A Million Mutinies Now: Has there been a more tumultuous time in Australian cricket?

PL on the spot fires burning across the Australian cricket landscape

Xu Zhen’s miniature tank made of currency from the White Rabbit Gallery’s The Hooligans exhibition

The bad news for the Big Bash League is that New Zealand is keen to conduct its soon-to-be-privatised T20 league bang in the middle of January. The better news is that the league’s chief, in that unassuming Kiwi way, says they probably won’t get in the way of their more muddled Australian counterparts. They have, however, decided to delay the competition’s launch until the 2027-28 summer.

It’s hard to remember a more chaotic and unsettled time in Australian cricket this side of the last MOU shitefite (watch this space) or the Packer years.

The states are divided right down the middle on the need to privatise or not, and Cricket Australia has somehow incurred the angst of both those in favour of the sale and those agin it. The centre cannot hold, but the beast slouches forward with CA testing the private market for the three states in favour and considering how on earth that works, should it come to pass.

Then there’s pushback from some of the 21 players offered central contracts for the coming financial year, as first reported by Ben Horne in The Code. Alex Malcolm has also done some excellent reporting on the topic at Cricinfo. There’s always pushback, but this year it has a more fevered quality. The talk of more money for those Australian stars if the league's privatisation went ahead has further agitated the stallions who are looking to maximise their earnings in the twilight years of their careers.

A couple of the biggest names are involved.