That’s the message from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Scott Weenink.
On Thursday, NZC announced a history-making venture with US-based company True North Sports Ventures, to create a new franchise within America’s Major League Cricket.
In a deal that’s the first of its kind, NZC will play a central role in the operation of the franchise, as it enters America’s T20 league in 2027.
Should the venture prove successful, NZC could invest in a second team from 2031.
Significantly, the move also gives NZC a pathway for up-and-coming coaches to take part in a franchise T20 setting, and gain experience that could be vital for the national set-up.
However, while the move will be beneficial both financially and practically for NZC, given Major League Cricket is valued at more than $200 million, questions will be asked about what makes way.
Cricket is already struggling to reach a balance between the international game and the franchise circuit. With the number of franchise competitions increasing, and the number of matches with it, there have been fears for the future of test cricket.
In 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced the World Test Championship as a means of keeping the purest format relevant, in two-year cycles culminating in a final to determine a winner.
Kane Williamson pulls the ball during his century against England at Hamilton's Seddon Park last year. Photo / Photosport
And yet, six years on and approaching the tournament’s third decider, it’s hard to gauge whether the World Test Championship has yielded the desired results, despite the five-day format being as competitive as it’s ever been.
Financially, it costs most nations more money to stage a test match than the revenue they earn from doing so. Barring cricket’s “big three” of India, Australia and England, test cricket is largely funded by the financial windfalls of the shortest format.
New Zealand is not spared from that. But, Weenink explains, the national organisation’s expansion into T20 will allow for test matches to continue to thrive.
“Kiwis still love test cricket first and foremost – as do I,” Weenink told the Herald. “Test cricket, I think, is actually in a good space.
“The World Test Championship – for all the issues around the format – has actually worked, in terms of generating interest in test cricket.
“We see that test matches in New Zealand are extremely well supported, and they will continue to be.
“I don’t think New Zealanders as a whole ‘like’ T20, but they are slowly beginning to realise how important it is for the cricket ecosystem.
“Without T20, we probably wouldn’t have test cricket. It very much supports the other forms of the game. Kiwis probably don’t quite get how big and important the T20 game is, but it is absolutely critical to the future of cricket full stop, including test cricket.”
Regardless, Black Caps supporters might have to endure a bit of short-term pain for long-term gain as far as tests go.
The calendar year of 2025 will see New Zealand play just five tests: two away to Zimbabwe, and three at home to the West Indies in the Kiwi summer.
That came after the recent home summer, where three tests against England was all fans had before a diet of white-ball cricket – albeit largely as preparation for the ICC’s Champions Trophy in February and March.
Weenink, though, promises that test cricket will by no means take a back seat as far as the Black Caps’ fixture list goes.
“These schedules are put in place years in advance. The following year, we’ve got an absolute bumper year of test cricket.
“We have a test against Ireland, three against England in England. We have the West Indies come here for two, Australia for four and Sri Lanka for two.
“There might only be five coming up this year, but the following year we’ve got a huge amount.
New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra in action during November's test against England in Christchurch. Photo / Chris Symes
“Test cricket in New Zealand is thriving. Financially, it is still a challenge, and white-ball cricket will continue to subsidise it.”
Closer to home, investing in Major League Cricket will also benefit New Zealand’s domestic stage.
At present, New Zealand is the only major cricketing nation without a franchise league model. Instead, the Super Smash is made up of the six major associations – Auckland, Northern Districts, Wellington, Central Districts, Canterbury and Otago.
And while that might mean NZC competes on an uneven playing field in terms of having a leading T20 product, it has allowed one full generation of players to progress into a world-leading Black Caps side, with signs another is on the way.
Financially, it would be a huge task to change that without heavy outside investment, most likely in the form of private equity.
And while Weenink rules nothing out, including an entry into Australia’s Big Bash League, this move will give NZC scope to see what is possible at home, through the financial windfall that could follow.
“This is us dipping our toes in the water and looking to diversify our revenue streams,” Weenink added.
“Nothing is off the cards, including potentially putting a team in the Big Bash, if that came up.
“We see this as complementary. In one sense, it is the chance to have our cake and eat it too.
“We’re investing in a domestic franchise, it just happens to not be in New Zealand. The revenue that we’re going to earn we’re going to invest in cricket here.
“So far, we haven’t had to privatise or franchise the Super Smash. The issue with the Super Smash is that we’re a small market, our time zones are not friendly to India.
Wellington's Tim Robinson celebrates a century against Otago in the Super Smash. Photo / Photosport
“However, we’re still going to look at what we do with the Super Smash. As part of our strategic plan, we need to continue to look at all parts of our business – including the Super Smash – and say is there a better way to run it?
“We’ll be continuing to do that, making this investment doesn’t stop us doing that.”
NZC’s move follows similar developments with Australian state sides and Indian teams. The Washington Freedom are backed by Australia’s New South Wales Cricket, while the San Francisco Unicorns have the same relationship with Cricket Victoria.
Outside of those two teams, Indian Premier League sides Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings own teams.
Still, as is the case with any investment, NZC’s venture can be seen as a risk.
While the US is the largest commercial market, other sporting sides have struggled to break ground outside traditional American sports.
In particular, Major League Rugby has seen multiple teams fail financially, including Rugby New York, which had a heavy New Zealand influence.
In contrast, though, Major League Soccer has flourished, backed largely by expat communities from South and Central America, and a growing support of local fans.
And it’s that expat community that NZC will bank on when 2027 rolls around.
“Like any investment, we did full due diligence on who we’re investing with, what we’re investing in, and what the risks and opportunities were,” Weenink said.
Scott Weenink: "We’re investing in a domestic franchise, it just happens to not be in New Zealand". Photo / Photosport
“We looked at other sports, the difference for cricket – we think – are a couple of things.
“There’s been the recent World Cup there, there’s the 2028 Olympics in LA, which will be a huge springboard for cricket in the USA.
“Thirdly, it’s actually already a very lucrative and large cricket market. There’s 25 million South Asian diaspora there, who are pretty well-heeled.
“After India, I understand, it’s the most lucrative cricket market globally. It may not necessarily ever become a mainstream US sport, but there’s a big enough ex-pat population where cricket is part of their fabric to make it a lucrative and compelling market.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
