The Big Bash League’s proposed privatisation has been thrown into fresh uncertainty after Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria rejected New South Wales and Queensland’s interpretation that the process should be paused, according to a report by SEN journalist Tom Morris.
The latest disagreement centres on whether Project Nazare, Cricket Australia‘s proposed pathway towards private investment in the BBL, should halt until several outstanding issues are resolved or continue progressing alongside negotiations on those matters. The differing positions have widened the divide between the states just weeks after they appeared to reach a breakthrough on the future ownership model.
Fresh dispute emerges over Project Nazare
As previously reported by cricexec, Cricket Australia and the six state associations recently reached an in-principle agreement to pursue a self-determination model, allowing each state to decide independently whether and when to seek private investment in its BBL clubs. That agreement, however, remained subject to four outstanding conditions covering Cricket Australia governance reform, the future governance of the Big Bash Leagues, a negotiated agreement with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and funding and distribution arrangements.
The latest disagreement stems from how the outcomes of that June meeting should be interpreted.
According to Seven Cricket and SEN, the jointly signed memo rejected New South Wales and Queensland’s interpretation of the June meeting.
Gail McGowan, WA Cricket Chair; Tim Scott, Cricket Tasmania Chair; and Ross Hepburn, Cricket Victoria Chair, wrote in a jointly signed memo to Cricket Australia Chair Mike Baird and Chief Executive Officer Todd Greenberg: “In our view, that is not what was agreed.”
Three-state alliance backs parallel progress
The memo argues that resolving the outstanding governance and commercial issues should not prevent Cricket Australia from continuing work on Project Nazare.
The memo added: “A pause would mean no further work occurs until other issues are resolved; the members’ discussion instead contemplated those issues being progressed as part of, and in parallel with, the Nazare process.”
The three-state alliance maintains that any market engagement or preparatory work would not compel states to proceed with a transaction, nor would it prevent further discussions on governance, player arrangements or funding before any final decision is made.
It also argues that states wishing to explore private investment should not be prevented from doing so simply because others are not yet ready to proceed.
The memo continued: “While views differ among States, no State should be able to prevent CA or willing States from progressing the opportunity to the point where its merits, risks and trade-offs can be accurately assessed.”
Commercial implications remain at the centre of debate
The memo also warns that delaying the process could weaken Cricket Australia’s negotiating position by reducing flexibility and slowing momentum at a crucial stage of the project.
Alongside urging Cricket Australia to continue refining a market engagement model, the three states supported ongoing work on governance reform, negotiations with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and discussions around funding and distributions while preserving each state’s right to decide whether to participate once the final structure is known. The group also backed allowing willing states to progress towards an expression of interest process if approved by Cricket Australia.
The memo also argued: “Pausing now risks losing momentum, narrowing competitive tension, reducing optionality and ultimately impairing value for the game.”
Cricket Australia had been aiming to secure alignment across all six states before entering the next phase of discussions with the Australian Cricketers’ Association. The latest disagreement, however, adds another layer of complexity to negotiations over a project that remains one of the most significant strategic decisions facing Australian cricket.
