Taking BBL to New Zealand is not on the radar: GM Anthony Everard

The immense success of the Big Bash League (BBL) surely makes it one of the most lucrative sporting leagues in the world. The idea expansion obviously strikes in the mind of business-oriented people. But, Anthony Everard, the Big Bash League General Manager, isn’t one of those men and has ruled out the expansion of the T20 league to include a team based in New Zealand.

This move has been debated by former New Zealand captains and BBL coaches Daniel Vettori and Stephen Fleming. It was also argued in January by Sydney Thunder General Manager Nick Cummins that the league could expand into Hong Kong and Singapore. Everard confirmed to Cricbuzz on Thursday (December 15) that “it has never been put to us formally, but it’s not on the radar.”

However, Everard has clarified that Cricket Australia’s focus with the BBL remains on driving attendances and participation in the Australian market and CA do not believe expansion into other countries will help further that goal.

“The BBL strategy is based all around growing cricket in Australia and really engaging those segments of the market who currently have very little interest in cricket or have drifted away from the game and attracting them back,” said Everard.

The idea to include a New Zealand-based team in the BBL gained momentum during the last season’s which was hugely successful season saw record attendances and viewing figures.

“Australia is a big country with a population of 20 million people and we are really excited about the untapped potential in this market and that remains our focus and we are not convinced that adding teams from other countries is going to accelerate that aspiration.”

BBL currently has 8 teams – Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Star, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunders. The rising popularity and demand, however, has made people rumour about potential expansion by including big cities like Canberra, Geelong, Gold Coast and Cairns. On Thursday a Freemantle-based consortium announced details of its bid to have a BBL team named Freemantle Breeze.

Everard confirmed that CA have begun exploring expansion options but will not fully consider them until after the upcoming season. “There are a number of different alternatives that are available to us and we have done some preliminary work around exploring those.

“We have certainly engaged some feedback from state associations and clubs and there are some options on the table that we are contemplating but we are certainly not in a position yet to formalise any of those or make any particular comment relating to the specifics but needless to say we want to continue to grow the game and the appeal of the Big Bash and cricket and those are all things that we will be contemplating in the future.”