Biggest revolution since Packer: Cricket Australia told to sell off BBL clubs after $2 billion England windfall

Cricket Australia will consider joining the Twenty20 private investment boom that just reaped $2 billion for English cricket, after an independent report recommended selling minority stakes in the eight Big Bash League clubs.

Should the game’s bosses follow through on the advice from Boston Consulting Group to sell off stakes in BBL teams just as England sold off the Hundred, it will be the most revolutionary moment in Australian cricket since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket breakaway in 1977.

On fire: Mitch Owen produced one of the greatest BBL innings in history to lead his Hurricanes to the title this year.Credit: Getty Images

Until now, the BBL has been owned by Cricket Australia and the states despite franchise leagues such as the IPL, South Africa’s SA T20 and the IL T20 in the United Arab Emirates being owned and controlled by major Indian companies, and recently attracting interest from American tech giants and private equity firms.

A major reason Cricket Australia has stayed away from private ownership is that the BBL has been scheduled alongside the home Test season, which is the preference of broadcasters Seven and Foxtel. Private owners would prefer the league had its own window so Australian Test stars can play the whole tournament, which would force an overhaul of the summer schedule.

The BCG review was presented to CA chair Mike Baird and the chairs of the six states via video conference on Monday afternoon, according to three sources with knowledge of confidential discussions.

While the report painted a healthy picture of the BBL in its current state, it also recommended considering the sales to capitalise on a wave of recent business interest in franchise leagues.

The capital raised would allow the BBL to pay more competitive salaries to the world’s best players, who have largely ignored the competition in recent years, as other leagues have paid more for their services. It would also be used to help fund grassroots cricket.

Cricket Australia declined to comment.

For 15 years, from 1979 to 1994, Kerry Packer and the then Australian Cricket Board shared effective ownership of the game’s finances under the terms of the “peace treaty” that ended the World Series Cricket split.

Since then, CA and the states have been devoid of private ownership, though a model for private investment was briefly considered at the outset of the BBL in 2011. Franchise cricket has exploded around the world since then, and the BBL is now an outlier in terms of being wholly owned by CA and the states.

The level of market interest in buying teams was demonstrated by how the ECB recently raised around $2 billion in funds by selling off 49 per cent stakes in each of the eight clubs in the Hundred. A big share of that windfall arose from a bidding war for the London Spirit franchise, based at Lord’s.

Importantly, the BCG report also recommended that the BBL hold off expanding the number of clubs until stakes in the existing teams are sold, arguing that expansion would dilute their value.

Although CA’s board has a regular meeting later this week, it is likely that debate around a final decision will carry on until later in the year. Baird and new chief executive Todd Greenberg are known to prefer building consensus around their decisions.

BCG’s work was supported by a steering committee that included representation from both CA and the state associations, but there is a range of views on what to do next.

David Warner of the Thunder bats during the BBL The Challenger match between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder at Sydney Cricket Ground in January.Credit: Getty Images

Some would like to see the second teams in Sydney and Melbourne – the Thunder and the Renegades – each relocated to other territories. Singapore and New Zealand are two mooted venues, while Canberra has also made a concerted push for a team via Cricket ACT’s wealthy chair, Greg Boorer.

Another suggestion is for CA to follow the path taken by the VFL way back in 1987, when it expanded the league by selling licences for new clubs in Queensland (the Brisbane Bears) and Western Australia (the West Coast Eagles) without selling stakes in any of the existing clubs.

That scenario raised capital for what was then a cash-strapped league without threatening the establishment clubs. Further expansion into Adelaide (Port Adelaide Football Club) and Perth (Fremantle Dockers) in the mid 1990s saw the Fitzroy Lions merged with the Bears in 1996.

Primarily, the BBL sales would help to supercharge player wages for the league, which have long lagged other competitors, such as tournaments in the UAE and in the southern hemisphere such as South Africa. Ben Stokes, arguably the world’s biggest name player outside India, has lately played in South Africa and hasn’t been part of the BBL since he played half a season for the Melbourne Renegades in 2015.

One of many wider goals of selling BBL team stakes would be to help CA raise its cash reserves to more than $100 million. Greenberg recently made a round of job cuts to the organisation as it seeks to tighten up its budgets.

The states, too, have differing financial pressures. In particular, NSW, Victoria and Queensland don’t derive direct revenue from the grounds they play at. The SCG, meanwhile, has been identified as needing considerable upgrades for spectators and the eventual addition of drop-in pitches.

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