BCG report sparks investment debate
Cricket Australia is actively exploring private ownership in the Big Bash League, with CEO Todd Greenberg saying it would be “naive” not to examine the option as part of the competition’s future. Speaking with Gerard Whateley on SEN’s Whateley program, Greenberg confirmed the governing body is assessing recommendations from a Boston Consulting Group report delivered last week.
“The report was commissioned in its original sense to look at ways at how we could optimise the Big Bash.”
The review assessed the BBL’s operating model and proposed new forms of investment, including private equity stakes in the eight clubs currently owned by CA and state associations.
“That includes its operating model, and there’s a question there whether private investment is something that is worth investigating further. And the report clearly indicates to us that it’s something we should investigate and that’s exactly what we are doing. These are all recommendations; nothing has been decided at this point in time. The report does tell us that the BBL is in a very healthy position.”
Balancing opportunity and risk
While there is strong global precedent — with England’s The Hundred recently selling team stakes for over £500 million — Greenberg acknowledged mixed views within the game.
“I would measure it, saying that it is mixed.”
He stressed the need for a clear-eyed assessment of both upside and potential downsides.
“But I think it is mixed in the balance that people need to understand the details and impacts that any private level of investment would have. We need to be realists. We’ve obviously had a good look around the world and have an understanding of what other leagues around the world that have attracted global interest and private money.
We’d be silly to think we’re no different, but we have to understand what the impacts are.
The strategic decisions here will be equally (important) if we say no or if we say yes. They’re big moments in time for the sport. In my mind, it’s less about the BBL, it’s more about the future of cricket in our country and making sure we make the right decision now so that the future is bright.”
Chasing the IPL — as No. 2
Greenberg made it clear that CA’s ambition is for the BBL to be second only to the Indian Premier League on the global T20 stage.
“Well, that’s certainly the vision of everyone in cricket here in this country is to make sure that we run a league and we run a T20 tournament that is sitting just beside or behind or adjacent to the IPL.”
“It’s going to be very hard to chase the IPL, given the scale of cricket in India, but unashamedly, we want to run a league that comes second. And to do that we’re going to need to make sure that player availability and player salaries are commensurate with everything else that goes on around the world, and there’s one thing you need for that, you need money, you need investment. We’d be naive if we weren’t asking ourselves these questions and making sure we’ve got an eye on what’s next.”
Greenberg added that while the ambition to elevate the BBL is clear, the process remains at an exploratory stage and demands careful thought about its long-term impact on the game.
“Nothing has been decided at this point in time. The report does tell us that the BBL is in a very healthy position, but one thing we’re sure of is we don’t want to take that for granted. So it’s incumbent on us, as leaders of the sport, to look at what the future might hold for us.”
Safeguarding Test traditions
Recent speculation suggested a later BBL start could put Australia’s iconic Sydney New Year’s Test in jeopardy. Greenberg was unequivocal:
“I hail from Sydney, so I’d like to return back there at one point in time. So, no, it’s certainly not on the agenda.”
Not ‘selling the farm’
Addressing fears that private investment could undermine the game’s integrity, Greenberg pushed back firmly.
“It couldn’t be anything further from the truth.”
“We’re looking at ways to put money into cricket so that all parts of cricket can continue to flourish. So for me, this is much less about selling something. It’s more about what the future looks like and trying to ensure that we can continue to put money and resources into grassroots and performance pathways, and so we can be secure, and we can be the sport of choice, and we can continue to be the country’s national sport. None of that will happen if we sit still on our hands and think that everything tomorrow will be like yesterday. We’re living in a world that’s moving at speed.
What this report’s looking at is certainly not looking at putting any private capital into the league. It’s rather the clubs themselves. So that’s the first point. So retaining control of Australian cricket, I think, is fundamental.”
Early investor interest
While no decision has been made, potential investors have already reached out. Greenberg said he has received approaches from parties he had “hadn’t heard of” before.
Process must benefit all of cricket
The CA chief emphasized that any move forward would need to deliver for the entire game in Australia.
“The Chairman (Mike Baird) and I are at pains to point out that this process, this project will only work if it benefits everyone, and when I say everyone, I mean the total circumference of Australian cricket.”
“I mean players. I mean all of our states and territories, and I mean grassroots and the future of cricket too. If there’s opportunities for everyone to thrive and grow from a project like this, then I think it will solve the problems itself. But if clearly we can’t answer that question, then I think the project fails. So we will be very collaborative, as we have been from the start.”
