Cricket Australia ignores Cricket New South Wales protests over the sale of Big Bash League (BBL) and Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) teams, with overseas investors in India potentially on the way
Cricket Australia will press ahead with plans to sell its Big Bash League clubs despite vocal protests from Cricket New South Wales after the CA board gave the green light to the next stage of the process to test the market with potential investors in Australia and abroad.
The panel, chaired by former NSW Premier Mike Baird, met on Monday night to receive an update from CEO Todd Greenberg and did not bat an eyelid at calls from NSW to “due consideration” of the “alternative strategy” sent to California and the states last week.
In a letter to its member associations, NSW explained why it opposed the CA’s approach.
CNSW chairman John Knox and chief executive Lee Germon wrote last week: “In our view, it is crucial that the Australian cricket community retains control over cricket in Australia.”
“We believe that allowing outside investors will harm all aspects of our game in the long term, including player availability and development, talent realization, and community programs.
“The BBL plays an important role in the development and promotion of our game. Profits from the BBL are today used by States to increase grassroots participation and also develop high-performance routes and players.
“The Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder teams promote participation, fandom and high-performance cricket. External owners of these teams will not align with these objectives. The reduction in profits made by Cricket NSW could therefore reduce our ability to invest in grassroots, pathways and high performance, to the detriment of New South Wales and Australian cricket now and in the long term.”
Three state officials contacted by this imprint but speaking on condition of anonymity expressed doubt that the NSW alternative strategy would change entrenched positions, but one acknowledged many “unanswered questions” still remain in the non-binding process.
While CA is still awaiting a positive response from Queensland Cricket, the central governing body is confident it is only a few days away.
From there, the CA and approving state associations would look at expressions of interest and valuations collected for foreign investors through Barrenjoey Capital Partners in Australia and Raine Group, the same firm that oversees the sale of clubs in the Hundred competition in the UK.
CA has no plans to pause the process for more in-depth discussion of the NSW strategy; but the CA accepts that NSW has the opportunity to speak separately to the other state associations, the de facto owners of the CA, and try to put them in a different perspective.
“All states have been asked to advise Cricket Australia whether they wish to proceed to the next stage, which involves testing the market and seeking valuations for our clubs,” Knox and Germon wrote.
“We have advised Cricket Australia that we believe it is not currently in the interest of NSW and Australian cricket, financially or strategically, to privatize BBL teams, including the Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers.”
Cricket Victoria, which was an early opponent of the idea of private investment before changing its position in the summer, has scheduled a meeting of its state delegates – Premier clubs, sub-region and regional associations – on Thursday night to discuss the state’s position.
Baird, who was appointed as the new CEO of NRMA Group on Friday, told this imprint in September why he felt private investment in BBL was necessary.
“Whether in sports or business, if you have competitors who are active and providing opportunities, you need to take that into consideration,” he said.
“We have a lot of confidence in the BBL and the WBBL, we still think they remain one of the best leagues in the world, but we can’t be complacent and we’re seeing shifts in terms of focus and wages and if we don’t respond we risk being left behind. That’s something we have to deal with.”
“ [overseas] Investment in players is significant, it is at an all-time high and as a governing body you need to respond to that. “So how we can stay competitive, how we can create the best league for our fans and our players are among the things we are considering and there is undoubtedly work to be done as the rest of the world moves on.”
Baird left the CNSW board to join CA in 2021, becoming CA chairman in early 2023.
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Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of many books on cricket.Connect with: X.
