New Zealand scraps Major League Cricket expansion plan

The board says the timing is not right to enter the American market

LONDON:

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said it has ended its bid to launch a Major League Cricket franchise in the 2027 season, stepping ‌back from its partnership with True North Sports Ventures to focus on investing closer to home.

NZC announced an agreement with the US company in April last year and had said ⁠it was looking at cities including Toronto and Atlanta to base a team in the American league, with the possibility of adding a second team in 2031.

"There's plenty of potential in the American market, however following further evaluation of the opportunity, we don't think the timing is right for us ‌to ⁠be taking this on," NZC CEO Geoff Allott said in a statement.

"Our immediate priority is ensuring we continue to invest in strengthening cricket in New Zealand and ⁠refining the best possible high-performance environment for our players and teams."

Allott also confirmed that NZC had not invested any ⁠capital in the partnership.

MLC, which currently has six teams based in Los Angeles, New York, San ⁠Francisco, Seattle, Texas and Washington DC, has said it plans to expand to 10 teams.