Players and some administrators believe private investment is the only way to find the extra cash required to keep BBL salaries competitive.Credit:Getty
One potential investor has toldThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald they could “deliver a billion dollars tomorrow” to Cricket Australia if the BBL was privatised.
But Henderson,fellow board directors and chief executive Nick Hockley are united in the belief that any move to sell off a portion of the game’s commercial operations in return for private capital cannot be considered until after signing the next broadcast rights deal in 2024.
Their view is that Australian cricket is not in the “distressed” state of other sports that have sought private money in recent years,including rugby,basketball and soccer. On that basis,the Cricket Australia preference is to hasten slowly,if at all.
However,other powerful voices,including some at Cricket New South Wales and the Australian Cricketers Association,are eager to test the market sooner rather than later. Neil Maxwell,the NSW board director who also manages the national men’s captain Pat Cummins,is an avowed advocate of the move.
John Knox,the Cricket NSW chair,is a partner and head of Australia and New Zealand for Ares SSG Group,a private equity and investment management corporation with diverse interests in a range of sports,including soccer,baseball,Formula 1 and rugby.
Numerous senior players such as Usman Khawaja arealso in favour,largely because they see private investment as the only way to keep player remuneration competitive with burgeoning Twenty20 leagues in South Africa and the UAE.
Senior cricket sources toldThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald that the most likely compromise will be to form a joint working group – comprising Cricket Australia,states,players and independent representatives – to explore private capitalisation possibilities in parallel with rights negotiations.