The Hundred: £520m funding from group public sale hailed as ‘seminal second’ however is the match set to broaden?

The England and Wales Cricket Board has described the £520m windfall from The Hundred public sale as “a seminal moment”, however is the match set to broaden and can it keep 100-balls-a-side or change to a T20 format?

What does multi-million pound funding imply for The Hundred?

The approaching arrival of high-powered, high-value and high-profile companions in The Hundred’s eight city-based groups is about to see modifications to the competitors began 4 years in the past.

The 2025 match is being billed as a yr of transition, leaving time for the small print of a 2026 reboot to be thrashed out, whereas the eventual introduction of a ninth, and presumably tenth, group could be very a lot on the playing cards – however not till the tip of the present broadcast deal in 2028.

“Expansion is a sign of success and that’s what we’re looking at,” mentioned Vikram Banerjee, director of enterprise operations on the ECB.

“I’ll be delighted if it does happen. If the tournament grows and cricket grows across the country then it will be almost a no-brainer.”

ECB chief govt Richard Gould was much less satisfied by a change in format, nevertheless, saying {that a} shift from 100-balls-a-side to T20 cricket is “not my expectation”.

He added: “There has been lots of discussions and debates and the format is not one that’s been a raging debate.”

An exclusivity interval is now going down, throughout which phrases of the agreed gross sales after a three-round bidding course of shall be finalised. In complete, the offers worth The Hundred as a complete at greater than £975m, a determine that will as soon as have been inconceivable in home cricket.

The proceeds shall be fed straight again into the nation’s cricket community, with £50m put aside for leisure degree and the remainder break up between the 18 first-class counties and the house owners of Lord’s, Marylebone Cricket Membership.

Counties who should not have a Hundred group will obtain a bigger slice, whereas the eight Hundred hosts have been gifted a 51 per cent share of their groups, with solely Yorkshire taking the choice to promote their whole stake in Northern Superchargers who’re based mostly at Headingley.

ECB chair: Hundred funding protects cricket ‘for generations’

Reflecting on the potential impression of the funding, ECB chair Richard Thompson mentioned: “We’ve reached a seminal moment for cricket in England and Wales.

“4 years after The Hundred was launched, we have now entered last discussions with eight strategic companions, every able to put money into the competitors’s eight groups and assist us take the competitors and English and Welsh cricket to a brand new degree – for the good thing about the entire of our recreation.

“Each of these partners shares a passion for the competition’s success and cricket itself. 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.

“This means vital support for county cricket, growing the women’s game and inspiring even more children – and people of all ages – to pick up a bat and ball.

“This will even safe the funding that can go on to the skilled counties and leisure recreation, underpinning the material of our county recreation and serving to futureproof cricket’s progress in England and Wales for generations to return.”

Who’s investing in The Hundred?

Sports activities group house owners and billionaire businessmen are among the many high-profile traders who’ve secured stakes in The Hundred forward of the 2025 season.

Birmingham Metropolis house owners Knighthead Capital Administration – for whom NFL legend Tom Brady acts as a minority investor – succeeded in a £40m deal for the Edgbaston-based Birmingham Phoenix aspect.

An 11-strong consortium of tech billionaires are set to pay £145m for a 49 per cent stake in London Spirit, valuing the aspect who play at Lord’s as the costliest group within the match at round £300m.

This bid is reported to have crushed off competitors from Manchester United co-chair Avram Glazer’s Lancer Capital and a gaggle affiliated to Chelsea chair Todd Boehly.

After unsuccessfully bidding for Spirit, Chelsea co-owner Boehly finally bought a 49 per cent stake in Trent Rockets as his firm Cain Worldwide & Ares Administration, which he arrange with British businessman Jonathan Goldstein, forked out near £40m for the Trent Bridge-based outfit.

House owners of IPL franchises Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Tremendous Giants, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad additionally efficiently secured stakes in The Hundred groups. Discover out who, right here.

What have the consultants mentioned? | ‘I am unable to see something however a conflict sooner or later’

Michael Atherton on the Sky Sports activities Cricket Podcast:

“These are incredible, irrational sums and it is hard to envisage how [these buyers and investors] will get that back in the near term – and that is the worry really.

“With the intention to get it again they could have to consider increasing The Hundred, taking part in extra video games, elevating ticket costs. There may be clearly loads of uncertainty down the road.

“I can’t see anything but a clash at some point.”

Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports activities Cricket Podcast:

“Make no mistake, English cricket needs this money to survive. It is game-changing for some counties, it is going to save some counties and help some of the bigger counties who have debt.

“My underlying feeling is that it’s good for English cricket however we must be actually switched on.

“The future, for me, is pretty dull if it is all about franchise cricket and people just follow the money. Cricket is about more than money, it is about caring and connection.”

Watch the 2025 version of The Hundred reside in full on Sky Sports activities from August 5-31. You may also stream no contract with NOW.