Cricket Australia told to sell off BBL clubs

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.

Click here to read article