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Cricket Australia says it has the biggest decision in their history to make over the coming weeks and it’s one that could shape the future of the game in this country for better or worse. They’re talking about the looming Australian version of the Indian Premier League. It has quickly been dubbed the Big Bash League, and although the name could use some work, the business behind it makes perfect sense.
The proposal is for an eight-team competition to start in 2012. There will be two teams in New South Wales, two in Victoria and one from each of the other states.
The rosters would be filled with state players and international stars from home and abroad.
Cashed-up investors from India have reportedly offered up to $35 million for a 49 per cent stake in teams from New South Wales and Victoria with some speculation even that amount could be short of their actual value for just under half a team.
Television rights would also be sold to the sub-continent, Australia and other countries around the world bringing in more money.
Cricket Australia officials say the money generated from the Big Bash League over the next 10 years would set the sport up for life. One five-week spell of Twenty20 madness would bring in as much revenue as Cricket Australia would normally make from a whole calendar year.
Australian players, who are among the most sought after in the IPL, make huge amounts of money for their Indian franchises and the BCCI and this would be a chance for Cricket Australia to reap the rewards from the talent it produces.
There is no doubt that this is a golden chance for the sport in this country to cement it’s spot at the top of the congested sporting pile, but what will be the real cost of this exercise?
State players, usually poorly paid, will be millionaires overnight for doing nothing other than playing state cricket. That’s obviously a positive, but will the ease with which riches come rob the sport of future test players?
The generations to come will see that playing a reverse sweep is more profitable than a proper technique and that scoring 70 off 27 balls will earn you more than learning how to patiently build an innings.
The lure and lustre of the Baggy Green cap will never fade, but will the players Australia send into the Ashes or a tour of India be properly equipped to handle the task in an era where Twenty20 is king?
This may seem like scare tactics, but I believe it’s a serious concern.
The official line is that test cricket will always be the jewell in the crown of the sport, but surely what pays the bills will one day hold more importance.
That, after all, is good business.
I also believe that this will surely be the last body blow domestic one-day cricket can take before slumping to its knees battered and bruised.
The new 45 over format has failed to bring the crowds back to the stadiums. It remains an entertaining prospect for a night on the couch in front of the television, but the huge amount of empty seats is a real guide.
The first match of the Big Bash League, which will no doubt draw a bumper crowd, I believe spells the beginning of the end for the format.
The ICC will, most likely, still persist with the 50-over-a-side World Cup, but beyond that it’s hard to see how that format remains relevant outside of that.
The other issue is player burn out.
Where does this new format fit in an already packed schedule?
If this Big Bash League is successful in Australia why wouldn’t other countries also start tournaments so they can get a slice of the pie?
If that happens then where do those tournaments fit?
Australia has already lost test players to injury because of their efforts in Twenty20 competitions.
These are exciting times for the code, but the next steps must be taken with extreme caution.
You can follow luke on twitter @luke_doherty and on Sky News Australia.
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