Photo Credit: Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA) today released its Annual Report for 2023-24.
The report can be accessed here.
- CA is pleased to report a strong outlook for the game as we come to the end of the low point of the four-year cycle and look forward to a sustained period of revenue growth.
- Highlights over the next four years include the Border Gavaskar Trophy, women’s and men’s Ashes series, a 150th anniversary Test against England, involvement in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and co-hosting of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup in October 2028.
- In the 2023-24 financial year CA reported a net deficit of $31.9 million after funding to members, which was a better than anticipated result given decreases in revenue related to cricket content at this point in the four-year cycle.
- Despite an anticipated content-driven $18.2 million year-on-year revenue decrease, CA delivered a 7% increase in player payments the first year of the new player agreement.
- The result highlighted the ongoing emphasis on managing costs and driving revenue growth while maximising the opportunities presented by forthcoming schedule, Olympics and World Cup.
- It was an outstanding year for our elite teams. The Australian men’s team followed retention of the Ashes with a sixth ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup victory in India and maintained its No.1 Test ranking after a home series victory over Pakistan. The team ranks No.2 in both white ball formats.
- The Australian women’s team retained the Women’s Ashes in a multiformat series in England and maintained its No.1 ODI and T20 rankings under new captain Alyssa Healy.
- The men’s U19 team won the ICC U19 World Cup while the depth of the women’s international teams also highlights the strength of Australian Cricket’s pathways.
- There was strong growth in registered participation rates in community cricket which grew from 627,793 to 661,161.
- Registered participation in Woolworth Cricket Blast increased 19% from 69,879 to 83,100 and women and girls’ participation increased 18% from 78,679 to 93,091 highlighting the success of initiatives in this area, while registered participation in junior cricket decreased 3% from 108,120 to 104,913 underlining the need to focus on retention in this area.
- Australian Cricket entered the “enhance” phase of its five-year strategy to accelerate the growth of the game in all forms. This included the release of Australian Cricket’s Multicultural Action Plan and Women and Girls Action Plan.
Further context around the financial result:
- The content delivered this past year was not at the commercial level of a men’s Ashes or India tour, yet it was a highly competitive summer drawing Test crowds into days 4 and 5.
- Combining revenue raising initiatives, the momentum of a competitive cricket, and outstanding operational cost control, we extracted more than $7 million in better-than-expected returns from matches within the season.
- Unrelated to the season itself, several outstanding individual items were resolved during the year resulting in amounts paid to CA over and above expectations. These included ICC end of cycle payments, collection of previous years’ IPL fees, and outstanding matters with the Indian Tax Authorities. The total of these was approximately $11m.
- Combining the above saw CA deliver a result $18m better than budgeted at the commencement of the year.
The CA Board is proud of the mix of skill sets among its directors with experience across finance, technology, professional and club cricket, government, broadcast, legal and ASX-list companies. For the first time, this year will see the three leading Board committees chaired by female directors.
The three directors who were due for re-election, Dr Lachlan Henderson, Greg Rowell and Clea Smith, were all re-elected.
Meanwhile, Director Paul Green has announced that he will leave the CA board after six years.
Green has made a significant contribution to cricket and to the CA Board and has been Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the past five years. He was appointed to the Board in October 2018 as Cricket Tasmania’s representative.
His current term is due to expire in two years but he has opted to step off the Board now to assist with Board renewal.
John Harnden AM previously stepped down from the CA Board of Directors after eight years which included his time as Chair of the organising committee for the enormously successful ICC T20 Women’s World Cup.
Mike Baird, CA Chair said:
“As we enter an exciting time for Australian Cricket we are confident the game is well placed to embrace the exciting opportunities ahead while taking the measures required to enhance the game’s financial prosperity.
“We have several huge seasons ahead of us with the Border Gavaskar Trophy, two Ashes series, including the first day-night Test at the MCG, a 150th anniversary Test, the Olympics and ICC men’s T20 World Cup in 2028 offering outstanding opportunities to increase revenues, interest and passion for the game.
“The performance of our national teams on the world stage including the retention of both the men’s and women’s Ashes and victory in the 2023 ICC men’s World Cup continued to inspire Australians and has helped drive sustained growth in registered participation at community level.
“CA has played a leading role on the world stage in both ensuring the protection of the game’s rich heritage, including Test cricket, and in ensuring cricket provides exciting and engaging new content and experiences for contemporary fans at stadiums, on broadcast and through our digital products.
“We are particularly grateful for the strong collaboration with our State and Territory Associations, broadcast, commercial and government partners in growing the game and ensuring its long-term health at both elite and community levels.
“I would also like to thank Paul Green for the important contributions he has made to cricket during his six years on the CA Board and congratulate Dr Lachlan Henderson, Greg Rowell and Clea Smith on their re-election.”
Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia CEO, said:
“The better than forecast financial result at the low point in our four-year cycle is the result of a strong collaborative effort across Australian Cricket to both manage costs and drive revenue through business transformation initiatives.
“Subsequently, in the first year of the new player agreement a 7% increase in player payments was delivered.
“Entering the third year of our five-year strategic plan we have laid the foundations for even stronger growth underpinned by our media rights agreements with the Foxtel Group, Seven West Media and Disney Star as well as our MOU with the players and the reshaping of the Big Bash Leagues schedules.
“This strategy includes the commitment to produce inspirational teams and to provide brilliant experiences and this saw more than 1.6 million fans attend matches across the season while 55 million viewers watched matches through our broadcast partners.
“The strong growth in registered participation was the result of targeted programs to increase participation in areas including 5-12 year-olds, women and girls and players of South-Asian heritage – aligned with the release of our Women and Girls Action Plan and Multicultural Action Plan.
“Thank you to all those who have contributed to these outstanding outcomes and we look forward to a blockbuster summer including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and Women’s Ashes which will create enormous value for our partners and solidify cricket’s place as Australia’s national sport.”
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Name of Author: Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA), formerly the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for cricket in Australia. Established in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, CA manages all national teams, including Men’s, Women’s, and Youth sides, as well as other national teams. It oversees the organization of Test matches, ODIs, and T20Is, and coordinates home international fixtures.
