Cricket Australia moves forward with BBL privatisation, pledges to protect Test Cricket

Cricket Australia (CA) has decided to go ahead with the next phase of bringing private investment into the Big Bash League (BBL). The CA board has agreed to allow states to take their BBL clubs to market to sell stakes, or the entire club, to private investors, CA chair Mike Baird and chief executive Todd Greenberg announced on Tuesday, September 8.

The duo made the announcement, sitting alongside Australia's men's Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins, vice-captain Travis Head, women's captain Sophie Molineux and veteran allrounder Ellyse Perry. The process has begun with the launch of a sales process for Melbourne Renegades.

"The Cricket Australia Board has agreed to take a landmark step toward bringing private investment into the Big Bash Leagues, beginning with the launch of a sales process for the Melbourne Renegades. CA will invite bids from private owners for the Renegades with a view to them playing the 2027-28 season under new ownership,” a CA statement said.

The CA also said that it will consider taking other clubs to market under a self-determination model.

"Pending the result of that process, CA will consider taking other clubs to market under a self-determination model that gives each State member the ability to assess the optimal pathway for its own club and community," the statement added.

CA chair Mike Baird assured that the board will have full control of Australian Cricket operations such as schedule, players' availability, salary caps, among others.

"Importantly, CA and its members will maintain control over the most significant aspects of Australian Cricket operations, including international scheduling, player availability, the Big Bash League's salary caps, branding proposals as well as the reserve price for a licence to operate that must be achieved, and approval of investors," said Baird.

Australian Cricket Association (ACA) chief executive Paul Marsh has welcomed the CA's decision to move ahead with the privatisation. However, he mentioned that a new MOU needs to be negotiated between the two bodies.

"We note today's announcement from CA about proceeding to the next stage of the proposed privatisation of the Big Bash League. From the ACA's perspective, today's announcement doesn't change the work that's required to be done for privatisation of the Big Bash League to proceed. A new MoU needs to be negotiated between ACA and CA, and currently we are a long way apart on a possible new deal," Marsh told Cricinfo. 

Marsh stated that the CA cannot proceed with the sale of any teams without ACA's agreement.

"Despite today's announcement, Australian cricket cannot proceed with the sale of any teams without the ACA's agreement. A key issue to be resolved relates to whether or not the proceeds from private investment are captured under the definition of Australian Cricket Revenue. Meanwhile, CA CEO Todd Greenberg and chair Mike Baird have said that it will continue to run concurrently with Australia's traditional Test summer for the foreseeable future and that centrally contracted players will continue to put Test cricket first," he added.

Meanwhile, Test will remain CA's priority and will be a part of the contractual obligations, which end in 2032.

Centrally contracted Australian players' primacy is Test cricket: Baig

"We've anchored the Boxing Day Test and the Sydney Test into this schedule right through to the end of our contractual obligations in 2032," Greenberg said.

CA chair Mike Baird also reiterated the fact that Test cricket remains the board's priority and that partners will have to abide by that.

"It's pretty easy. If you want to be a partner, here's the schedule currently, and we decide what the schedule is. It's a very basic protection that'll be there every step of the way. Private investors will have a say in the day-to-day running of the competition. [But] we control the league, we control the schedule, and that's an important protection," Baird said.

"Let me be crystal [clear] on that in the details, centrally contracted Australian players' primacy is Test cricket, and that is written in the rules and regulations that any buyer will know," he added.