Cricket Australia’s Big Bash boss has reiterated that “nothing’s certain” about the Melbourne Renegades’ future as the club prepares for what looms as its final season under current branding.
Last month, Cricket Victoria sent shockwaves through the Australian sporting landscape after unveiling plans to “merge” Melbourne’s two Big Bash clubs, confirming it was seeking a 100 per cent sale of the Renegades to a private investor, with the club set to go under caretaker mode for the 2026/27 season.
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However, when the private investor takes control of the club, potentially ahead of the 2027/28 season, the club will most likely change its name and team colours to align with the stakeholders.
It comes after the state bodies reached an in-principle agreement for a ‘self-determination’ model for Big Bash privatisation, allowing stakes in clubs to be sold off if desired.
On Thursday afternoon, CA announced the schedule for the 12th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League, with both Melbourne clubs set to play on the competition’s opening day at Junction Oval.
Asked about the challenges of curating a schedule for teams with an uncertain future, CA’s Big Bash general manager Alistair Dobson said the organisation’s attention was focused solely on the season ahead.
“Nothing’s certain. Nothing’s decided or definitive in terms of the future of those clubs or any of our clubs,” Dobson told reporters on Thursday.
“A lot of work is going on to establish the best model and set-up for the Big Bash going forward. That’s been clearly a topic of lots of discussion, but our eyes are firmly focused on this season with those two clubs.
“There’s been some different considerations this year and different type of work going on with those clubs, but as we get into the start of the WBBL, our optimism around those clubs is high.”
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The Stars and Renegades are scheduled to face each other at Junction Oval on November 22 and November 28, with the Melbourne Mace up for grabs.
“The race for the Melbourne Mace will be alive again this year,” Dobson continued.
“The Mace will be played for four times across the WBBL and BBL, and we’re really excited about how that came to life last season.
“And we know particularly on the WBBL side, those two teams can’t wait to play each other for the Mace, so there’s lots of really exciting things happening in Melbourne,
“We’re really optimistic.”
Dobson also confirmed the Renegades’ WBBL side would operate on a caretaker basis this season alongside the men’s team.
“We’ve been working with Cricket Vic to establish a more independent operations for that club overall for this coming year and on the basis that there’s a scenario where the licence for that club might change hands at some point in the future, albeit nothing’s set in stone,” Dobson explained.
“The independence of that club is across both their teams. We don’t separate BBL and WBBL teams in the operations across any of our clubs.”
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Elsewhere, Dobson was non-committal on the future of the overseas player draft, stopping short of guaranteeing it would return this year amid speculation the Big Bash will shift towards an auction model. However, he clarified that CA had not yet landed on a final model for contracting overseas talent.
“We all know that the nature of the player market is pretty dynamic and shifting, and overseas players coming into the WBBL has been such an important part of it,” Dobson said.
“We’re working through that at the moment in terms of what the contracting model does look like for this season. Obviously there’s lots of movement in different parts of the sport, and the player market is one of those.
“We haven’t landed on a final model yet. We’re working through that with the ACA and with our clubs.
“The way our overseas players are contracted into the WBBL is a really important part of that, so hopefully some announcements in the next couple of weeks.”
The 12th edition of the WBBL commences on Thursday, October 29.