ECB open to playing Hundred matches overseas after £1bn sale
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) says it would be open to staging Hundred matches overseas following the sale of stakes in all eight franchises that values them at close to £1bn.
The ECB will retain control of the competition but has pledged to engage with its powerful coterie of new investors, who include four IPL teams, Premier League owners and US tech billionaires if they wish to discuss taking games overseas.
“I think we’d be foolish not to listen to an amazing set of investors that are coming in that have got great ideas,” said ECB chief executive Richard Gould.
“We need to make sure that we are a governing body that provides stability but also enables our investors and indeed our county clubs to be able to drive forward.
“So I think what we want is for a whole series of exciting initiatives to come to the fore, aided by our investors.”
The success of the franchise sale has vindicated the ECB leadership’s bullishness on the Hundred, despite critics including IPL founder Lalit Modi pouring scorn on their projections.
There is now optimism that the new Indian and US owners can aid in their efforts to increase international revenue, a key plank of the ECB’s growth strategy.
“The overseas market is very important for us. The fact that we have got such a wide ranging set of investors from around the globe, will, I believe, help us to add extra value to our overseas broadcast rights,” said Gould.
“I think yes, there will be significant involvement to look at Reliance [investor in Oval Invincibles] and its business interests elsewhere. You look at the Chelsea ownership [investor in Trent Rockets] as to what it can bring. So yes, we want everybody pulling together in that regard.”
ECB ‘would love’ Indian players in men’s Hundred
Persuading the BCCI to release Indian players for the men’s Hundred would be a huge help in unlocking the revenue potential of the subcontinent but the ECB remains cautious for now.
“In terms of availability to Indian players, that is not priced in with our plans. The BCCI position has been very clear,” said Gould.
“At some point we would love to see Indian players come and play in England. We currently see them in bilaterals and actually quite a lot in county cricket. But that’s not something that we predetermined through this process.”
ECB director of business operations Vikram Banerjee added: “Indian women play already [in the Hundred] and that’s growing, and the access and breadth that brings us is fantastic.
“We’ll hopefully continue our relationship with BCCI on that aspect. But yeah, the breadth – not just the IPL [owners], but the breadth across all eight [investors] – and the quality and calibre that we’ve got will help us grow, I think, around the world, as this tournament grows.”
The eight new investors have now entered exclusive negotiations with their team’s host counties and, assuming the sales are completed, will be unable to dispose of their stakes for five years.
Hundred expansion on cards after 2029
Expansion of the competition to accommodate further teams – Gloucestershire and Durham are thought to be keen – could take place after 2029, provided three key criteria are satisfied.
“We don’t have a process for how the expansion would occur, but we have some financial metrics in play for what would need to be true for it to occur,” said Gould.
The first is that central revenues for the Hundred have grown by at least 20 per cent, the second is that any new host venues were ready, and the third relates to the availability of top players.
“I think expansion is a good sign if it happens so I’ll be delighted if it does,” said Banerjee.
“We’ve still got a lot of hard work now to make sure the tournament grows. And if the tournament grows and cricket grows across the country, then it’ll be almost a no brainer.”