I Read Every Sheffield Shield Club’s Financials—Here is What I Found Out about Australia’s Domestic Cricket Teams

With Australia’s home Test season approaching, let us analyze Australia’s domestic cricket financials.

A few months ago, I read through the financials of each of the English counties and how much debt each of them had. This exercise provided some interesting insights, and we hope to provide similar insights for Australian domestic cricket today.

How do they compare to the standards of the English county teams? Which domestic teams made the largest strides in the last 1-2 years? And more.

I went through 504 pages of annual reports of these six clubs, so you don’t have to.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

Key Takeaways

• Western Australia ($43 million profit), South Australia ($3.6 million), New South Wales ($1.4 million), and Queensland ($970,000) made profits in the last year, while Victoria ($180,000 loss) and Tasmania ($1.6 million) suffered narrow losses.
• Western Australia ($111 million), South Australia ($101 million), NSW ($99 million), and Victoria ($83 million) have the largest total assets.
• The largest total liabilities also lies with Western Australia ($50 million) with NSW ($13 million) coming in next.

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Which Australian Domestic Team Earned the Most Money in 2023-2024?

The data provided is from the annual reports of each domestic team with financials accounted for the annual period ending on 30 June, 2024. Note that the ‘total comprehensive income’ (revenue – expenses for the year) is denoted as the ‘annual income’ in the tables below.

Note: All amounts are presented in Australian Dollar (AUD). The conversion between USD and AUD on 11/17/2024 is as follows: $1 AUD = $0.65 USD or $1 USD = $1.55 AUD.

1. Western Australia ($43 Million Profit)

• Home Ground: Perth Stadium, WACA

Financial Health Status: Green

Assessment: The WACA Ground Improvement Project (WGIP) grant has inflated the revenues and assets for WA’s 2023-24 financial statement. Altogether Western Australia

Western Australia’s 2-Year Profit/Loss

• Revenue/Income: $90,141,254 (2024), $44,733,773 (2023)
• Expenses: $46,809,471 (2024), $41,188,118 (2023)

Highlights from ‘Review of Operations’

“The final net result for the year was a surplus of $43,331,783 ($3,545,655 in 2022-23), achieved after including capital grants relating to the WACA Ground Improvement Project (WGIP) which have been recognised as revenue during the year….The net result from our normal business operations excluding WGIP related items was a deficit of $1,625,663 (surplus of $1,283,001 in 2022-23).“

Highlights from Executive Report

“Our success on and off the field would not have been possible without the support of our growing Membership, with a record number of 4,800 new Members across WACA and Perth Scorchers products this season.”

Other Key Points

• Total cost for WGIP is $168,908,797 which will be funded by a combination of the state government ($109.7 million), federal government ($30 million), WA Cricket ($11 million), Cricket Australia ($4 million), and other funding sources. The project is set to be completed by July 2025.
• Employee benefit expenses ($24.4 million in 2024 and $20.8 million in 2023) take up the largest portion of WA’s expenses. Contractors and consultant expenses also increased from $3.3 million in 2023 to $4.7 million in 2024.
• +2% growth in children 5-12 playing cricket, +3% growth in junior boys, +5% growth in junior girls, +7% girls in Woolworths Cricket Blast, +13% increase in registered participation among women & girls.

Source: The Western Cricketer Annual Report 2023-24 (100 Pages)

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2. South Australia ($3.6 Million Profit)

• Home Ground: Adelaide Oval, Karen Rolton Oval

Financial Health Status: Green

Assessment: South Australia continued to see steady growth from the previous year, both in finances and attendance/membership.

South Australia Cricket Association’s 2-Year Profit/Loss

• Revenue/Income: $56,873,000 (2024), $54,459,000 (2023)
• Expenses: $53,310,000 (2024), $50,498,000 (2023)

Highlights from President’s Report

“This summer, more than 18,000 Members attended international cricket, including the Men’s Test Match and T20 against the West Indies as well as the Women’s ODI against South Africa. More than 12,000 Members also attended WBBL Strikers games at Adelaide Oval and the Karen Rolton Oval. These numbers show that cricket is alive and well in this passionate sporting state.”

Other Key Points

• Employee benefit expenses ($23.4 million – 2024 and $20.7 million – 2023) contributed to their largest expense,, while sales income ($52.6 million) generated the largest share of their income.
• 18% increase in girls cricket, 32% increase in SACA’s Primary School Cricket Competition, 5,660 registered in Junior cricket for ages 5-12 (4% increase)

Source: SACA 2023-24 Annual Report (120 Pages)

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3. New South Wales ($1.4 Million Profit)

• Home Ground: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)

Financial Health Status: Yellow

Assessment: Although revenue remained steady in 2024, NSW’s expenses have increased this year. Since Cricket Australia’s distribution to NSW’s revenue will not increase, NSW had to make structural reorganization to balance their budgets for the upcoming year.

Cricket NSW’s 2-Year Profit/Loss

• Revenue/Income: $64,106,237 (2024), $63,372,202 (2023)
• Expenses: $64,529,110 (2024), $56,559,555 (2023)

Highlights from Chief Executive

“Financially, we performed effectively again, recording a small deficit against a break-even operating budget and achieving a better than budget result in our total comprehensive income…Unfortunately, confirmation from Cricket Australia that there would be no increase in their distribution for 2024/25 required us to look at our cost structure and resulted in a reshaping of our organization.”

Highlights from Chairman’s Report

“The game of cricket itself continues to grow around the world. Cricket is now the second most loved sport in the world and the revenues in our game globally have grown substantially. Cricket NSW is determined to ensure Australia doesn’t get left behind…Last year Cricket NSW entered into an arrangement with Major League Cricket in the United States and helped develop the T20 league in that country. And we continue to push the cricketing world to ensure the traditional (and to many the best) format of our great game, Test cricket, doesn’t just survive but thrives.”

Other Key Points

• “Cricket balls are one of the biggest expenses clubs incur during the season” and the $10,000 donation from Homestar Finance helped purchase cricket balls for 17 clubs in the region.
• Cricket Australia Distributions provided the largest factor in revenue in 2024 ($43.3 million our of $64.1 million).
• Players payment pool ($14.6 million), cricket performance ($10.47 million), and match/venue ($10.47 million) were the largest expenses for NSW.
• 30% increase in 5-12 year old cricket, including 50% increase for 5-12 year old girls.

Source: New South Wales 2023-24 Annual Report (56 Pages)

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4. Queensland ($970,000 Profit)

• Home Ground: Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba)

Financial Health Status: Green

Assessment: Financially, the revenue and expenses both increased, keeping them relatively stable. However, it was quite evident from the annual report that Queensland is disappointed in not hosting a Gabba Test in the 2026-27 season due to government’s Olympic planning.

Queensland Cricket’s 2-Year Profit/Loss

• Revenue/Income: $43,032,717 (2024), $39,474,173 (2023)
• Expenses: $42,064,266 (2024), $38,610,571 (2023)

Highlights from the Chair’s Report

“The State Government’s decision to not progress with its commitment to rebuild the Gabba and downgrade its proposed Olympic role has resulted in direct and indirect changes to how we proceed with our business…The most obvious impact will be that for the first time since 1976-77, a Test match will not be held at the Gabba in 2026-27…It is deeply disappointing that the 2026-27 Gabba Test has become a casualty of the uncertainty around the infrastructure planning and development ahead of the 2023 Olympic preparations.”

Highlights from CEO’s Report

“…Queensland Cricket was again able to achieve its budgeted financial surplus target for the year…The surplus amounted to $968,451 (2023: $863,602) which incorporates an amount of $442,142 representing gains from the QCA Future Fund. Excluding this amount, which is not available for general use, the net operating surplus for the year was $526,309.”

Other Key Points

• ACIF (Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund) contributed about $13 million across two rounds in improved cricket facilities and infrastructure.
• “Participation in junior club cricket remains flat Statewide and has decreased in some regions.”
• On the other hand, girls cricket is growing with 152% and 290% increase in Brisbane North and Bayside East/Redlands regions respectively. North Queensland has also seen a 1,000+ participation increase (27%).
• TV viewership for Brisbane Heat in the BBL season average 759K per game. In particular, “Channel Seven’s free to air coverage was a particular highlight…[viewership] increasing by 40%” for Heat matches.
• Employee benefits expense ($24.3 million – 2024, $21.2 million – 2023) was the largest expense for Queensland, with ‘state cricket match expenses’ coming next with around $3.8 million for 2024 ($4.3 million for 2023).

Source: Queensland 2023-24 Annual Report (64 Pages)

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5. Victoria ($180,000 Loss)

• Home Ground: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

Financial Health Status: Yellow

Assessment: Cricket Victoria’s revenue rose by $4.3 million from 2023 to 2024, but so did the expenses, resulting in a loss rather than a profit.

Cricket Victoria’s 2-Year Profit/Loss

• Revenue/Income: $54,139,558 (2024), $49,788,380 (2023)
• Expenses: $54,323,280 (2024), $49,041,849 (2023)

Highlights from Chair and CEO Report

“…Cricket Victoria concluded the year reporting a $184,000 deficit for 2023-24…Pleasingly, key BBL revenue streams including ticketing and sponsorship continued to grow and return towards pre COVID levels. We also saw growth continuing across our new revenue streams – Cricket Victoria Foundation, School Holiday Programs and Melbourne Cricket Education Academy. Additional costs were incurred through the BBL season, as well as set up costs associated with the roll-out of new revenue initiatives that are planned for FY25 including the Victoria Health Club and Melbourne Cricket Academy.”

Highlight from Director’s Report

“Costs increased versus prior year, notably in employee related expenses reflecting the increase in payments to both male and female players. Employee expenses also rose with new roles added to support revenue growth initiatives and high performance, as well as general cost of living and legislated increases.”

Other Key Points

• Men/boy’s participation grew 7.3%, women’s/girl’s participation grew 14.3% with over 41,000 boys/girls registered in the 5-12 year age group.
• Over 60 projects received $1.3 million from ACIF for infrastructure improvement.
• Employee, player, volunteer, and contractor benefit expenses was the largest expense incurred by Cricket Australia ($29.7 million – 2024, $25.7 million – 2023).

Source: Cricket Victoria 2023-24 Annual Report (52 Pages)

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6. Tasmania ($1.6 Million Loss)

• Home Ground: Bellerive Oval, Macquare Point Stadium, UTAS Stadium

Financial Health Status: Yellow

Assessment: While revenue streams remained steady for Tasmania between 2023 & 2024, expenses increased by about $4.5 million. The annual report offered positive outlook nevertheless with growing popularity, investment, and awareness of the sport in Tasmania.

Cricket Tasmania’s 2-Year Profit/Loss

• Revenue/Income: $31,629,592 (2024), $31,978,844 (2023)
• Expenses: $33,257,571 (2023), $28,713,544 (2023)

Highlight from the Chairman

“Investment in infrastructure is imperative from a professional and game development point of view, and the Macquarie Point Stadium project presents an exciting opportunity for sport in our State and for young Tasmanians to fulfill their dreams at home. I am firmly of the view that this is the sort of positive change that can set both Tasmania and cricket up to thrive in the future.”

Also Read: Retractable Roofs in Cricket—Yay or Nay? Is it Worth the Hassle?

Other Key Points

• Tasmania received $167,846 from ACIF for their eight infrastructure projects, which totals to about $1.12 million in the last five year.
• Player payments and employee benefits were the largest part of Tasmania’s expense (increasing from $15.6 million in 2023 to $19.2 million in 2024).
• Cricket Australia distributions towards Cricket Tasmania increased from $17.9 million in 2023 to $20.2 million in 2024.
• 1,135 members joined Cricket Tasmania this season.
• 2024 saw a 43% increase in children’s Cricket Blast (3,668 participated).

Source: Cricket Tasmania 2023-24 Annual Report (112 Pages)

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Final Thoughts

After going through all these annual reports, one thing is clear—Australian cricket is thriving!

Membership is growing, investment and infrastructure development projects are on the rise, and the growth in junior girls cricket is on the rise as well. No wonder Australia continues to dominate world cricket and win trophies in both women’s and men’s cricket. They have a prospering and financially stable domestic system.

A common theme between all the teams was that expenses increased from 2023 to 2024 due to employee benefit and payment increase, which is probably a good thing. As long as the revenue continues to increase as well, the future looks good for Australian cricket.

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Thanks for reading!

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© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC 2023. Originally published on 11/17/2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).

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