Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird says there are “undoubtedly compromises” in allowing top drawcards like Test captain Pat Cummins to play in emerging overseas leagues, as the governing body continues to walk a fine line between managing physical demands on players with the game’s economic imperatives.
The organisation reported a $31.9m loss for 2023-24 on Thursday, the third highest in the past decade, trailing $52m in 2016-17 and $43m in 2019-20.
Baird said this reflected the cyclical nature of cricket and he was “bullish” about the promise of the next two years with Test series scheduled against India and England, which are forecast to leave CA with more than $70m in cash reserves.
“Between $70 and 80 [million] is the expectation, so it’s obviously a huge uplift relative to where we have been, and all indications are that the summer is lined up to be a significant success, most importantly for fans and players, but obviously that has an impact commercially,” Baird said.
CA allowed Cummins to play in the emerging US T20 league this year to kick off the fast bowler’s four-year American contract, but Baird said Australian fans will still see him “front and centre” this summer.
“Pat makes personal decisions, but I can tell you his heart, soul and mind is how he can support and continue to play for Australia,” Baird said. “There’s undoubtedly compromises that you have to make in terms of various boards around the world in this environment but I don’t view that as a challenge, it’s an opportunity.”
The compressed summer schedule means international players are largely precluded from playing the men’s BBL which runs across December and January, robbing Australia’s main domestic competition of star power.
Chief executive Nick Hockley said he hoped top Australian talents will still play BBL but fast bowlers like Cummins will have to be managed.
“We’ve moved white ball international [matches] from the back end of January to try and get as many international and Test players playing Big Bash as possible,” Hockley said.
“But particularly for the fast bowlers, who probably are going to have a huge workload in the Tests against India, we’ve also got to make sure that we’re managing them, and that we’re not burning people out.”
All-rounder Cameron Green is the latest player to succumb to injury, and surgery on a stress fracture means he will miss the series against India.
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This summer will be Hockley’s last as chief executive, after he announced plans to step down in August.
Baird praised the executive’s record over close to five years in the job, after Hockley was promoted from within CA, and said a replacement is on track to be found by the time the post becomes vacant in April.
Remuneration for CA executives increased to $4.7m last year, but Baird said an applicant coming to the role for money is “not the right person”.
“This is the most incredible opportunity, not just in Australian sport, I think in Australia, to have the chance to be CEO at Cricket Australia is a rare privilege, and that doesn’t mean we don’t pay a competitive wage,” he said. “Of course there is, but it’ll be competitive alongside appropriate benchmarks.”
