Last Updated on 2 months ago by Charbel Coorey

Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg has once again stressed the importance of Australian cricket keeping up with the evolving trends in global cricket with regard to the T20 leagues backed by IPL franchise owners.

The possible privatisation of the Big Bash League (BBL) has been a red-hot topic in Australian cricket lately, with traditionalists arguing that it would have a damaging impact on the cricket in the country.

Cricket Australia can’t risk falling behind with regards to the BBL – Todd Greenberg

In a recent conversation with The Grade Cricketer, Todd Greenberg admitted that any possible change will not be “without push and shove,” but forcing these conversations is a part of his job.

He argued that Australian cricket needs to be a part of the conversation around the changing trends in global cricket or risk seeing the change unfold around it. He believes that if Australian cricket does not inject private money into the BBL, it could risk losing the best players in the world to private leagues.

“I mean, change doesn’t happen in cricket without a lot of push and shove because it’s a traditional conservation approach to the sport, which is what’s beautiful about it. But geez, if you sit back and watch the world unfold around you, particularly at this moment and time, I think you’re going to get run over,” Greenberg said.

“So I’ve got this sort of concept that you want things to happen to you, or do you want them to happen with you? And my fear for us is if we aren’t in this discussion and we’re not debating the merits of bringing private capital in, you get run over in a small country like Australia.

Australia part of a much bigger system in cricket – Greenberg

The CA CEO went on to say that for the BBL to compete with other leagues such as SA20, privatisation could be vital in ensuring players get paid more.

“Let’s face it, on the global stage, India doesn’t want to come and play Australia because we bring enormous revenues and enormous eyeballs. We’re a small place, a little island, and a long way away. They play us because we’re best at what we do. We’re very competitive, and they want to play the best. So that’s our proposition and why we’re part of, I think, a much bigger system in cricket,” Greenberg said.

“So on private capital, the concept is that there are global T20 leagues popping up all over the world. They’ve got significant funds; they’re paying players significant amounts of money. If we want to compete, we’ve got to be in that conversation. Because otherwise what happens is your sport gets further away from having the best players. You talked about the best Australian players; 100%, you’re right, but we also want the best players globally to see us as a league they want to play in. 

“Now that’s aspirational as well, but it’s also achievable. But it will not be achievable if we stay in the same product mindset that we sit in today. So forcing these conversations to be had, it’s a massive part of my job. You won’t probably win many new friends from it, but if you’re going to be popular, you probably won’t pick this job, but you got to have real conversations with people. 

“I think we’ve broken the back of the reasons why the change is imminent. Now the conversation turns to are we brave enough to do it. And if we do it, what does it look like?” Greenberg explained.

Will the Boxing Day and New Years’ Tests always remain part of the Australian summer?

When asked if this would lead to Australia moving away from its traditional Test summer window, Greenberg said that the iconic Boxing Day Test at the MCG and the New Year Test in Sydney will remain untouched in the foreseeable future but also added that there is no guarantee that that would always be the case.

“Look, it could be a myriad of all those things, and it’s also, you know, important to point out it’s WBBL and BBL to maximise both of those. So we’re right in the middle of those conversations.

“Now, as we sit here today, I think the Boxing Day Test and the Sydney Test remain exactly where they are primarily because they are contracted and they are successful. But that doesn’t mean it will always be like that in the future, and again, that would be really jarring for some people and very unpopular, but you got to test yourself against what change looks like, and some things will be sacrosanct for a long period of time, and others are movable.

“But we’ve got to open our eyes out to the global nature of where cricket is heading, and if we are not in this conversation, it will just happen around us, and you walk up one day and your best players aren’t playing in your competition.

“And, you know, you don’t have to be Einstein to work this out. In every sports league all over the world there is one key ingredient that makes them successful: you have the best players playing in your league. So if you’re the AFL, you’ve got the best players playing in the league. I mean, to be frank, they got nowhere else to play. So, they’ll be there.

“Cricket has a bigger challenge. Our players have leverage, and they’ve got a choice, so we’re gonna make sure we give them all the reasons to want to play here. Not only does that include really good remuneration, but it includes lots of other things.”

Check out his comments below:

It will be interesting to see if the BBL gets privatised in the coming years.