Welcome to the 10th edition of Australia's premier T20 competition, where superman dives over the boundary and officials bearing ill-placed adverts is par for the course...
First, there was Nicholas Pooran flying through the Sharjah air, then Steve Smith defied physics at the SCG. Both stunning, barely believable pieces of fielding just weeks apart.
The Big Bash served up its own offering in the form of Jordan Silk, who leapt, caught, threw back and landed in a split second to save Colin Ingram from hammering another six.
You can get a pretty good idea during televised sport how good a moment is by the pitch of the voices. Adam Gilchrist went ultrasonic in his description of the act.
The problem is, we've seen it all before, haven't we? Like every great piece of skill on a cricket field, it has become normalised. Our great game moves on at such a rapid speed, no sooner do we see a moment of eye-watering class then it becomes the norm.
How long before we're measuring the distance covered in an individual jump, and awarding a different coloured cap to the player who completed the longest?
Had Silk pulled off this piece of fielding pre-Pooran, we would be peeling ourselves off the ceiling trying to describe it. Gilchrist would have swallowed a lung or something.
But as it turns out, this is another one of the genre.
SUBLIME! Jordan Silk, take a bow! 👏#BBL10pic.twitter.com/7LTMg8KEdy
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) December 10, 2020
Tim David had a rather unspectacular BBL record coming into the 2020-21 season. His 12 matches over two campaigns with Perth Scorchers had produced 109 runs, and a high score of 18.
But in those displays, coach Adam Griffith had seen enough to suggest the Singapore international could be in an asset later in the innings and during the revolving Power Surge.
Hurricanes have a habit of picking impressive middle-order batsmen. Mac Wright was one of the breakout stars of the 2019 campaign and hauled the team to The Eliminator.
Wright came in at No.5 but was unable to repeat those heroics in a horrible innings of eight off 10. David had other ideas however and went on a tremendous assault, smashing nine boundaries including one six.
That maximum was the shot of the day, a heave over mid-wicket which left the ground, resting against a picket fence at the Bellerive Oval. It was a magnificent show of strength from David, though he was eventually undone as he gave Dan Christian his second wicket in Sixers colours.
Remarkably, this was the 24-year-old's first competitive outing since March 4, when he also scored 58 for his country against Hong Kong. That followed an unbeaten 92 against Malaysia, so he's on a fine run of form during the last 10 months, sort of.
"It wasn't an ideal start but that happens sometimes," he said. "I was glad we could get to a good score and the bowler did a great job. There are a lot of new faces but it has been great fun so far and it is great to start off with a win."
The greatest moment of skill came courtesy of the landing of the drone carrying the match ball
Please no-one tell David that while he was being interviewed by broadcasters having won the player of the match award highlights of James Vince's knock was being played to TV viewers.
Despite being on the losing side there is little doubt over which of the two knocks was the more impressive. Vince was crafty, patient and subtle as he struck a 41-ball 67 for Sixers in the chase.
If you could be guaranteed of watching an hour of any batsman on the planet, few would aesthetically look better during that period than the Hampshire man. Using the pace on the ball generated by a good pitch, he used what remains a sound technique and some good timing to nudge the ball around with little alarm.
His two maximums were a rare displays of intent. He swung hard at a Riley Meredith delivery which flew over square leg and then thrashed at a full one from Nathan Ellis which disappeared.
Regrettably for himself and the defending champions, the England man did not last much longer and his dismissal caused a fatal collapse. But it was a masterful innings from the right-hander. There haven't been many to note of late.
During the mid-innings interval, the Seven network broadcast a fine compilation marking 10 years of the BBL, looking back on some of the competition's finest moments from down the years.
The video package was accompanied by the highlight of the evening, a special musical collaboration between the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and compose Chong Lim.
The track was a re-working on The Temper Trap song 'Sweet Disposition' put together by Lim and rehearsed this week ahead of the live performance in Hobart.
Check out the compilation here:
Melbourne Renegades will only have captain Aaron Finch available sporadically across the competition as he phased in and out of the player hub in Hobart.
Having been in Australia action since September and also been struggling with injury, Finch will be handed a much-needed rest in the middle of the league stage.
He will be available for the opening weekend and the final round of league matches but Renegades may have to do without him in between.
It is another blow, albeit a predictable one, to a competition lacking big names. Steve Smith and Josh Hazlewood have already opted out while overseas players such as AB de Villiers haven't returned, and Rashid Khan will make an early exit.
More than ever, Cricket Australia need the quality of cricket to be exemplary to keep eyes on the tournament. Pitches need to be good, a complex issue given the manner in which they are being used for 2020-21.
If you thought that innovation in the BBL would be restricted to the new rules, then think again.
Never missing a trick, umpires have got in on the act with adverts added to their armpits.
The logos for deodorant brand Rexona, whose parent company is Unilever, will be revealed for every six or bye.
It is no surprise to hear the news that The Hundred have also signed a deal with Unilever, with brands Sure and Lifebuoy set to adorn matches across the next three years, at least.
There are no initial plans for logos to adorn the outfit of umpires in England, with brands only being used for LEDs at stadiums.
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