Former New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan. Photo / Photosport
By Jack Ward
A former New Zealand Cricket chief executive believes the proposed NZ20 league is not the way forward for the domestic game.
Plans are underway for New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to have its own franchise competition with a potential start date in January next year to replace the current Super Smash model.
NZC is also exploring other options, such as having a New Zealand team in the Australian Big Bash, revamping the Super Smash or leaving the current model as is.
New Zealand is the only test-playing nation without its own franchise league. Even minor cricketing countries such as the United States and the United Arab Emirates have T20 leagues, and the operating model for the NZ20 would follow the likes of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), with a licence for the competition from NZC, but managed independently.
Justin Vaughan, NZC chief executive from 2007 to 2011, said a franchise T20 league had been mooted since his time in charge, and he felt it would be at odds with other, higher-profile leagues and the international game.
“The question is, what [do] you want your main product to be?
“Because, really, cricket in New Zealand’s showcase window is that Christmas/January period.
“Traditionally, it has been the Black Caps playing at home, playing test series and playing limited-overs cricket.
“I think having a franchise competition at that point in time does raise some questions, because you are running straight up against the Big Bash in Australia and the South African T20 league, which is going on at the same time, so [it would affect] your ability to attract major overseas talent.
“To be honest, the New Zealand market is not big enough to justify a franchise competition in its own right.
“Just from a media rights, broadcasting and sponsorship perspective, you’ve got to have international eyeballs on the product as well.
“Bringing in foreign investment or external investment has its issues. I’m not sure if the jury is still out on Silver Lake investment into New Zealand Rugby. We’ve seen potential issues with England cricket, the Big Bash, and Cricket Australia are looking at foreign investment or external investment at the moment, but haven’t actually reached a decision on that.”
Vaughan said the option for a New Zealand team in the Big Bash had its merits, but he would want to see if there were assurances for Kiwis to play across the whole competition.
“You would want either [a] quota system or guarantee that New Zealand players could then be also picked up by other Big Bash teams, because the problem would be, if you just had, say, one New Zealand Big Bash team, is what happens to the other five-sixths, if you like, of New Zealand first-class players when that’s going on?
“You need to be able to have the opportunity for them, to be able to be playing in other teams.”
Vaughan said money drove all the decisions, and the administrators needed to find a way to marry international fixtures with the franchise game.
“How much do you want international country-versus-country, particularly test cricket, to take up, and when is that going to happen?
“Because, unless you have a very planned way of looking at it, the money can lead you down into places which don’t always result in the best long-term outcome for the game. You’ve got to be take looking at the big picture at the same time as you’re looking at your short-term interests.
“You obviously want that product to be viewed and watched by the maximum number of New Zealand sports fans, and you want, then, as many young people playing the game as possible.
“What I desperately want to see is the Black Caps playing test cricket a decade, two decades, three decades from now, and it not at all falling into a club-based T20 franchise competition globally that squeezes out international cricket.”
Vaughan’s tenure coincided with the launch of the official IPL in 2008 and the unsanctioned rebel ICL that had secured the likes of Shane Bond, making him ineligible for national selection.
To ensure contracted New Zealand players would not be lost to the international game, Vaughan pushed for the likes of Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Scott Styris and Jacob Oram to be included in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
“I was new to the job, and we had heard about the IPL getting formed, and so you try and beseech them to include New Zealanders in the initial IPL auction, and fortunately, we did.
“I guess the rest is history that Brendon made a hundred first game, and New Zealand has played a prominent part in the IPL ever since.
“But that was a moment in time where you had this competing force trying to raid your talent.
“The T20 leagues [are] I think, in general, good for the game, but you just need to constantly be asking yourself, is the best interest of the game being served by further expansion of club-based franchises.”
On the issue of players choosing casual contracts and still making themselves available for international selection, Vaughan was of the view that caution was needed.
“It seems to be working at the moment. I’m not sure if it’s a long-term solution.
“If you have more and more of these leagues and no structured format for international cricket scheduling, I fear you are going to run into too many situations where the players have to choose between representing their country or maximising their earnings in a franchise model, and that’s unfair on the players.
“Cricket needs to be able to solve this in a way that it’s available for the player to play in franchise competitions, but also there are clear, if you like, windows when international cricket takes priority. Aside from the World Cups, that at the moment isn’t happening.”
Asked if he wanted to return to the top job with incumbent Scott Weenink’s departure, Vaughan shouldered arms.
“Cricket’s moved on, you need new ideas and new people coming in.
“It’s not an easy job, and I think the real thorny issues that cricket has to try and deal with, New Zealand Cricket needs a CEO that’s going to be able to forge good relationships internationally, because that’s what New Zealand cricket needs.
“It will take a really good person to be able to make that happen, but sure, there are some great candidates out there, so wishing them all the best.”
He was in no doubt that international cricket must be safeguarded.
“It raises a broader issue around international cricket and how to handle all of these different franchise competitions. International cricket needs to remain the pinnacle of the game, and you can’t have so many franchise competitions that it leaves no room for traditional international cricket, and I think that is the risk that you run up against.
“I just hope they give it every thought and make sure that the game in New Zealand is being served, not only in the short term, but long-term. It’s the right thing.”