In the local tabloid, they are going nuts about Wack It 20/20 BBL.

The Melbourne Test is also receiving a lot of column space, but for some Shield players if they aren't involved in BBL they become grade cricketers again until the end of summer.  

Three months is a long time to play grade cricket. Does anyone know how many Shield players this happens to?

I don't get this thread. 

You want media attention on certain FC level grade cricketers? (You actually had this last year with Smith and Warner in Grade Cricket tbh).

Why?

The BBL generates massive revenue to keep CA mega rich and paying the players even at a FC level to be a in a  bubble. To maintain that interest in the BBL, the media needs to keep hammering it, its a symbiotic relationship. 

I don't get the complaint of this thread bar it being anti BBL - which makes money for CA, and the media talking about BBL - which is of public interest, demonstrated by the fact it makes money for CA and the Shield does not...

Where is this thread going exactly? The money generated by the BBL does not go back into the BBL, it goes into CA for Shield and intl cricket... The BBL teams are on a cap less than Cummins will earn in the next IPL - the money from BBL goes to CA to pay its FC and Intl contracts... The BBL is helping to pay your bills - why do you think England wants "the Hundred" so bad?

The rich 3 have an advantage, that is money. A lot of this money for india and aus is generated by your 8 team 2020 comps at domestic, that is why England is desperate for one. And will have one next year. Money makes teams better. In all sports. Maybe not always the best, there is always a Leiscester City fairytale for every Man U or Liverpool. :) But not often. Money rules. Buys coaches. Buys tours. Buys experience. Buys academies. Buys foreign practice facilities domestically. Buys better trained cricketers. Money typically wins. Not always. But much more than no money does.

The fact that FC cricketers disappear in the Oz media for close to three months - unless they play Wack It.

Does FC cricket in NZ stop from early December  until late February?

Your points about revenue are valid - but the TCA Members feel Cricket Oz makes Wack It the priority.

Yes, NZ FC does stop. We get 3 rounds very early on - basically spring Late October / early November. When the seamers plunder wickets. Anyone who makes runs on those pitches is noticed.

Then we play some of 50 over stuff.  Most of the 50 over games are played in ChCh, because there are more than 3 FC venues in this city, and 2 (if not 3) are right next to each other as part of a complex. So the North Island teams play away. This keeps travel costs down. Might be fun for all the players though being hotelled together and all in one city so often and so long. Helps keep the players social.

Then we have our Super Smash, which goes most December and January. Then at the end of Jan and for Feb, we go back to 50 over stuff. 

So - in summary from Nov 8 round three finishing, there is no FC until 22 February. By March, all the national focus is back to rugby. Which is when the majority of FC is played in NZ. But we go most November, all December and Jan, and most February, without a red ball bowled in anger in domestic.

Its structured this way for the fans. Most people want to watch the whack it forms, than the pure stuff. So the pure stuff is played in Spring and Autumn,  witht he whack it forms getting Summer, and the t20 getting the school and xmas hoilidays, the latter being just like you guys. The pure stuff is completely free in this country. Anyone may waltz into any FC game, and sit anywhere, for free. We don't even have members for FC matches.

Those March pitches in FC are far more roady, and offer much more encouragement to the spinners than the Spring pitches do. Run scoring on these pitches can be and often is largely ignored, ala Colin Munro. But noone at domestic gets any experience on NZ FC pitches in December, Jan or most of Feb for how they will play. Which is peculiar. Cos we do play tests over this time.

This is appalling!

Even worse than Australia!

Thanks  for the comprehensive detail in your post too, Paddles.