Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: New Zealand Cricket's $7 million loss proves why sport needs privatisation

Author: Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2026, 4:29pm

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Former New Zealand fast bowler Geoff Allott will head New Zealand Cricket. Photo / Photosport

Cricket New Zealand's books have now been opened and it's ugly in there. They've lost $7.3 million.

Some of it is because they've lost the sponsor for the Super Smash. Some of it may be because they had to pay out their CEO quite a significant amount of money. And some of it is because someone in cricket thought they were going to get some broadcast revenue and were expecting it and were spending like they were going to get it, but they'd already got the money a few financial years ago.

So whoopsie, they overspent.

And just like in the case of netball, they have a problem figuring out how to put their sport on TV, so they're simply not going to do it. 40 of the Super Smash games will not be broadcast. Only 12 days' worth of games will be.

Now, obviously, some of what's happened in the last year in cricket is as a result of incompetence and/or distraction during what was a shambolic time with the CEO departing and a board member quitting on principle over what was going on with the NZ20 privatisation debate.

But some of what is going on here is a theme, as I said the other day, across all three of our traditional sports.

All three of them are in trouble financially in some way. Cricket hasn't got enough money to broadcast the Super Smash. Netball hasn't got enough money to even be sure that it can hold a professional domestic competition next year. And Super Rugby has just had a report commissioned the other day that found that the Super Rugby clubs are not together profitable.

Now here's my question for you.

Are we now at a point where each of the governing organisations needs to let go of their sport and let the private guys come in and save the thing?

For rugby, I think they may have to give more power to the private owners of the Super Rugby clubs.

For netball, give Ali Williams and his wealthy friends the power to run a commercial competition.

For cricket, is it the privately owned NZ20 competition? It might be a goer. Privatisation might be a goer. It might actually be the only answer because this is a pattern, isn't it?

Our traditional sports are no longer making enough money, are they, to pay the bills.

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