New Zealand to launch its own franchise league NZ20, players will be able to own teams

New Zealand is now set to join the global scene of privately owned T20 competitions, with planning beginning for NZ20, a six-team franchise event set to begin in January 2027. The league will follow a similar approach to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which is licensed by New Zealand Cricket but runs independently.

If authorised by NZC, NZ20 will replace the long-running Super Smash competition, which includes six teams from New Zealand’s major cricket associations: Auckland, Northern Districts, Wellington, Central Districts, Canterbury, and Otago. Super Smash, which is nearly two decades old, is wholly administered by NZC, whereas NZ20 will include privately owned franchises and an external operational framework.

According to Don MacKinnon, chair of the NZ20 Establishment Committee, the notion was started by a group of former New Zealand greats, notably Stephen Fleming, who began investigating the viability of a franchise-based model with the New Zealand Players Association (NZPA).

MacKinnon, a well-known lawyer, head of the country’s Sports Integrity Commission, and former NZC director, was formally approached three months ago to assess the project’s potential. According to, he viewed NZ20 as incredibly sustainable, and said the moment was excellent for New Zealand cricket to adopt a modern, privately sponsored league format.

“The concept is a pretty simple one really. It’s to see if New Zealand cricket could provide us with a clean window, which in our mind is absolutely essential for a very short privately owned competition, ideally in the peak of summer in New Zealand. So ideally for a men’s competition in the month of January at potentially a lot of our holiday venues, some of our beautiful grassbanks ground and a short fan-centric, fun type competition, but one played by the very best players in New Zealand and hopefully some internationals,” said MacKinnon as quoted by.

The absence of a major T20 franchise league in New Zealand has long been notable, particularly given the popularity of its players and coaches in tournaments around the world. However, MacKinnon said there was now a collective belief among former New Zealand players that the time was right for the country to establish its own domestic brand.

He recalled that in 2014, the NZC Board had rejected the idea of a privately owned T20 league, believing that New Zealand would struggle to build a successful product capable of competing with the IPL or the BBL. MacKinnon said he agreed with that assessment at the time, but stressed that conditions had since changed. According to him, the current environment presents the ideal opportunity to develop a uniquely New Zealand competition, rather than attempting to replicate established global leagues.

“We are looking at something very boutique, very New Zealand centric, a unique experience for players who come here, as I said, small grounds, a great lifestyle, something that we think players would love to be involved in,” said MacKinnon.

Players can hold a share in franchise: MacKinnon

MacKinnon said he is confident that NZ20 can attract marquee players, provided the league secures the right franchise owners. He also highlighted a key USP of the tournament, the opportunity for players to own a stake in the league.

“We also are looking at a model where the players may well have an ownership share of the league. And we are doing that because we want an extremely high level of access to player intellectual property. We want to be able to open our players up to wealth. And to do that, that intellectual property needs to be very readily available,” said MacKinnon.

NZC approval currently awaited

NZC approval will need to come quickly for NZ20 to launch as planned in January 2027. MacKinnon emphasized that his committee is keen to work closely with NZC. The NZ20 committee itself includes two NZC board members, along with representatives from the NZPA and member associations. According to MacKinnon, NZC has informed the committee that it is considering multiple options.

“We have been in constant discussions with the New Zealand Cricket Board over the last two to three months. They have been excellent to deal with. They have been very clear to us that while they’re excited by this project, they have other options they’re looking at including quite clearly whether they wish to consider trying to get a team into the Big Bash,” said MacKinnon.