-the-bbl-champions) The Scorchers, seeking a third successive title, lost to the Stars in the semi-final.[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport) Melbourne Stars reached their first final, beating the Scorchers by seven wickets in the semi-final behind a [Kevin Pietersen](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-pietersen) innings.[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16) In the other semi-final, Usman Khawaja scored his second century of the season as Sydney Thunder chased down 160 with 14 balls to spare against the Adelaide Strikers.[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16)
## The final
The final at the MCG on 24 January 2016 was a see-sawing contest in front of 47,672 fans. Melbourne Stars, sent in to bat, made 9 for 176, built on Kevin Pietersen's 74 from 39 balls, an innings that attacked the Thunder spin of Fawad Ahmed in particular.[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport)
[Usman Khawaja](https://www.edgepedia.org/usman-khawaja), who entered the final with two unbeaten centuries from three BBL innings, made 70 off 40 balls and shared an 86-run opening partnership with [Jacques Kallis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacques-kallis) (28 off 27) to set up the chase. Ben Rohrer hit the winning runs, a straight six off the third ball of Daniel Worrall's last over, with three balls to spare.[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport) Khawaja was named player of the match.[6](https://bblrecords.com/bbl-seasons/2015)
The win completed a turnaround for a franchise that had finished last on three occasions and was playing its first final. It was also a farewell for retiring Thunder captain Mike Hussey, who made 18 in his last game on Australian soil and left to a guard of honor from Stars players. For the Stars, the defeat extended a run of four semi-finals and one final in five editions without a title.[3](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport)
## Individual performances
**Chris Lynn** of Brisbane Heat was named BBL player of the season, aggregating 378 runs for the tournament, including 27 sixes and 23 fours.[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16) Sydney Thunder's Clint McKay led the wicket-taking with 18 wickets in 10 matches.[2](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16)
## Attendance and broadcast reach
The season drew record interest. Average attendances placed the BBL in the top 10 of the world's most-attended sports leagues, with Spain's La Liga just ahead at an average of 28,498 per match.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/11/high-average-attendances-put-big-bash-cricket-in-top-10-sports-leagues-in-world) Seven of the eight venues set all-time domestic cricket attendance records during the season, including 80,883 fans at the MCG for a Melbourne Stars match, and the average television audience on Network Ten exceeded 1 million viewers per match.[7](https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/90325/2/02whole.pdf) The fixture release had noted that the previous season (BBL|04) set a league record single-match attendance of 52,633 at an [Adelaide Strikers](https://www.edgepedia.org/adelaide-strikers) home semi-final, and that Network Ten's coverage had averaged more than 943,000 viewers nationally with a 1.9 million peak for the 2015 final.[5](https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3268085)
## References
1. [BBL 2015-16: Teams, Squads, Schedule and Fixtures, CricTracker](https://www.crictracker.com/bbl-2015-16-teams-squads-schedule-fixtures/)
2. [Big Bash League, 2015-16, Cricbuzz](https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/2361/big-bash-league-2015-16)
3. [Big Bash League: Sydney Thunder claim maiden title with win over Melbourne Stars in final, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/thunder-claim-maiden-big-bash-title-with-final-win-over-stars/7110830?section=sport)
4. [High average attendances put Big Bash cricket in top 10 sports leagues in world, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/11/high-average-attendances-put-big-bash-cricket-in-top-10-sports-leagues-in-world)
5. [Big Bash League schedule released, cricket.com.au](https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3268085)
6. [BBL 2015-16 Points Table, Winner & Matches, BBL Records](https://bblrecords.com/bbl-seasons/2015)
7. [The Dynamics of Change in a Complex Sporting Environment: Australian Cricket, UTS thesis](https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/90325/2/02whole.pdf)
8. [Sydney Thunder, bigbash.com.au](https://www.bigbash.com.au/history/sydney-thunder)
9. [Who has won the Big Bash League? A list of the BBL champions](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/who-has-won-the-big-bash-league-a-list-of-the-bbl-champions)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Cricket › Cricket competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › Big Bash and Women's Big Bash League*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license