A bold plan for a trans-Tasman BBL

Yes, they just want to be involved with aussie sports in general, so they probably would show up.

I imagine Hobart, Canberra & Wellington and Christchurch might have trouble but l don't think the others would have any problem. And even then l think the 'little guy' teams would get a following, and crowd, esp claiming a team like Melbourne or Sydney.

Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Plus the crusaders dominate the rugby, so presumably that should mean they'd be pretty even on the rugby field.

South only has 23% of the population so it would be a England v Scotland type rivalry

I’m thinking more bums on seats. Nothing looks worse on tv than a part empty stadium

Surprised they don't do it already for NZ sports.

I'd like 2 NZ teams, North Island and South Islander. Us North Islanders have never liked South Islanders, and southerners dislike us even more. I'm surprised marketers haven't exploited this rivalry before. it'd be great!!

I think the Indian tour could be a chance as would be assessed as a limited international arrival from one country (albeit a country which will still have appalling infection rates by later in the year). But the T20WC, yeah, I think that is a non-starter. It's due to start early October. Say that 12 teams are to compete; working backwards - 1 free training week, 2 weeks (minimum) in isolation post arrival in Australia; that gets to about mid-September. You'd think there would need to be at least 4 to 8 weeks for these countries to be notified that the tournament is on. So that brings us back to mid-August to mid-July. With lifting of State restrictions being aspirationally in July, can't see a decision/confirmation of international arrivals being made within the needed timeframe. It's simply too many teams from too many Covid19-problematic countries IMO. 15 players plus support staff per team....240-300 arrivals from multiple countries? Seems unlikely. And then there's the whole question of a TV tournament with no crowds. AFL/League may be able to get away with no atmosphere (the tribal and seasonal "need" for games); I suspect there's limited broadcaster appetite for a cricket tournament with no crowds. It's a tough situation as to what to do given the 2021 T20WC which is already scheduled in India - would be ridiculous to have two WCs in the space of 6-9 months if the approach was to reschedule the Australia WC to say Feb/Mar.

I agree there's a chance international cricket will be a non-starter but once the government lifts the final domestic restrictions, hopefully in a few weeks, they'll be under significant pressure from all directions to ease international travel bans. The Indians have already said they'd be happy to quarantine for 2 weeks if it meant their tour could go ahead and Scotty would be getting calls fromhis Indian counterpart, pointing out the money involved for both countries if this tour goes ahead. The WC though is more problematic, IMO

I like the idea, but I would also add a 10th round for return derbys (Melb, Syd, NZ etc). That way every team would be guaranteed 5 home games so they could still play 4 at their main ground and take 1 match each to a regional venue. 50 games + finals is still a shorter tournament than this year and there is less player fatigue for each team than there was this year.

The future of T20 depends on applying proper limitation on the number of events. Mind you, I have seen the semi players appear in so many leagues, that we often feel bored. I think Shaeed afridi even played for the Kowloon cantons or something like that in the hK league. In south Asia IPL is separate, byt I really feel that Ban, SL and Pak should combine. The T20 events in these coutries are struggling fro attention. I think long term NZ and Aus T20 events would combine.

Like Dusty Bottoms, in "The Three Amigos", "you can overplan these things". Format l haven't thought of at this point.

I'm not worried about per-capita representation. Half the teams are from elsewhere. It's a confected competition even as it stands, all these national T20s are nothing more than mercenary meat-markets. I usually eat extremely healthy but everyso often l like to eat Venetian Cookies.

I can’t work out your math with the NZ teams v Melbourne and Sydney. New Zealand has a population of about 4.5 million, Sydney and Melbourne have close to 8.5 million with 4 teams = about 2 mill per team. If I understand you NZ will have 3 teams = 1.5 mill per team Melbourne and Sydney will have one each at about 4.2 million each. I’m not sure of the equity in that, given the spread they’ve tried to achieve so far. I do agree on having NZ based teams, provided it doesn’t destroy something they may already have.

I guess there's still a chance we won't get any international cricket this year. This might actually be the one and only chance for the BBL to expand and not impact any other formats too much. It would have to be a one off for this season though, call it a trial run, but it would be an opportunity to assess its viability for a more permanent arrangement once things return to normal. At lot rests on those travel restrictions. We are starting to open up internally but I heard tonight that overseas travel could still be a long way off. In the absence of any international cricket there might be some merit to an expanded BBL. It will be something to watch at least.

That sounds Ok Rowdy. One things for sure. If we don't get a T20 world cup and the Indian test tour we're going to have to entertain ourselves. A tournament between 10 or 12 provincial teams is something I'd watch. .. What formats you got in mind?

One team per Australian state & the ACT if we were to entertain NZ teams. 3 from NZ: The JAFA's, The Windy Wellies' & The Southern Blast (names and places have been changed to protect the innocent). 10 teams would make a competitive product. The mooted groups look a 'little' seeded to me. I think reducing Melbourne and Sydney's teams would be more than compensated by including NZ teams.

I also like the idea of a NZ team in the BBL but only if it doesn't result in bloating the competition even further. The last thing the BBL needs is an even longer season so as long as they can keep that in check I'm all for it. With everything so up in the air atm I think it could be a mistake to rush it through this season. I'd actually prefer them to take their time, think about it and do it properly. For one thing, we can't even be really sure we're going to get a full cricket season this summer. .. I definitely think there will be some cricket but whether we get a full international season is a bit debatable. It all depends on travel restrictions so if they can get this Anzac bubble thing happening there will be a great opportunity for Aus/NZ to put something together. Just what form it takes is anyone's guess at this point though. .. Anyway mate, I'm with you in spirit. It's a great idea. It's just that there's a lot of devil in the detail.

I think NZ crowds would respond with the knowledge that the competition pool would include one of the Big 3.

You'd need to combine Central Districts with Wellington