New Zealand is finally poised to join the global landscape of privately owned T20 leagues, with plans underway for NZ20, a six-team franchise tournament targeted for launch in January 2027. The competition will operate on a model similar to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), licensed by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) but run independently.

If approved by NZC, NZ20 will replace the long-running Super Smash, which features six teams operated by New Zealand’s major cricket associations, Auckland, Northern Districts, Wellington, Central Districts, Canterbury and Otago. Super Smash, now nearly two decades old, is fully managed by NZC, whereas NZ20 will feature privately owned franchises and an external operations' framework.

According to Don MacKinnon, chair of the NZ20 Establishment Committee, the concept was initiated by a group of former New Zealand greats including Stephen Fleming, who began exploring the feasibility of a franchise-based model with input from the New Zealand Players Association (NZPA).

MacKinnon, a prominent lawyer, head of the country’s Sports Integrity Commission, and former NZC director, was formally approached about three months ago to assess the viability of the project.

As per ESPNcricinfo, he described NZ20 as extremely viable and said the timing was ideal for New Zealand cricket to embrace a modern, privately funded league structure.

"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 ESPNcricinfo.

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.

MacKinnon said he would obviously like NZC to select NZ20 as the preferred option but added that, ideally, he would like the final decision to be made as soon as possible.