Counties ready to cash-in on The Hundred
Rotten weather might have turned the first month of the cricket season into a damp squib but what is happening with the sport off the field is almost more interesting in any case.
By next Friday, the 18 first-class counties must indicate whether they are in favour of proposals for the ECB to sell its entire 49 per cent stake in each of the eight Hundred franchises, a move it believes could raise around £500million to help cash-strapped clubs.
The remaining 51 per cent franchise share will be given to the eight host venues, of which Edgbaston is one, who can then decide whether they want to retain it or sell it on themselves. Should they do the latter, 10 per cent of money raised will be shared among the 18 counties and MCC.
With many of the counties saddled with debt, the attraction of this move is obvious. Warwickshire, to use just one example, recently announced plans to build a hotel at Edgbaston. Such projects do not come cheap and the club’s chief executive, Stuart Cain, knows increasing revenue is essential. It should come as no surprise to learn the plan is expected to be accepted by almost every county.
At the same time, it is not a move which comes without risk and there is no escaping it represents one of the biggest ever shake-ups in the English domestic game.
Pretty much ever since its birth, the county system has existed with the aim of producing players for the England team. Of the 18 counties, 15 are still member-owned.
Allowing private investment in Hundred franchises might not change that. But it does bring outside interests into the English game and the investors, whether they be from Saudi Arabia, India, the USA or wherever, are unlikely to share the same long-term ambitions of the counties or ECB.
Money talks louder than ever in sport these days. Snooker’s world championships have been dominated by talk of moving the tournament to Saudi Arabia, while the prospect of the Premier League’s 39th game, played abroad, is once more being discussed.
This is English cricket’s move to bring in the big bucks but amid the obvious short-term benefits there are long-term implications for the counties to ponder. At what point does the quest for more cash create the danger of relinquishing too much control?
