Sydney Thunder will feature in the opening match of the tournament, when it takes on Brisbane Heat at The Gabba on December 17, before meeting the reigning BBL champions the Melbourne Renegades at GMHBA Stadium two day later.

Other fixture highlights include the highly anticipated Sydney Smash derbies against the Sydney Sixers on December 28 (SCG) and January 18 (Sydney Showground Stadium), plus a Sunday afternoon clash at home against the Perth Scorchers on the January long weekend.

Thursday's announcement confirmed a condensed home-and-away fixture, with 56 games over 42 days and a revamped finals series format.

The home-and-away season has been shortened by almost two weeks to coincide with the school holidays period for families, and a five-team finals series will see the top two teams rewarded with a double chance.

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"It's a really exciting schedule, with some big home matches including a Sydney Smash and a Sunday afternoon clash against the Perth Scorchers over the January long weekend," Sydney Thunder coach Shane Bond said.

"We played two thrillers against the Scorchers last season, so it's sure to be another entertaining contest.

"It's fantastic to see a new finals format introduced.

"I think that we've got a squad that can certainly do well in this competition and we definitely want to be one of the final five.

"It's really pleasing as well that, should we qualify, we can host a home final at Sydney Showground Stadium where our players love to play and our fans can attend.

"The support of the Thunder Nation is outstanding, so it's great that they will have plenty of opportunities to watch their heroes in action over the summer."

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Joining Gilkes in the Thunder's squad so far are Jos Butler, Jono Cook, Pat Cummins, Callum Ferguson, Ryan Gibson, Liam Hatcher, Chris Green, Usman Khawaja, Jay Lenton, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Kurtis Patterson, Sam Rainbird, Joe Root, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu and Jason Sangha.

Full schedule: Brisbane Heat (December 17), Melbourne Renegades (December 19), Adelaide Strikers (December 21), Sydney Sixers (December 28), Adelaide Strikers (December 31), Melbourne Stars (January 2), Brisbane Heat (January 6), Melbourne Stars (January 8), Hobart Hurricanes (January 11), Melbourne Renegades (January 15), Sydney Sixers (January 18), Perth Scorchers (January 20), Hobart Hurricanes (January 24) and Perth Scorchers (January 26).