English cricket gets ‘seminal moment’ by raising $650M from selling franchises in The Hundred

By Canadian Press on February 13, 2025.

English cricket has generated more than 520 million pounds ($650 million) from the sale of stakes in franchises in its recently created competition The Hundred to big-business investors from India and the United States.

Auctions held over the past two weeks drew bids that value the eight teams in The Hundred at more than $1.2 billion, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Thursday.

The investors who secured deals range from Silicon Valley tech giants, to a consortium containing NFL great Tom Brady, to another involving Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, to four Indian conglomerates already owning franchises in the widely popular Indian Premier League.

The ECB said the deals, once finalized after an exclusivity period, will underpin “long-term financial sustainability” in the domestic game in England after years of economic struggles.

ECB chairman Richard Thompson called it a “seminal moment for cricket in England and Wales.”

“Our three overarching principles as we look at what we want this investment to deliver should be strategic, ambitious and leaving a legacy,” Thompson said in an open letter. “We may not get this chance again for at least a generation, and cannot afford to waste this golden opportunity.”

Thompson spoke of the money heading to “three core investment areas”: Building reserves, revenue generation or debt reduction.

“Each of these partners shares a passion for the competition’s success and cricket itself,” Thompson said. “They are global leaders in sport, technology, investment, and commerce, aligned in our ambition to continue building The Hundred as a truly world-class sporting spectacle.”

The Hundred — a competition similar to T20 but where teams receive 100 balls in an innings — was launched in 2021 in the face of criticism for disrupting the domestic calendar, affecting the longer formats of the game, chiefly test cricket, and leaving at a disadvantage those among the 18 first-class counties who were not affiliated to a franchise.

Those 18 counties will now be getting a share of the money raised from the auction, as well as Marylebone Cricket Club — which owns the storied Lord’s ground in northwest London and is regarded as the guardian of the laws of the game — and the grassroots game, which the ECB said was in line to receive around 50 million pounds ($62 million).

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press

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