Aussie Stars Unhappy: Is Franchise Cricket Breaking Australian Cricket? | First Sports

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]IT'S DONE IT AGAIN.

[00:00:04]UNBELIEVABLE.

[00:00:05]OH, STRAIGHT INTO the roof of the net.

[00:00:08]Nice one. Straight down the middle.

[00:00:11]All right, you're watching First Sports.

[00:00:14]I'm Joshua Barnes. Let's get started.

[00:00:23]On the show today, Australian cricket is staring at an uncomfortable reality.

[00:00:28]>> [music] >> Reports claim five of its biggest stars are yet to sign their central contracts.

[00:00:33]And while Cricket Australia insists there's no panic, is this the first real sign of Australia too feeling the pull of franchise cricket? Has the baggy green finally started losing ground to the league [music] revolution? We break it down. Meanwhile, just a month away from the FIFA World Cup 2026, [music] one American city is quietly stealing the spotlight. Not New York, not Los Angeles, not Miami, but Kansas City. How has the smallest of the 11 US host cities become one of the biggest World Cup stories? And why football giants like Argentina and England are heading there.

[00:01:08]>> [music] >> We give you the details, but first, the headlines on Sports 360.

[00:01:15]Starting with cricket and the Indian Premier League, Gujarat bowlers proved to be too good for Hyderabad in Ahmedabad. The hosts beat SRH by 82 runs to go top of the points table. Put into bat first, the Titans posted 168.

[00:01:31]And in reply, Jason Holder and Kagiso Rabada ran riot to bundle the Sunrisers out for just 86.

[00:01:40]Bangladesh scripted history by beating Pakistan in the first test match by 104 runs. It is Bangladesh's first test win over Pakistan at home. With this, the hosts have leapfrogged Pakistan into sixth spot in the World [music] Test Championship points table.

[00:01:59]Moving to football and Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo's wait to win his first Saudi Pro League title continues.

[00:02:06]An own goal in stoppage time by Al Nassr's keeper Benz out secured Al Hilal a 1-1 draw. Ronaldo's side still have a five-point advantage over second place Al Hilal.

[00:02:19]Over to Major League Soccer, Inter Miami ace Lionel Messi is set to make a league record $28.3 million this year in salaries alone, a 40% rise on last year. And the figure does not include his earnings from major sponsorship deals. Meanwhile, [music] Son Heung-min and Rodrigo De Paul are second and third in the list respectively.

[00:02:42]And Slavia Prague have been fined $419,000 and ordered to play four games behind closed doors after hundreds of their fans stormed the pitch against local rival Sparta Prague over the weekend.

[00:02:56]They have also been asked to forfeit the Sparta clash as punishment despite leading the tie 3-2 in stoppage time.

[00:03:07]Australian cricket is facing a silent crisis. And no, this [music] is not about results, form, or about tour. This is about something far more dangerous, the possible erosion of Australia's cricketing identity itself. Reports claim five of Australia's biggest stars are yet to sign their new central contracts. The players are believed to be unhappy with the pay they're being offered. And suddenly, a country once considered the gold standard of international cricket loyalty is beginning to show cracks because [music] this was supposed to be the one nation immune from the franchise cricket revolution. But now, even Australia is possibly asking the same question the cricket world has been asking for years, why play all year for your country when two months of franchise cricket can change your financial [music] future forever.

[00:03:56]Australia are considered the OG's of world cricket, not just because of the Ashes rivalry with England, [music] but because they shaped modern cricket's mentality. From the late '80s to early 2000s, Australia produced monsters, cricketers who didn't just win matches, they mentally broke opponents before games [music] even began. Their aggression, their confidence, their intensity made cricket feel like blockbuster entertainment long before franchise leagues entered the picture.

[00:04:30]>> [music] [music] [music] >> And yet, despite all this dominance, cricket never truly became Australia's number one sport. Aussie rules football, rugby, football all consistently recorded higher participation numbers.

[00:05:04]And maybe the clearest example of cricket's strange place in Australian sporting culture came after the 2023 ODI World Cup.

[00:05:33]That's captain Pat Cummins returning home after lifting the trophy, and he walked through Sydney Airport almost unnoticed. Just the world champion dragging his own luggage through an almost empty terminal. Imagine that happening here in India. Impossible.

[00:05:48]But, this is Australia. Yet, somehow, despite all that, the country continues to produce elite cricketers. Why?

[00:05:55]Because of the Aussie mentality. The one country where the baggy green always came first, where representing Australia isn't just a job, it's is a responsibility.

[00:06:05]But, that very mentality is now being tested. Reports suggest five senior Australian players are still unhappy with their central contracts and [music] are yet to sign on the dotted line.

[00:06:16]Cricket Australia, though, isn't panicking.

[00:06:20]I actually think that's pretty normal for this time of year. There's no doubt we acknowledge there's a changing landscape. Players do have options. It's an exciting time to be a player and we're constantly trying to strike that balance.

[00:06:36]But, is it actually that easy? Well, not really, because the concerns are there.

[00:06:42]And I'll explain that with one of these cases.

[00:06:45]Reports say that Aussie captain Pat Cummins was offered around 8.6 million dollars from Cricket Australia. Sounds massive, but then you look at the IPL number. Over 2 million dollars for one season. That means players can earn more than 6 million dollars in just three IPL cycles, playing [music] barely two months of cricket each and every year.

[00:07:06]Now, of course, international cricket can never realistically match franchise money. That battle was lost years ago.

[00:07:13]But, the worrying part here is the shift in mindset, because Australia historically resisted this temptation [music] better than anyone else.

[00:07:23]While players from several nations began prioritizing leagues, Australian stars still chose national duty. Mitchell Starc skipped IPL seasons. Josh Hazlewood managed workloads around Australia first. Pat Cummins repeatedly stressed the importance of international cricket. But now, Cummins, Hazlewood, and Starc are set to miss the white-ball series against Pakistan [music] later this month because it clashes with the IPL. And that is a warning sign. And then comes the other problem. The Big Bash League, once seen as a tournament that could rival the world's top franchise leagues, the BBL [music] has struggled commercially in recent years.

[00:08:01]Its privatization plans failed to take off the way that many expected. And now Australian players are increasingly looking at overseas leagues for opportunities [music] and financial security.

[00:08:12]So, it is a crisis not for Cricket Australia entirely. And that is why this situation matters so much. Because if Australia, the country that treated international cricket almost like a sacred duty, starts drifting towards the franchise model, then what hope does the rest of cricket world really have? Now, make no mistake, Australia still has the culture, the system, and the talent to remain a cricketing superpower. But for the first time in a long time, [music] the baggy green is facing genuine competition for attention from within the sport itself.

[00:08:49]When people think of World Cup host cities in America, they think of New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Glamour, skylines, Hollywood energy. But the city quietly stealing the spotlight ahead [music] of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is none of the above. It is Kansas City, a place once known for mobsters, jazz music, barbecue, is now a city preparing to host some of the biggest names [music] in world football. From world champions Argentina to England and the Netherlands, the smallest of the 11 US host cities has somehow become one of the most important centers of the tournament. So, how did the transformation happen? And what can we expect from it? Here is the report.

[00:09:32]The last time America hosted the World Cup in 1994, there was no mention of Kansas City.

[00:09:39]They failed in its bid to be a host city.

[00:09:42]Because back then, football was not big enough, and the infrastructure was not ready.

[00:09:48]But fast forward three decades, and now Kansas City isn't just holding the World Cup, it's becoming one of its main characters.

[00:09:57]Three major teams have already chosen the city as their base.

[00:10:02]World champions Argentina, football giants England, and European powerhouse Netherlands.

[00:10:10]It shows how seriously teams are taking this city.

[00:10:14]So, what has led to the shift? See, Kansas offers something many flashier cities don't, location.

[00:10:21]The city sits right in the heart of America, which makes travel to other matches venues far easier.

[00:10:28]Less travel time, less fatigue, better recovery.

[00:10:32]In a tournament as brutal as the World Cup, those details matter massively.

[00:10:39]And then there is infrastructure.

[00:10:41]Over the years, Kansas City has quietly built some of the best football training facilities in the country.

[00:10:47]They have invested heavily in the sport, and is known as the soccer capital of America.

[00:10:53]Facilities I think speak for themselves.

[00:10:54]I think we were largely regarded as having the best facilities in uh the bid. Certainly the building that we're in now is where Argentina will be training. We think this is the top training facility in North America.

[00:11:05]And it could very well stamp their authority at the title after the 2026 event.

[00:11:10]Because Lionel Messi will likely spend his final World Cup living there.

[00:11:15]Just think about that for a second. A city once known mostly for barbecue and American football is now preparing to host the biggest football icon of this generation.

[00:11:25]And it isn't just Argentina. England too have chosen the city as their training base.

[00:11:31]From there, they'll fly to Dallas, New York, and Boston for their group matches.

[00:11:37]And of course, with England comes the tabloid circus. The fans, the media chaos, the celebrity attention, and yes, the WAGs.

[00:11:46]The designer fashion, the social media spotlight, all of it coming to the Midwest.

[00:11:52]Sure, Kansas City does not have Miami's beaches, it does not have Los Angeles' Hollywood glamour, and it certainly does not have New York's nightlife. But what it does have is character.

[00:12:03]A city built on culture, on food, on music, and on sport.

[00:12:09]Definitely try the barbecue. That's a big one. Um, come prepared. It's going to be much bigger portions than anyone in Europe is going to be used to.

[00:12:19]And the deep roots with jazz culture makes it more significant, too.

[00:12:23]Fans can visit the Blue Room, where live jazz still defines the city's soul.

[00:12:28]So, while football may be taking over, it's certainly not losing its identity in the process.

[00:12:35]Of course, there's still one sport that rules the city, American football. The Kansas City Chiefs have won multiple recent Super Bowls.

[00:12:43]And thanks to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, the city has often flooded with global attention.

[00:12:50]But now, it's football's turn.

[00:12:52]And maybe that is what makes this story so interesting.

[00:12:56]The World Cup is not just coming to America's biggest cities, it's also transforming places like Kansas City into global sporting destinations.

[00:13:05]A city that once missed out on the World Cup will now host the quarterfinals, world champions, and possibly Lionel Messi's final World Cup journey.

[00:13:17]Time for last serve. New York [music] City is already getting into World Cup mode. Mayor Zoran Mamdani made sure football reached the streets before the stadiums. He joined school children for a game and showed off his skills.

[00:13:30][music] Take a look.

[00:13:45]>> [music] >> Well, that's all we have on the program for today. We will see you again tomorrow at the same time. Until then, thanks for watching.