
As New Zealand aims to keep up with the evolving Twenty20 landscape, a joint franchise league with Australia could be crucial for a sport struggling in this region.
Since its inception in 2003, Twenty20 cricket has revolutionized the sport, reaching new audiences. The launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 marked a significant shift, pushing cricket further from its traditional roots with the franchise model.
Sixteen years later, New Zealand remains the only major cricket nation not to adopt this model, relying instead on its traditional central association structure.
New Zealand Cricket’s approach has had its advantages. The competitive domestic scene has produced what many consider the country’s greatest generation of cricketers. However, the commercial realities of the sport are changing rapidly.
Since 2022, many members of the Black Caps squad that reached finals in all formats have either retired or opted out of central contracts to pursue franchise opportunities. Kane Williamson, who led the team for eight years, is the latest to make this choice. Lockie Ferguson is expected to follow suit when the contracting process concludes later this month.
For players like Williamson, Ferguson, Trent Boult, and Jimmy Neesham, the decision is clear: maximizing earnings and leveraging their skills in the franchise circuit offers more excellent financial benefits.
Boult has spent the past two years freelancing, with notable experiences in India, the UAE, and the USA. In contrast, Neesham has showcased his skills in South Africa and England.
New Zealand isn’t alone in facing this challenge. In spite of attractive franchise opportunities, South Africa, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka have also had difficulty keeping players committed to international cricket.

Photo / Photosport
The summer seasons in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates coincide with the significantly invested in and owned by Indian businesses International League T20 and SA20, respectively.
This scheduling conflict leaves players unavailable for the Black Caps during crucial periods.
Australia faces similar challenges in balancing domestic and international commitments due to proximity.
The Big Bash League (BBL) overlaps Australia’s home Test summer, resulting in a shortage of international stars for the competition, much like New Zealand experiences with the Super Smash.
The rise of the ILT20 has further complicated matters, as the BBL lost some of its top players, including former Black Cap Colin Munro, to the UAE towards the end of the season.
There is a difficult situation because of the overlap between the T20 leagues in Australia and New Zealand and the Indian-sponsored ILT20.
Australian podcasters The Grade Cricketer, known for their international acclaim, offer unique insights into these issues. Since Australia’s Test series loss to India in early 2021, their podcast has gained a substantial following, leading them to cover cricket around the globe.
Sam Perry and Ian Higgins have a thorough awareness of the current T20 World Cup courtesy to Wise, who has allowed them to report from India and, most recently, the USA. state of international cricket.
“It feels like every other country has placed T20 in its peak cricket season, and its peak cricket viewing window,” Perry told the Herald.
“Australia has tried to actually have its cake and eat it too and do both. We play test cricket and T20 cricket at the same time.
“Administrators are not sure how to tell the public that T20 cricket is inevitably the thing that is going to be on when Australians are watching cricket.”
Is it time for Australia and New Zealand to think about collaborating?
In other sports, it’s common practice to merge leagues or enter Kiwi teams in Australian competitions. Whether it’s Super Rugby Pacific, the NRL, NBL, or the A-League, New Zealand teams have consistently demonstrated their ability to compete at the highest level in Australia.
But in cricket, New Zealand and Australia haven’t yet worked together on a club or franchise level.
With the emergence of the ILT20 and SA20 and their potential for further expansion, the BBL faces significant competition, more so than New Zealand’s Super Smash. The Super Smash predominantly features local talent, making it less impacted by international leagues than the BBL.
As cricket across the Tasman navigates a shifting landscape, the Grade Cricketer duo is enthusiastic about the prospect of New Zealand playing a role in some capacity.
“I actually had this thought this morning, I think that would be a good idea,” said Higgins.
“I don’t think there’d be antipathy,” added Perry. “I actually think the issue in Australian cricket is an apathy towards T20 cricket, irrespective of whether there are Kiwi teams involved or not.
“In Australasian cricket, there is a breaking point coming. Ultimately, the Indian franchises and private money will come in with offers to secure that timezone.
“I think that the ILT20 and the SA20 and their expansion into the windows of Australian and New Zealand Cricket is strategic. It’s about putting pressure on Australia to say ‘are you going to allow us to buy into this? Or will you allow us to expand and kill your domestic competition?’
“That’s when we have to discuss whether that’s something that should be accommodated or not.
“I think Aussies would like Kiwis being part of the BBL. It would give it a sense of grandiosity, it would grow it. There’s ultimately a good and friendly relationship between Australians and New Zealanders, particularly when it comes to sport.
“There’s a lot of familiarity with New Zealand teams being part of Australian competitions. I’m not sure it deals with the major question of ‘can you survive without private Indian money?’”
However, New Zealand Cricket does not share this enthusiasm.
NZ Cricket made it clear in a statement to the Herald that the group is adamantly against a trans-Tasman franchise competition. The primary concern is maintaining opportunities for New Zealand players at the professional level. Any merger would likely diminish the presence of the six significant domestic associations.
If this stance were to change, the BBL’s current broadcast deal would expire in 2031. The expiration of this deal could open doors for further expansion, but for now, there are no plans for trans-Tasman collaboration.
Cricket Australia has yet to respond to the Herald’s request for comment.
As New Zealand and Australia continue to resist such changes, there is a growing risk that players may choose financial opportunities over national duties. The international game increasingly relies on players rather than the other way around.
Historical examples, such as the West Indies’ decline from a dominant force in the 1980s to their current eighth-place ranking in Test cricket, illustrate that players often follow the money.
If current trends persist, Super Smash could risk becoming a secondary competition, with its top players lured away by more lucrative contracts globally.
While two podcasters share this view, the future of New Zealand’s standing as a competitive force in international cricket remains uncertain.
“I think ‘survival’ is a loaded term, it’s not appropriate for Australians to judge what survival is for New Zealand Cricket,” said Perry.
“But to speak on the theme of it, any international body now understands that the domestic franchise competition is the commercial driver of its cricket output.
“I think that unless you have a thriving domestic franchise T20 competition that attracts the best players, you’re going to find it very difficult to secure broadcast money, audience and players – the three things that comprise a successful cricket venture.”
Regardless of the outcome, the trend is unmistakable: India, with its billion-strong population and cricket as its most popular sport, has become the epicenter of global cricket.
Photo / AP
Just as Europe is to football and the USA is to basketball, India has become the cricket hub, with the IPL now playing a crucial role in shaping the sport’s future.
India’s influence reaches well beyond its borders.In addition to controlling the SA20 and a significant chunk of the ILT20, IPL clubs hold stakes in both the Caribbean Premier League of the West Indies and American Major League Cricket.
“A lot of these conversations are predicated on the idea that Indian cricket has nefarious interests that will cripple the game in different countries,” concluded Perry.
“There is a world and bridges that can be built if people understand how much south Asian people love the game, and feel a connection to the game that can help it thrive.
“We question our assumptions about seeing Indian cricket as ‘impure’ or things other than benevolent. Having spent time in India, fans there absolutely love the game.
“We thought we’d go to the US and be plonked out into some wasteland to be part of a TV show to be beamed back into India. We saw a lot of south Asian migrants who are extremely keen on the game and connection to home.
“South Asians are the only people that take cricket with them everywhere they go. There’s a reason why their fandom and size of India bankrolls the game.
“There is some introspection in the Anglosphere of accepting that, and building bridges between people, rather than seeing south Asian interests as monopolistic and wanting to kill things.
“That is the reality of the game. Unless Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and England create some sort of alliance to push back on Indian cricket, I do feel like it’s a bicycle coming up against a steam train.”
“Cricket’s tried to make it in America, several times,” added Higgins. “T20 is the best shot there’s ever been to actually grow the game.
“I’m still reconciling with that. For me, cricket is test match cricket. It’s the traditional rivalries, it’s my association to family, and where I’m from, what I grew up with.
“But this form of cricket is just way more appealing to way more people, and into new markets – to use a dirty commercial term – that will actually grow the game.
“It should be in Nepal, it should be in Canada, it should be in the USA and Papua New Guinea.
“What if that means we all get to experience cricket in new places? I still struggle to figure out what T20 actually is, because it really is so foreign to ‘the purest form of the game’.
“But, there’s no question that a hell of a lot of people like T20 cricket way more than they like the other formats of the game.
“They’re going to be south Asian diaspora, they’re going to be Aussie, Kiwi, English expats. But that market already exists in the US. That’s where the game is going to go, due to market forces.”
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