A fresh review of the Big Bash League has recommended opening the door to private ownership and pushing the men’s competition deeper into summer in an effort to ease its clash with Test cricket.
Key findings
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG), commissioned by Cricket Australia, says the BBL carries “significant existing commercial value” with “strong potential for further growth.”
• A later start is viewed as one way to give Australia’s Test players a chance to feature more often.
• Expanding the league and lifting salary caps, funded by outside capital, are on the table.
What the report says
The recommendations landed on Cricket Australia’s desk earlier this week and will now be tested in detail. Chief executive Todd Greenberg welcomed the conclusions, calling them a “strong validation” of the competition’s first 14 seasons.
“The success of the T20 format has been a huge boost for the game globally in attracting new audiences and increasing participation,” Greenberg said. “We need to ensure that the Big Bash remains among the world’s top sporting competitions.”
He added: “We will now undertake an exploratory process of the recommendations in this report to ensure any action we take achieves this potential and is in the best interests of Australian Cricket and cricket fans.”
Why private money matters
While the Indian Premier League and, more recently, the Hundred have embraced private owners, the BBL has stuck with a central model. That stance looks increasingly lonely. The Hundred’s eight franchises were valued at around £975 million during their recent sale process, attracting investors from India and the United States. Similar interest in Australia is viewed as likely.
Injecting funds would allow salary caps to rise beyond the AU $420,000 now on offer for top overseas players—useful ammunition when competing for talent against the SA20 or ILT20, both of which overlap with the BBL.
Calendar headache
Money alone won’t solve everything. The domestic summer is anchored by the Boxing Day and New Year Tests, fixtures broadcasters won’t surrender. As a result, the BBL traditionally begins in early December, meaning Australia’s Test players are scarcely sighted.
This season’s schedule illustrates the squeeze: the first BBL match falls three days before the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. A small window opens once that series ends, yet even that disappears in 2026-27 when a five-Test tour of India starts in mid-January.
Moving the BBL back a fortnight or more could offer some relief, though it would also run against the end of school holidays—essential for family crowds—and risk sliding into February, an experiment that faltered previously.
Expansion ideas
BCG also floated enlargement, either by adding extra Australian markets or inviting overseas hubs. New Zealand Cricket has already held informal talks, while Singapore has been mentioned as a wild-card destination. Canberra, long vocal about its claims, continues to lobby for a licence.
Analyst view
Former administrators privately note that blending private investment with a national governing body is never simple. Owners want influence; Cricket Australia wants control. Still, they concede that the league must evolve.
One former BBL general manager put it plainly: “Without fresh capital and a clearer window, we’ll keep chasing our tail every December.”
Next steps
Cricket Australia plans to consult players, states and prospective investors over the coming months, aiming to decide on the key structural moves ahead of the 2026-27 broadcast cycle.
For now, nothing changes on the field. The 15th Big Bash still bowls off in early December. Yet the groundwork for a markedly different competition—and possibly new club badges in unfamiliar hands—has begun.
