Cricket ACT has been making waves thanks to the efforts of CEO Olivia Thorton and chairman Greg Boorer. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
There is a sense of déjà vu amidst the talk of Canberra securing a Big Bash franchise.
Canberra would seem the logical option if Cricket Australia takes up a recommendation from Boston Consulting to expand the league from the current eight teams.
As sure as night follows day, though, there will be opposition from NSW and Victoria to Canberra’s inclusion.
The Thunder obviously believes the ACT is their patch and will be keen to protect it, while Victoria’s reported point of contention is not as clear.
We have been here before when it comes to opposition from other jurisdictions to the introduction of ACT teams into larger leagues.
There was plenty of fight from Sydney-based clubs against the Raiders’ entry into the NSWRL in 1982.
One objection was that the airport was prone to fog, creating uncertainty for teams flying in and out of the city.
History shows that no game in Canberra has been impacted by fog at the airport.
ACT Cricket felt the brunt of state-based politics when there was a hint that Canberra had aspirations beyond the domestic one-day series and had eyes on a place in the Sheffield Shield.
Those aspirations came to a sudden halt when politics resulted in the Comets being kicked out of the domestic one-day competition, and we have been playing catch-up ever since.
Now it would appear that Canberra’s stakes in cricket’s hierarchy have risen considerably, mainly through the work of CEO Olivia Thorton and chairman Greg Boorer. They have successfully expanded the cricket footprint well beyond the ACT boundaries to include centres such as Wagga Wagga, Goulburn and the south coast.
And Canberra will be in the spotlight several times over the next six months.
The Australia/India Men’s T20 International at Manuka on 29 October could be the most watched cricket game ever played in Canberra, thanks to a massive television audience in India.
The two countries will meet again at Manuka on 19 February in a Women’s T20 international.
The day-night PM’s XI game against England on 29 and 30 November at Manuka, in between the first and second Ashes tests, is an enormous boost to the sport in this region.
The England side is expected to field most of their test players in the build-up to the day-night second Ashes test in Brisbane, using the pink ball.
The momentum for cricket in the ACT would appear to be on the crest of a wave at the moment.
Despite the work being done behind the scenes, the final decision on a Big Bash team will be out of the hands of the ACT.
