The gap between national teams and franchise cricket isn’t new. National teams have often raised concerns about these leagues, but many players are choosing a different route. Because of better money, lots of them are leaving their national teams to play in franchise leagues. As a result, even cricket boards are now having to loosen contract rules to keep players.
This time, the New Zealand Cricket Board is taking a completely new approach. They’ve become the first national cricket board to invest in a foreign franchise league. While boards like Bangladesh’s (BCB) or Pakistan’s (PCB) have managed franchises before, they’ve only done so within their own countries. But New Zealand is stepping outside that boundary.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has partnered with an American company, True North Sports Ventures (TNS), to start a new team in the United States’ Major League Cricket (MLC). This team is expected to join the league in the 2027 season, with NZC owning part of it.
NZC said this is a “first-of-its-kind” deal, where a national board from an ICC full member country is directly partnering with an international franchise league. The exact location of the new team hasn’t been decided yet, but cities like Toronto and Atlanta are being considered.
NZC will help the team with top-level coaching, management, and support staff. NZC’s CEO, Scott Winnick, explained that with franchise cricket growing fast around the world, NZC needs to adapt to keep up. He said the deal will bring in new income, grow the NZC brand, and help develop players and coaches.
Right now, Major League Cricket has six teams based in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Texas. The league plans to grow to eight teams by 2027 and ten by 2031. Australian teams from Victoria and New South Wales already have investments in two of the current MLC teams.
This direct deal by the New Zealand Cricket Board brings a new twist to the situation. It shows that any national board can now invest directly in franchise cricket. Many people think this move could change the cricket business in a big way in the future.
