NZC breaks new ground with MLC investment to partner in expansion

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has become the first national governing body to invest directly in an overseas T20 league after joining forces with Major League Cricket (MLC) to launch one of the competition's new teams in 2027.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, MLC will increase from its current six teams to eight in 2027, and there are ambitions to grow further by 2031, with the possibility a franchise could be based in Canada.

The terms have been agreed, and NZC has become investors, with US-based True North Sports (TNS), which will be run by MLC co-founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, to operate one of the new franchises. A NZC statement said that among the private equity investors in TNS are 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

NZC will therefore part-own the team - with an option to invest in a second franchise at a later date - while also providing high-performance and operational support, including coaching, management and support staff, which it will be paid for, as well as integrating the franchise into New Zealand's domestic high-performance system. In a second phase of development, NZC will provide expertise in cricket infrastructure and turf management.

New South Wales and Victoria partnered with Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns respectively at the initial launch of MLC in 2023, but the depth of NZC's deal goes significantly further.

Scott Weenink, the NZC chief executive, said it was vital that the sport looked beyond traditional sources of income amid the rapidly changing landscape.

"We put in place a five-year strategic plan in the middle of last year and one of the things that came clearly out of that was the need to try and diversify away from a reliance on just broadcast revenue and ICC distributions," Weenink told ESPNcricinfo. "New Zealand Cricket, like most member boards, is heavily reliant on those two aspects.

"At the moment, we don't have our own franchise cricket tournament. We have the Super Smash, which we own, and is seen more as a tournament to help develop Black Caps and White Ferns. And we're currently looking at what we do with that, but also part of our strategic plan was looking to diversify our revenue streams to pay for and invest in our high-performance community and pathways. One of which was looking at what we did with overseas domestic franchises."

Weenink added that growing the NZC and players' brand in India remained vital, but that the potential growth of the game in the US - including the hosting of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles where cricket will return - made MLC an attractive proposition. There is also a timezone advantage with evening games from the US being broadcast in the middle of day in New Zealand rather than during the night.

He expected the new franchise to have a "heavy New Zealand influence" but the country's players would be free to join any team in the competition. For centrally contracted players, international duty would continue to take precedence.

Weenink also said that the move did not mean the governing body was taking any of its focus away from the game in New Zealand.

"It's additional funding and revenue, which we will then be able to invest in our high-performance community and pathways game in New Zealand," he said. "We don't see by making this investment in an overseas league as meaning we're not going to invest further in our own Super Smash, or other leagues. We see this as complementary because we see it as an opportunity to generate revenue, to enable us to actually invest in our network, and in particular, our leagues."

In terms of the Super Smash, which is usually played from late December to early February, Weenink said various options remained on the table including private investment. There is also the potential for providing a team in the BBL should the tournament in Australia expand. The BBL is set to undergo a review, led by Boston Consulting Group, to assess its future options.

"We have had informal talks with Cricket Australia about potentially putting a team in the Big Bash," Weenink said. "And that's certainly, if we're both in agreement, something that we would consider. But as well as looking at that and considering some options there, we are actively considering what we should do with our Super Smash. Because we've actually been able to generate good revenue from broadcasting and also ICC distributions, we haven't necessarily needed to do anything like privatise the Super Smash.

"But there is obviously a recognition that broadcasting and ICC distributions will potentially come under pressure. So we need to look at alternative things, including do we privatise our own Super Smash? Certainly all those things are being considered as part of our longer-term strategic thinking."

Further details of the NZC-backed franchise, including its name, are expected to be announced later this year.

"TNS is delighted to partner with NZC, an organisation admired for its sustained success despite limited financial and playing resources compared to other international cricketing bodies," Mehta said. "As founders of start-ups that have rapidly grown to established businesses, we see NZC as a perfect fit for our new franchise. With NZC's expertise, our expansion franchise will elevate MLC's world-class T20 product and support cricket's rapid growth in our region."

The 2025 edition of MLC will be played from June 13 to July 14 with Oakland's Coliseum to host matches for the first time. Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra and Finn Allen are among the current New Zealand players set to take part.