Cricket Australia open to Asia-based BBL expansion

Cricket Australia may look to bring a southeast Asian team into the BBL, with chief executive Nick Hockley revealing an ambitious overseas expansion strategy has the potential to go beyond New Zealand.

Officials are currently weighing up the next stage of the Big Bash League’s growth, with expansion firmly on the agenda in coming years.

Cricket ACT have already made no secret of their desire to join the competition, with government backing for a team to enter from 2026-27.

There is also a push for at least one New Zealand franchise, or possibly sides on both the north and south island.

But outgoing Cricket Australia boss Hockley has revealed there is the potential to expand further into Asia in the future, with neighbours such as Singapore.

“We’re doing a bunch of work on what that could look like right now, whether that’s teams in New Zealand or even broader pan Asia,” Hockley said on SEN.

“We’ve got an amazing proposition and we should be looking to grow it and bring it to as many people as we possibly can.”

“I feel that the Big Bash can and should be the out and out second biggest T20 league in the world. The IPL is just an absolute powerhouse.”

Hockley’s comments come after the NRL’s 2028 expansion into Papua New Guinea was confirmed this week, with $600 million in funding from the federal government.

He will be replaced as Cricket Australia CEO by Todd Greenberg in March, who regularly promoted expansion but did not pull the trigger on it during his four years in charge of the NRL.

Any expansion overseas could create logistical hurdles, given the congested nature of the BBL in which teams often play with minimal gaps between games.

Asia-Pacific nations such as Malaysia have previously ventured into cricket, hosting women’s internationals featuring Australia.

Singapore also looms as a major global hub, with local officials having previously indicated a drop-in pitch could be installed at the 55,000-seat national stadium.

No talks have began on the matter as yet, but Hockley said there were potential advantages to the idea in the long term if a successful business case could be presented.

“It depends on a range of stuff,” he said.

“Do those geographies bring new players? Do they bring new fans? And is there a market for it?

“Clearly the NRL has made that decision that there are.

“We’re seeing this play out with India, there’s that almost soft diplomacy element and bringing people and countries together.

“I think in Asia-Pacific, or with Oceania competitions, people are coming together more and more. So it’s certainly something that we’ll continue to explore.”