NZ Cricket takes stakes in new Major League Cricket franchise – RNZ

Black Caps bowler Matt Henry Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is taking a stake in Major League Cricket in the United States, partnering with a US company to establish a new team in the competition from 2027.
MLC currently features six franchises, with the likes of the Los Angeles Knight Riders and the San Francisco Unicorns owned by Indian Premier League franchises the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings respectively.
Black Caps Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Finn Allen and Trent Boult all currently play in the competition, which runs over a four week period in June and July.
Rachin Ravindra playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 IPL competition. The Chennai Super Kings own the San Francisco Unicorns in the MLC. Photo: Ron Gaunt / Sportzpics for IPL
NZ Cricket will partner with US-based company True North Sports Ventures to establish a franchise in possibly Toronto and Atlanta.
NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said the deal is a first-of-its-kind agreement between a full member of the ICC and a franchise in a leading professional cricket league and will involve “financial equity” and “sweat equity”.
“It’s a reasonable investment but it’s fair to say we are still minority investors.”
Weenink said NZC will provide high-performance and operational support, including coaching, management, and support staff which will earn them “a seven figure sum annually”.
“Hopefully we will also see a growth in capital but also dividends which will start to be spun out of that equity investment.
“We still see India as untapped from a New Zealand Cricket perspective so we are putting a significant amount of energy and resource into growing New Zealand Cricket’s and New Zealand Cricket players brand in India and we see the same in the US – partly diversifying away from India but also because we see America as such a huge market from a sports perspective,” said Weenink.
NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink. Photo: Photosport
“We see cricket really taking off there on the back of the recent World Cup but also with the Olympics being held in LA in 2028 so we really want to tap into and jump on board the huge growth opportunity that Major League Cricket and US offers.
Weenink said had been working on the deal for the past four months after initial discussions with the MLC.
“The partnership (will position NZC)at the forefront of cricket’s global transformation, as well as strengthening its presence in the world’s most lucrative sporting market.
“As franchise cricket grows globally, NZC needs to adapt to seize strategic opportunities that ensure the sustainability of our cricket network.
“This helps diversify our revenue streams, expands our global brand and fan base, and creates new talent development and retention pathways for both our players and coaches.”
The yet un-named franchise hopes to tap into a 25 million-strong cricket fan base that is driving the sport’s growth in North America, following the 2024 T20 World Cup and cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 LA Olympics.
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