Test cricket retains primacy amid Big Bash private capital influx: CA

Cricket Australia has reiterated that Test cricket will remain the crown jewel of summer and will stand firm against private owners wanting to field Test players with increased money set to flow into the Big Bash leagues.

Confirming on Tuesday it would allow Big Bash clubs to be privatised, CA has declared that would help keep homegrown players in Australia amid lucrative contracts from rival T20 leagues.

CA has forged ahead with a self-determination model with the backing of three States – Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia – and remains optimistic that Queensland and South Australia will join the process.

Cricket NSW remains staunch in its opposition to the current proposals, while CA is yet to agree a new deal with the players' union, the Australian Cricketers' Association, with the current deal – due to expire in 2028 – to remain in force as negotiations continue.

It's understood CA's merchant bank Raine Group will begin formally making contact with potential investors this week, with an expectation the sale of the Renegades franchise could be completed by Christmas.

That would not affect the coming WBBL or BBL seasons, with the Renegades to continue to be run in caretaker mode by CA. New ownership would then take over for the 2027-28 summer.

CA chairman Mike Baird stressed Australian cricket would retain control of international scheduling, player availability, the BBL salary cap and branding proposals.

"It's pretty easy – if you want to be a partner, here's the schedule, and we decide what the schedule is," Baird said at the SCG on Tuesday.

"It's a very basic protection that'll be there every step of the way.

"We've got a really unique position here, where actually the Big Bash games that follow the Tests are some of the highest rated.

"The schedule of Tests, the availability of players, that remains in CA's hands.

"The opportunity is to compete with the other leagues that their salary levels, in some cases, are higher or significantly higher."

CA chief executive Todd Greenberg added that "centrally contracted Australian players' primacy is Test cricket, and that is written in the rules and regulations that any buyer will uphold" and there would be no drastic overhaul of the summer landscape.

"We've anchored the Boxing Day Test, the Sydney Test into this schedule right through to the end of our (broadcast) contractual obligations in 2032," Greenberg said.

"Every time we play a Big Bash game straight after a Test match, they're our highest rating games so there's some significant commercial value to consider how we keep our summer.

"We want Test cricket to thrive, but it won't thrive because we want it to. It'll only thrive because we're making strong, strategic, long-term decisions."

Australia captain Pat Cummins and women's skipper Sophie Molineux fronted the press conference with Baird and Greenberg, despite the cricketers' association yet to agree to terms on privatisation.

"Privatisation, if done well, can be a great thing for the sport," Cummins said.

"So many benefits for obviously the Big Bash league, but as an Aussie captain as well, Test cricket's so important for me, and this sets us up really well for the future.

"The conversation's been very consistent from the men's international players in that we all want to be part of the Big Bash, but some things probably need to change with how the schedule and everything works at the moment."

Cummins, who last played in the BBL in the 2018-19 summer, was optimistic he would be able to feature in the competition again in future.

"I'm a little bit different in that I think probably the schedule has been my biggest barrier over the years," Cummins admitted. "So I'm excited if it does open up that January window.

"But there's only so many games we can play a year. I'd love it more of them were in Australia."

WBBL 'unlocked' by private investment: Molineux

There is potential the Renegades would be rebranded by new owners, with CA to have approval over any new name, colours or branding.

Molineux, who is also captain of the Melbourne Renegades' WBBL team, admitted it "would feel different" if the franchise was rebranded, but was optimistic on the benefits private investment could bring.

"From a women's point of view, I think this can unlock some new areas that we can go into in the Women's Big Bash," Molineux said today in Sydney.

"New investors, new opportunities to be able to innovate and to grow the game, and yeah, I think the Women's Big Bash, quality-wise, is the best competition in the world.

"But bringing in all these new opportunities that come with privatisation can hopefully just make the product even better, which is a really cool thing to be a part of."

Cricket Victoria will still manage the Stars, with the intention to sell a 49 per cent stake in the franchise after the Renegades sale is complete.

"Private investment will unlock value for reinvestment across Victorian cricket, from the grassroots through to the elite game," Cricket Victoria director Shaun Richardson said.

Queensland Cricket said it intended to retain full control of the Brisbane Heat, but "remain open to private investment at the appropriate time".

CA is understood to have studied closely the England and Wales Cricket Board's sell-off of franchises in its Hundred competition, where multiple teams were renamed and rebranded and there was an enormous change of playing personnel following a switch from a draft to an auction.

The volume of change in that competition presented obstacles with fan engagement that CA is understood to be mindful of avoiding.

The upcoming BBL gets underway on December 12 when the Renegades and Scorchers play a historic match in Chennai.

The Weber WBBL|12 season begins on October 29 with a match between the Renegades and Thunder in Melbourne, while the KFC BBL|16 season begins on December 12 with an historic opening match in Chennai between the Renegades and Perth Scorchers.

- with AAP