Cricket Australia board to be overhauled, BBL sale greenlit after crunch meeting

Big Bash League teams are closer to being sold to private investors, but not before the Cricket Australia board chaired by Mike Baird faces the prospect of a major overhaul.

These were the major takeaways from a series of agreements struck by the six state associations in a marathon meeting at CA headquarters in Jolimont on Monday.

States will be able to make up their own minds about whether to sell off stakes in their BBL teams under a “self-determination model” suggested by South Australia.

The states also made their agreement subject to “change to the current CA governance structure to take into account the new operating model”.

A possible new structure for the board would comprise one director appointed by each of the six states, plus four independent directors, one of which is the chair. The state-appointed directors would be allowed to have the option of also sitting on their state board.

The agreement also means Victoria will be able to carry on with plans for selling a licence, having shocked the cricket world by merging the Stars and Renegades BBL teams, as other states weigh up their options. However, they will not be able to proceed as swiftly as first hoped, and it is highly likely the two Melbourne teams will play as the Stars and Renegades this season.

Clubs can be sold in time for the 2027-28 season.

Reflecting a significant power shift, most of Monday’s lengthy meeting took place with only the representatives of the six states in the room. CA chair Mike Baird and chief executive Todd Greenberg stepped away for much of the meeting, which wrapped up mid-afternoon.

Baird is up for re-election for a further three years in October, and it remains to be seen whether he will want to continue as chair if the states push for a board structure that returns to a more representative model, rather than the balance of independent and state-nominated directors that has been in place since 2012.

There are plenty of caveats to the state of agreement, including the shape of the BBL governance model, the aforementioned change to CA’s board structure to account for the new operating model, pay agreements with the players, and funding agreements between CA and the state associations.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association informed its members over the weekend of its opposition to the current model for BBL privatisation and accompanying pay model.

Similarly, agreements among the states about their funding model from CA will be difficult to secure. The states are adamant they will not accept a cut to their current annual distributions, while some senior figures at CA believe too much money is handed over instead of being used more strategically for the areas of most need to Australian cricket.

“The discussions today were very productive, and I’m pleased we have continued the momentum toward optimising the Big Bash Leagues for the benefit of the entire game,” Baird said.

“The states have agreed to go back to their boards to discuss these proposals and address any questions that might arise from their members on four key topics involving governance of the BBL and CA, player support and state distributions.

“We’re confident this will lead to the best-possible outcome for everyone, including grassroots participants and volunteers and professional players, and provide certainty for the future of cricket in Australia.”

SACA chair Will Rayner added: “We had honest and constructive talks today about the best way to move forward on behalf of everyone involved in Australian Cricket.

“While there is a lot to work through, we have made good progress and will now discuss the mechanics of a self-determination model, contingent on several conditions being met, with our respective boards.

“It was a productive session that positions us to continue to grow the BBL leagues, while ensuring the appropriate checks and balances are in place to ensure the long-term sustainability and sovereignty of our game.”

Upon leaving the meeting, Cricket NSW chair John Knox replied to a question about the meeting with the words, “full alignment”.

New South Wales and Queensland have been most vocally opposed to selling, while SACA first floated a self-determination model where the states could make up their own minds.

Western Australia and Tasmania are willing to test the market in terms of the potential value of their BBL clubs.

Victoria was represented by board director Shaun Richardson due to the absence of chair Ross Hepburn, who is overseas. CV chief executive Nick Cummins had earlier volunteered to withdraw from the meeting, after he had been the state’s first choice to substitute for Hepburn.

D-Day for Australian cricket arrives

Australian cricket may be fundamentally changed by the outcomes of a meeting between Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird and his state counterparts in Melbourne on Monday.

A model for the restructuring and possible sale of private stakes in Big Bash League clubs is the major reason for the conclave, but there are wider issues at stake.

The shape of the CA board itself may come under review as a result of the meeting, with some states pushing for a return to a more representative group of board members, directly appointed by their states.

This model was advocated recently by Greg Chappell in a column for this masthead.

South Australia, chaired by Will Rayner, and NSW, chaired by John Knox, have in recent years both butted heads with CA over certain directions taken by the central governing body.

Knox’s face-to-face meeting with Baird, who was nominated by CNSW to join the CA board and ultimately become chair, will be a key aspect of the day. Under the game’s current structure, CA is effectively owned by the six state associations and handing out annual cash distributions, meaning the CA board’s ability to make strategic decisions is somewhat limited.

Under the plan, the BBL will probably be carved out of CA into a separate commercial entity that will oversee any future privatisation and also be a taxable entity under Australian law – unlike the not-for-profit status of CA and the state associations.

Cricket Victoria, which will send a board director as the alternative for absent chair Ross Hepburn, is set to be challenged over its decision to merge the staff of the Melbourne Stars and Renegades and also extinguish the two brands.

While the licences are technically owned by CA, debate is expected over whether the teams will remain as the Stars and Renegades for this summer at least.

The Australian Cricketers Association, which will not be represented at the meeting, informed the players of their opposition to the proposed sale model at the weekend.

The “self-determination model” shared with state chief executives last week would allow for states to take full ownership of their clubs, with CA covering the cost of any salary cap increases until 2031, while all states would retain the option to sell stakes or not. States that sell 100 per cent of a club – as CV are hoping to do with the Melbourne Renegades – would keep 51 per cent of the proceeds, with 49 per cent to go to CA.

A central “future fund” has also been agreed, with the money to be limited to certain strategic uses, and also ring-fenced until after the expiry of the current rights deal in 2031.

Whatever the outcomes, there is agreement across the unruly federation that the BBL salary cap will have to grow significantly over coming seasons in order to retain and attract the best talent while also attracting a better media rights value when the current deal with Foxtel and Seven expires in 2031.

Media rights expert Colin Smith, who has advised Cricket Australia on broadcast deals and also the IOC on cricket’s recent inclusion in the Los Angeles Olympics, said that without a salary cap rise, Australian cricket was looking at a considerable rights fee downturn.

“If they stay with the status quo in some form, that will mean the next round of rights will reduce in value,” Smith told this masthead. “They won’t get increases out of the BBL, and unless they get England and India every second year, the value of Test cricket will reduce as well.

“What that means is CA’s revenues will be really challenged. The key challenge to drive revenues into the sport is to make the BBL a thriving league alongside Test cricket. The opportunity cricket has got is to make the BBL really compelling, by making sure the star players are playing, both Australian stars and also international stars.

“They have to ensure the BBL is more commercial and more attractive to fans because that has a significant advantage for television. They need a compelling summer sport that will hold audiences.”

Smith is an advocate for a centrally managed BBL club sale process, similar to what the ECB did with the eight clubs in the Hundred competition last year, but noted that the main concern for CA was diversifying its revenue to be less reliant on international cricket’s fluctuations.

“Currently, the rights would be about 80 per cent for Tests and about 20 per cent for BBL and other content,” he said of the seven-year, $1.5 billion deal signed in 2023. “We also know that ODIs at national team level don’t attract attendances any more, nor does it attract viewership.

“ODIs will retain their part in cricket for the World Cup, that still has strong value, but in terms of [bilateral] tours, it’s not going to happen any more.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.