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Cricket Australia has today revealed that it lost $5.1 million in the past financial year, largely due to COVID restrictions and the challenges of the changing broadcast environment.

Following on from figures released at its recent annual general meeting, which also revealed an $14.3 million year-on-year decrease in total revenue to $391 million overall, Cricket Australia advised that its net deficit resulted from a drop in its international media rights income and "the costs of staging cricket throughout the pandemic”.

The loss was incurred despite the reporting period sees victorious men's and women's Ashes series at home, a women's 50-over World Cup win and a men's T20 world title.

The figures contrast with the 2020/21 financial year when the body reported a $151,000 deficit, although the national teams had a reduced schedule during that 12 month period.

Noting that teams being forced to tour with heightened biosecurity measures during 2021/22 that "had impacts on both revenues and costs”, Cricket Australia Chair Lachlan Henderson stated “while there is no doubt these conditions have created financial pressure, we are confident Australian cricket has set a strong platform from which to bring our new five-year strategy to life.

“… this is a time of considerable change for cricket with the emergence of different formats and competitions across the world, as well as new commercial and partnership opportunities.

"As an organisation we will confidently embrace the future, while ensuring all our decisions benefit everyone from our elite players through to grassroots participants and volunteers.”

Commenting on team performance, Henderson advised "we are enormously proud of the incredible success our women's and men's teams have enjoyed over the past year and, particularly, the way they have embraced their roles as ambassadors for Australian cricket."

At the domestic level, Cricket Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash League (BBL) was the most watched sports property via linear TV in Australia on a per-game basis, with an average of 506,000 viewers last season.

The most recent edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) was also the most watched in the competition’s history. The popularity of both T20 franchise tournaments looks set to lead to a bidding war during the next round of rights negotiations.

The announcement of the financial figures came as Cricket Australia officially launched its new five-year, strategic plan to strengthen the sport’s financial position domestically. This includes finding a new main shirt sponsor for the men’s national team.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Nick Hockley thanked those involved for delivering strong results "in the most challenging of circumstances", declaring “while cricket suffered some financial headwinds with added biosecurity costs and reduced match revenue, our partnerships with the players, broadcasters, commercial and government partners again demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together and we believe a great platform has been set for future collaboration.

"Entering a summer that features the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, a record six international touring teams and the energised W/BBL, I am confident the hard work done over the past season, as well as our new five-year strategic plan, has us well placed to achieve our goal of making cricket a sport for all that makes Australians proud."

Image: The December 2021 Ashes test at the Adelaide Oval.

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