Money Changes Everything

PL reports that CA chief says Victoria's shock BBL announcement is not ideal as he deals with a not so civil war between the states

A few years back, somebody who’d had a brutal experience after going into business with a close friend said one of the takeaways was that at the first smell of significant money, people change. Cyndi Lauper had something similar to say.

A few months back, I’d remarked to somebody in corporate affairs at Cricket Australia that I’d never known Australian cricket to be so free of controversy for so long.

And then came talk of privatising the BBL. Talk of money in them there hills.

Suddenly, there’s a civil war, and as we’ve learned from bitter experience, there’s nothing less civil than internecine conflict. The rolling chaos that started when three states withdrew from the fumbled privatisation push went to another level this week when Cricket Victoria blindsided everybody and announced to its staff that it was, well, what was it again? Folding the Renegades and the Stars, selling the greenfield site that housed the Renegades for the past 15 years, tearing down the house that was the Stars and building something else, selling 100% of something that used to be the Renegades, and fattening what was the Stars ahead of throwing them open for inspection to anybody who wants to buy 49% — something like that.

The details are unclear, and Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins says the miscreant who leaked what he told staff and stuffed up all their plans was, to some degree, caused the confusion. Forced by “the level of misreporting currently circulating”, Cummins circulated a note to his fellow state chief executives on Wednesday evening explaining what he would have told them, had word not got out after he’d told staff and before they’d told the players.

If you haven’t read it already, here is Victoria’s explanation to his peers of the events that sent Australian cricket into a tailspin:

Good evening all,

It has been a busy day, and firstly, apologies for any additional work this may have created for you. That was certainly not my intention.

Given the level of misreporting currently circulating, I thought it was important to provide some direct context on CV’s decision yesterday and the reasons behind it.

As you know, CV has held the position since around February that we would sell 100% of the Renegades as part of any BBL sale process. We have waited patiently while other states worth through their positions over the ensuing months, and as we are all aware, some matters remain unresolved.

I have been very open in this forum about the impact that uncertainty has had on our organisation, including on our staff, players and sponsors. As we have moved further into 2026, that impact became more pronounced, with staff leaving and sponsors seeking assurances we have not been able to provide.

For CV, timing has become a significant pressure. CNSW’s decision not to sell at this time has enabled them to return to business as usual. For other states, continuing in your current structures while contemplating a 49% sale is less disruptive, or at least less disruptive than that position CV has been managing.

It is also clear that there is still some distance to run in the broader discussions, including the self-determination model and the negotiations with the ACA. Both may take time.

To be clear, the decision we made yesterday was not intended to expedite the BBL sale process or place any pressure on any other state. It was about relieving CV of the time pressure we are currently under and allowing us to move forward with more clarity.

By restructuring our organisation, the CV BBL team is now more aligned with the Heat, Strikers, Hurricanes and Scorchers business models. This enables us to pursue a 49% sale in due course, without the same immediate operational pressure. Our team can focus on preparing for next season’s Big Bash, including memberships, sponsorships, community engagement, event presentation and ticketing.

By moving the other team out of CV, we now have a structure that can operate effectively without being dependent on the timing of the sale. That sale could happen before, during or after the season. The team now sits outside CV operations and is able to chart its own course. If the sale has not completed before the WBBL, the team will play as the Renegades. If it has completed, it can play under a new brand should the eventual owners wish that to occur.

In short, we can now operate as two separate businesses, each focussed on the coming season, each not interdependent on the other.

This means the impact of the speed of any discussion around on CV is significantly reduced.

I recognise it would have been preferable to share this with you before it reached the media. We needed to prioritise our people first, and unfortunately the opportunity to speak to you all beforehand was taken away by someone who though the media should be the next person to find out after them.

I hope this provides some useful context. Tomorrow, I will try to speak with those of you I did not catch today. In the meantime, please call me anytime if you would like to understand our position further. You have all known me long enough to know it will be open and honest. I think it is important that we continue to speak directly with one another, rather than be at the mercy of misinformed intermediaries.

Please also feel free to share this with any interested board members.

Regards,

All of this on the day NSW, determined to find a middle path that didn’t involve flogging franchises or sacking staff, announced it had shown its faith in the existing BBL by hiring Andrew Freddie Flintoff as Thunder coach.