The most pleasing aspect of the Cricket World Cup was the incredible rise of New Zealand.
Sure they couldn’t come up with the goods on the final day but the way they tossed aside more experienced cricketing nations like so much chaff was an eye opener for many casual fans.
From the opposite side of the Tasman you get the impression that cricket in New Zealand has never been so popular. I suspect that for many a new fan, the Black Caps are a team they never realised they had.
Obviously it will never approach the fan worship status of the All Blacks but that is not really the point. The seasons have very little overlap, and it is not as though following either team is mutually exclusive.
How can New Zealand cricket maintain the momentum in popular support while continuing to improve their playing stocks? This is where their conquerors, combined with a new cricketing calendar, can help out and provide benefits for both countries.
Two New Zealand teams in the BBL
While more regular trans-Tasman international contact should and will happen, it is always prone to the vagaries of economics.
Australia will always feel the allure of rupee and the pound and however well intentioned, it may be that international competition between the Anzac nations will not be as regular as hoped. The on-again off-again trans-Tasman Cup is a case in point.
Having two Kiwi Big Bash League franchises would provide New Zealand with a permanent foothold in the Australian sports market. On the field it would benefit players, with some sorely needed experience in Australian conditions. Sure it’s only a 20-over competition but a lack of exposure to a variety of pitch types, not a lack of technique, is the Kiwis’ problem.
Assuming that the two teams would be composed mainly of locals, it potentially exposes more than just the 11 national team players to Australian conditions.
This New Zealand expansion of the BBL would mean that the Australian talent pool is not drained as might happen in a Canberra/Geelong type expansion. TV broadcasters would have the same quality product with the added benefit of additional content and an extra timezone, allowing for some double/triple headers on weekends or public holidays,
Synchronising the southern hemisphere calendar
Like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have both recently expressed interest in building a tradition of the Boxing Day Test. Therefore a synchronised calendar could bring mutual benefits to the Southern Hemisphere nations.
This is how I would structure it.
Early November: an ODI series against the incoming Test side. This should have more of an appeal than the disconnected Australia-South Africa series last November.
Late November to early January: a Test series, similar to what happens now.
Early January to late January: A block for T20 competitions (which would still start before Christmas). This would allow Test players to play for their BBL franchises for around half a season. Overseas superstars could also play during this time – Virat Kohli playing at the MCG for the Stars would add 20,000 to the gate.
Early to mid February: Finish the season with two to three weeks of ODIs. This has the advantage of breaking up the overload of international matches, which is part of the reason ODIs (World Cup excluded) have had declining attendances in recent times.
Roey
Guest
merge the oz and nz t20 leagues into one league with 12 teams that can have a great amount of internationals in each squad. It can be a home and away round robin season with 22 rounds over the afl/nrl off season with games played from thurs to mon and every night over the holiday season. Turn it tribal
AdrianK
Guest
Good idea!
The lazy Phoenix
Roar Pro
For sure, Canberra worked well in the World Cup
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
Lazy: I do like your idea to adding a (quality) minnow to a 3 team tourney. I would expect their games would be mainly played at regional venues
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
There's no need for affiliation with the existing provincial setup. I think Auckland v Wellington at Eden Park would pack the place out
The lazy Phoenix
Roar Pro
I reckon Aus v NZ in a three test series each season. One in Australia before our chosen tourists, and the other in NZ after, around March. This in conjunction with a minnow team to be part of a small tri series (like against England and India).
Jarijari
Roar Rookie
BBL's not about provincial sides Targa, it's about American style franchises in the big cities. They don't have the same colours as state or provincial teams, can get players from anywhere because they pay good money and are allowed two imports. The Super Smash can still be played earlier or later with the winners going to the Champions League. Super Rugby and netball competitions work well and there are successful KIwi teams in the NRL and A-League.
Targa
Guest
"Or, better still, they can bring in a couple of Kiwi outfits, Auckland and Wellington or Christchurch. New Zealand has its domestic T20s..." The trouble with that idea is that the best sides on paper in NZ of the 6 provincial teams (Auckland, Wellington, Central Districts, Canterbury, Otago, Northern Districts) are the latter two. Otago has 2 McCullums, Neesham, Wagner, Jesse Ryder, Hamish Rutherford, Mark Craig while Northern DIstricts has Williamson, Anderson, Southee, Boult, Vettori, Watling, Ish Sodhi, Dean Brownlie, Anton Devich etc Wellington won the comp last year but it was held when the Black Caps and NZ A were in the UAE. Grant Elliott and Ronchi are their only current Black Caps.
Gurudoright
Guest
Potentially you could a few teams which makes sense from a tv point of view. NZ is 3 hours in front of the East Coast in the summertime. If you were able to have a game in NZ every night like in Oz, this would start at 4 pm AEDT and finish at 7, just in time for the game in Oz to start. Ten could show the kiwi based game on One as not to interrupt its news coverage.
Targa
Guest
Nice idea but NZ already has the Georgie Pie Super Smash with the winner going to the T20 Champions League in India
Jarijari
Guest
An Australasian BBL, 70s Mo, good plan and it might just be an idea for Cricket Australia and NZ Cricket to seriously toss around, if they're not doing so already. CA have said they want to expand in the future but for the time being it will stay at eight teams, with a women's comp starting next season -- they'll play under the same team names and colours, some fixtures featuring double-headers. Down the track they can look at new teams from, say, Canberra, Geelong, Gold Coast, Newcastle. Or, better still, they can bring in a couple of Kiwi outfits, Auckland and Wellington or Christchurch. New Zealand has its domestic T20s in November-December and the one-dayers over the holiday December-January period. If they were to set up a couple of teams, it would probably be to the detriment of those competitions. But it's probably their best option in terms of revenue. There was some money splashed out on overseas players a few years back but now it seems to be nearly all locals with Brad Hodge and a few other T20 pros thrown in. BBL teams now play a couple of games a week and with the time difference you could give one or both NZ teams a weekend game. Say a 5.30 start in NZ could finish in time to lead into an Australian game. And they would bring in their own women's teams. The BBL will probably never include current Test players from any country because of the schedules, but there are enough big names. Crowds were up by 25 per cent last season to an average of nearly 24,000, with almost a million a game watching on the box. It smashes the A-League in prime summer time. A 10-team comp, with two from NZ, will be a goer.
Chancho
Roar Rookie
This is something I have thought could happen as well. I think there's room for another team or 2, and I don't think the time-zone or travel consideration would be too much trouble (having said that, WA might have a completely different opinion). The beauty of the franchise system in the BBL is that there is no affiliation with the state system so there shouldn't be any cross-over issue, I'm sure this was one of the problems with the early state based concept that struggled. Devil in the detail stuff will be NZ cricket fitting in the available block, and the economics of it for a NZ based franchise? From what I understand, the current TV deal isn't that high on revenues, but brilliant at exposure.. I could be wrong here, happy to be corrected. Its funny how popular this model is becoming. I'm currently living in the UK and there is a real wave of interest in establishing a 'BBL' style comp over here, especially in the wake of England's WC performance.
kevin dustby
Guest
might want to check with kiwis first?
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Not a fan of adding 2 NZ teams, the schedule works really well as is so I'm not sure it's worth messing about with, and besides NZ have their own T20 competition. It also might be awkward to condense NZ, which has distinct districts who are in competition already, into 2 franchises. Oddly enough three might work in terms of population centres, separating Auckland (and possibly Northland) from the rest of the North Island, and having a South Island team too. That said, I'm not a kiwi, so maybe someone with some local knowledge could clarify how logical that is (or is not).