Bold BBL plan within reach after crunch meeting

Jasper Bruce | June 15, 2026

Cricket Victoria’s bold BBL privatisation plan is one step closer to becoming reality after rival states reached an in-principle agreement about the sport’s most divisive issue.

Cricket Australia (CA) chair Mike Baird and counterparts from the six state bodies met on Monday and signed off on a “self-determination model” that would allow stakes in BBL clubs to be sold off if desired.

There are still administrative hurdles to clear. Most notably, the boards of the six state bodies must now independently vote to accept the privatisation model.

The model is also unlikely to be adopted in time for the 2026/27 BBL season, despite Cricket Victoria (CV) this month shocking the cricket world by announcing hopes of selling off one of its licences in time for summer.

Monday’s agreement nevertheless marks a breakthrough moment for implementing BBL privatisation, which could financially turbocharge the Australian Twenty20 league and revitalise its international talent pool.

CV would likely be first cab off the rank, while WA Cricket and Cricket Tasmania are also thought to be open to privatisation.

“The discussions today were very productive, and I’m pleased we have continued the momentum toward optimising the Big Bash Leagues for the benefit of the entire game,” said Baird.

Cricket NSW, Queensland Cricket and SACA all came into the meeting cautious over the long-term financial ramifications of CA’s privatisation model.

There were fears from those states that, once the initial financial sugar hit of privatisation wore off, the states and CA would be in a financially worse position given they had rescinded control of their assets.

SACA chair Will Rayner said there was a lot to work through before the model was formally adopted.

“(But) we have made good progress and will now discuss the mechanics of a self-determination model, contingent on several conditions being met, with our respective boards,” he said.

Chief among those conditions is that a new structure of governance is agreed upon for the BBL, and that the CA governance structure is reworked to accommodate those changes.

Specifically, the states must agree whether the BBL continues to be administered by CA, or whether it operates as its own separate entity.

Players’ union the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) must also grant approval, after flagging intentions to block the divisive privatisation model in an email to players on Sunday night.

That email, though, had insisted ACA remained open to privatisation if it came with improved financial conditions for players, and “the broader priorities players presented to CA” were addressed.

An agreement must also be struck between CA and each of the states on future funding and financial distribution.