Don’t be dazzled by the hype around The Hundred April 17, 2025 Ed Warner looks at the start of the County Championship season and whether an upcoming ECB review could see new influence from Hundred investors. The ice cream van was doing a steady trade, even at £4 for a Magnum. Made the twenty quid ticket feel especially good value. Around 2,500 people basked in the April [...]
ECB facing pressure to drop prices in Hundred franchise sale April 2, 2025 The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could be asked to accept less than the £520m offered by new investors for 49 per cent of the eight Hundred franchises if they refuse to hand over control of the competition’s next television contract, which will begin in 2028. The ECB wants to continue its successful policy [...]
Eyebrows raised as Manchester United skip tender to hire Foster for stadium March 12, 2025 Manchester United are set to confirm Sir Norman Foster’s firm as architects of their planned £2bn, 100,000-seat stadium without running a formal tender process. The absence of an open tender has caused surprise in the industry, given United are a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also taken [...]
Ed Warner: My memo to sport’s blazers? Stay out of the way March 6, 2025 Sport governing bodies should focus on organisational framework but professional activity can largely be left to the free market, argues Ed Warner. Who doesn’t love a badge, especially if having the right to flaunt it conveys status? Witness the urge to wear replica kit, even though the status this gives is simply identification as a [...]
Man who spearheaded £975m Hundred sale rewarded with new job by ECB February 27, 2025 Vikram Banerjee, the man who spearheaded the sale of eight minority stakes in the Hundred, has been rewarded with a promotion by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Banerjee will take up the role of managing director of the Hundred after the competition saw its eight franchises valued at £975m after a series of auctions [...]
Moeen Ali to miss the Hundred and leave county cricket February 24, 2025 The Hundred chiefs have suffered a setback after Birmingham Phoenix captain and former England all-rounder Moeen Ali opted out of this summer’s tournament. Moeen, 37, will take on a player-coach role for the final year of his contract with Warwickshire, which will see him try to help the Birmingham Bears win the T20 Blast. That [...]
Ahead of the Game: Tottenham in crosshairs as Ratcliffe eyes more cuts February 19, 2025 Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are set to continue cutting their investment in sport beyond Manchester United with the company’s commercial deal with Tottenham Hotspur unlikely to be renewed. Spurs signed a five-year contract with Ineos Grenadier as their official 4×4 vehicle partner in 2022, having previously partnered with Ineos Hygienics as official hand sanitiser [...]
ECB open to playing Hundred matches overseas after £1bn sale February 13, 2025 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 [...]
Ambanis and Boehly: Who owns the Hundred teams after £975m sale? February 13, 2025 With the sale of Southern Brave confirmed on Wednesday, all eight of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s 49 per cent stakes in Hundred franchises have been sold. Sellers, counties and buyers will now enter into exclusive negotiations on the details but it is expected to run, mostly, without a hitch. The valuations placed on [...]
County cricket windfall from Hundred sale must be spent properly February 6, 2025 With every county cricket club set to profit to the tune of millions from the Hundred sale, the ECB must ensure the windfall is money well spent. I dreamt last night that DeepSeek bought my favourite football club. Trouble was that the stadium PA played Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur as the players took to the [...]