Scott Weenink: NZ Cricket CEO on the potential of a New Zealand team joining the Big Bash league

Could a New Zealand-based team join the Big Bash T20 cricket competition? 

NZC governing body chief executive Scott Weenink says they are investigating whether joining the Australian league is viable. 

Cricket Australia is mulling over expansion options – Singapore, New Zealand, and Canberra have been deemed candidates. 

Weenink told Mike Hosking they’ve been in talks for about a year about the potential of adding a men’s and women’s team to the Big Bash. 

If it were to happen, he says it wouldn’t be at the expense of Super Smash, as it’s important to have a strong domestic competition in New Zealand as well.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
How about the New Zealand side in the Australia Big
Bash Cricket. We've commissioned advice apparently as Cricket Australia thinks
about expansion in that particular competition, our Super Smash small
in comparison runs as a significant loss. Scott Winnick as
the New Zealand Cricket CEO and as with a Scott
morning to you. Well it, Mike, what chance this happens?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
We've been in talks with Cricket Australia for around about
twelve months about the potential of putting a men's and
women's team in the Big Bash. That's that's really just
one of a few options we have. We're looking at
our T twenty format in New Zealand. They keen, they
are keen, and the advice they received from BCG was

(00:43):
that that was the right thing to do. However, they
of course have states that they need to convince that
it's the right thing. So I think they're going through
that process at the moment. But also, you know, we'll
need to you know, we'll need to see what terms
are and we'll also need to convince our major associations
and players and the players association that it's the right
thing to do.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Would this be done to exclude super Smash? Would Supersmash
continue this?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
I mean, this is not mutually exclusive from a privatization
of super Smash. It would be mutually exclusive if we
were to do anything else, such as another form of privatization,
but super Smash would certainly continue in some form if
we were to put teams in the Big Bash, because
it's important to have a very very strong domestic competition
in New Zealand as well.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Is the Big basher hit? I mean, do you look
at that and does it all add up as a
business proposition? You go, jeez, I've got to get a
slice of that.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
It's a very very powerful leave from a high performance
perspective and certainly the second best after the IPL. The
work that BCG had done with Cricket Australia is to
look how they really you know, build the Big Bash
into a very lucrative commercial model as well, And so
we would only be putting a team in the Big
Bash if it made sense commercially as well. There's something

(02:02):
to like about joining up Cricket Australia of course as well.
You know, we want to see cricket in Australasia as
a cricketing powerhouse, and so by joining ourselves Cricket Australia,
there's a lot to like about that as well.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Okay, timeline.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
The I think probably twenty twenty eight has been Cricket
Australia is potentially looking at it, but as I say,
I have to empasize that they still need to get
their stakeholders across the line, and we'd need to get
our stakeholders across the line when considering that against against
some other good options that we have.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Okay, we'll stay in touch. Appreciated very much, Scot Winnick,
who's the New Zealand Cricket CEO. For more from the
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