Canberra's Big Bash future is up in the air with the Sydney Thunder yet to lock in matches at Manuka Oval as the region's expansion bid team freezes.
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Talks are underway for the Thunder to host games in Canberra on December 21 and February 9 this summer but the club is still exploring the prospect of playing the matches at other venues.
It comes as Big Bash League expansion is put on ice for three years to leave the Canberra bid team in pause mode, but group leader Mark McConnell is confident the group has done enough to be a logical expansion choice having already built club models and engaged with key stakeholders.
Expansion teams are reportedly being considered for the 2021-22 season with Cricket Australia opting to add more games rather than franchises throughout the men's competition's first decade.
"We’ve probably taken it as far as we can," McConnell said.
"There certainly seems to be the demand there and a range of other cities are likely to put up their hand. We’ve probably done all we can do to this point. We just need to be given a green light from Cricket Australia that they are reviewing the process or planning on expanding.
"The thing about this is you can’t wait until the last moment, you can’t wait until they announce the process. You’ve got to start very early on. We probably have to put it on pause now and wait for further direction.
"In order to have expansion for three years there is a big runway up to that. If they have expansion in three years, they will probably make the decision two years out. There’s a lot to do in building a list and a hundred other things.
"Once this new broadcast arrangement goes through and everyone takes a breath, then looks where the demand for the various pieces of content is, then we’ll be able to respond accordingly."
The BBL has been expanded to a full home-and-away season - a total of 59 matches - as part of Cricket Australia's $1.2 billion broadcast deal.
The Thunder could play two BBL matches and one WBBL clash in Canberra this season - the women's side will host Hobart before the men's team face the Melbourne Stars on December 21.
Canberra's bumper summer of cricket could be bookended by a BBL clash between the Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes on February 9.
Thunder general manager Lee Germon says discussions about a second game in Canberra are ongoing given the date could potentially infringe on the AFL's use of the venue for the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
While his hopes of leading a new expansion franchise into the booming world of the BBL are on pause, McConnell says the best thing Canberra's cricket community can do is march with its feet to the fixtures that do come to town.
"We’re not shying away from it, it’s one of our most serious aspirations," McConnell said.
"There is a lot of content for cricket supporters in Canberra to get out and watch. Frankly, the more they do that, the more supportive of an eventual BBL business case we can demonstrate Cricket Australia will be.
"Not only will Canberra come out to one or two games, they will come out to a whole series. That’s the risk you take going into any city, so in some ways that is going to be the soft criticism levelled at any city. Can they sustain the interest?
"I think Canberra people have shown in previous games that we sell out, for teams that aren’t even ours. The Sydney Thunder is not our team, but we’re a part of their territory and Canberrans get along.
"The appetite is there, imagine what it would be like if we actually had a Canberra-branded team."
