Don Mackinnon: NZ20 establishment committee chair on the competition being delayed until 2028

The proposed privately-backed NZ20 competition will be readjusted for a 2028 launch instead, NZ Cricket confirmed. 

Organisers have pushed back the launch by a full year, abandoning plans to mark out their run-up in January 2027.

NZ20 establishment committee chair Don Mackinnon says it's a shared decision between the organisation and NZ Cricket - and it's important to get things right.

"Unfortunately, the window that we've got for January '27 is just too tight, particularly with the other commitments that we've locked in for test cricket. So it makes good sense."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now the n ZED twenty Cricket League has been delayed
by a year, so it was due to launch January
twenty twenty seven has now been pushed to January twenty eight.
Don McKinnon is chair of the n Z twenty Establishment
Committee and with us Hi.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Don, Yeah, afternoon, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Now, Don a little bit worried about this because I
was told when this was being set up that we
had to get this thing over the line for jan
twenty seven because otherwise we were going to lose players
who are going to sign two year contracts. Is that
a thing?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Ah, well, there's that risk, unquestionably. I mean we've been
talking to the Players Association. They're relatively confident most players
will do their best, the absolute utmost actually to make
sure they're available for this comp when it starts in
the summer after next But look, ultimately it's a shared
decision between ourselves and New Zealand Cricket that we've got

(00:48):
to get this right and unfortunately the window that we've
got for January twenty seven is just too tight, particularly
with the other commitments that we've sort of locked in
for Test cricket. So look makes good sense, but yeah,
it is rest. I'm not going to deny that.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
How many of them are going to sign do you
think two year contracts versus the one year contract that
may be able.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
To Well, we hope a lot less now because obviously
they now know that we're locked in for Jen twenty
e eight. So look, and there may be the odd
player that just gets too good an offer they can't deny,
and you know that is a risk. At the same time,
there will be some players will be coming off contracts
that now have the opportunity to say, okay, well Jan

(01:29):
twenty eight works for me. So there'll be some swings
in a roundabout yet do you reckon?

Speaker 1 (01:32):
I mean, because the thing about it is it's not
just about keeping and retaining our own talent, but it's
about trying to get the likes of Ben Stokes over
What are the chances that we can draw that kind
of a name from overseas well.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
I think the good thing about this process is that
this gives us the best chance to get you know,
the best investors in the process. That was one of
the things we were looking at that we just found
everything was rushed in terms of going to the market
using the company that we want to work with to
put these teams on the market. This time gives us

(02:04):
the opport of this extra time because have the ability
to go to the market and really careful, clever, professional
process that attracts the best investors both internationally and out
of New Zealand. That gives us the best change, their
best chance to get players like Ben Stokes and the
like from around the world.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Good stuff, Don, thank you for having a chat to us.
Good luck that it's Don McKinnon ends it twenty Establishment
Committee Chair. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
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