BBL privatisation and later start among recommendations

Private investment in the BBL has come a step closer after it was one of the recommendations put forward for the future of the competition, alongside the potential of a later start for the men's tournament to avoid an extended overlap with Test cricket.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) had been commissioned by Cricket Australia (CA) to assess the current model and future structure of the BBL. They presented their findings to CA earlier this week and the report will now undergo further study over the coming months.

BCG said that there was "significant existing commercial value" in the BBL and "strong potential for further growth." Todd Greenberg, the CA CEO, said the report was a "strong validation" of what the BBL had achieved heading into its 15th season, but it was vital to keep the tournament at the forefront of the sport.

"The success of the T20 format has been a huge boost for the game globally in attracting new audiences and increasing participation," Greenberg said. "We need to ensure that the Big Bash remains among the world's top sporting competitions.

"We will now undertake an exploratory process of the recommendations in this report to ensure any action we take achieves this potential and is in the best interests of Australian Cricket and cricket fans."

Among major T20 leagues around the world, the BBL has remained one of the holdouts against private investment, but it is now seen as highly likely that it will follow that path, especially with the sums of money that have been produced in the recent sale of Hundred franchises in England with the teams valued at £975milion amid significant interest from India and the US.

The BBL has seen an increase in salaries in recent seasons - a top-level overseas player in the BBL can now earn AU$420,000 - but continues to be challenged by the SA20 and ILT20 which run concurrently. An injection of private capital would allow salary caps to rise further.

But away from overseas players, one of the big challenges for the BBL has been availability of Australian Test stars given the significant overlap with the Test summer which runs from late November to early January.

This season the BBL starts three days before the third Ashes Test in Adelaide although there is a clearer window after the series ends, which could potentially allow players to appear during January. However, in the 2026-27 season, Australia will head to India for five Tests from mid-January. The next Future Tours Programme for beyond 2027 is currently being finalised.

Given the pressures on the calendar and the marquee Boxing Day and New Year Tests in Melbourne and Sydney it is unlikely the BBL will ever have a completely clear window. The other issue is trying to complete the tournament within the summer school holiday window which goes to late January - there was previously a failed experiment of extending the BBL into February.

Expansion of the BBL was also put forward by the report as an avenue worth further consideration. Earlier this year New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that there had been informal talks about putting a team into the BBL while Singapore has been mooted as an expansion location. Cricket ACT has also made clear they would like to host a team in Canberra.

The WBBL has largely been able to carve out its own window in October and November although this season the schedule has been squeezed by the Women's ODI World Cup which means it will begin in early November with the final on December 13, the day before the start of the BBL.

The BBL went through a difficult phase when it expanded to a full home-and-away season in 2018-19 coupled with the challenges brought by two years navigating the impacts of Covid-19. In 2023-24 the tournament was reduced to a 10-game regular season.

"It is very important to understand that no decisions have yet been made, and that any action taken will be for the benefit of the BBL, WBBL, fans and Australian Cricket more broadly," CA chair Mike Baird said. "That would include providing strong benefits across the game including investment in participation initiatives and player development."