The former Brisbane Heat commercial manager visited UTAS Stadium on Monday morning to inspect the ground’s drop-in wicket, which will be installed by Tuesday ahead of the December 30 Big Bash fixture.

Rigby said he hoped introducing Big Bash to Launceston would help grow the game and the club’s following statewide. 

“Outside of the first year of the Hurricanes it’s probably the most significant thing for us to bring a game up to Launceston and with the purple army we expect to fill this place,” Rigby said. 

“Big Bash was designed (to be) about getting kids playing cricket and getting new people - mums and kids - to come and enjoy a cricket match. We think having a game at UTAS Stadium will be a huge catalyst to growing the sport.”

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A thousand tickets sold within the first half hour when sales opened on Monday morning, but Launceston mayor Albert Van Zetten said he wouldn’t be satisfied until that number reached 18,000-plus and broke the record for the biggest crowd at a Tasmanian cricket match. 

“We’ve got to show Cricket Tasmania and the cricketing public that we want Big Bash in this city and we want people to come out and support it in a really big way,” Alderman Van Zetten said. 

“We want... to pack the ground out and to show people how keen we are to see world class cricket.

“If we break the record in the crowd and (there are more home games next season) I’m sure there’s a chance we’re going to get extra games.”

The Hobart Hurricanes will meet Sydney Thunder in a double-header at UTAS Stadium on December 30, with a WBBL clash getting proceedings under way in the afternoon before the BBL clash in the evening.

Tickets start at $23 for adults and $8 for juniors and are available at the Hurricanes website.