The Hundred: Will Sports become Business or is it already in the arena? In what has been called a potentially “game-changing” development for the future of English cricket. A private equity firm has submitted a £400 million proposal for a 75 percent ownership in the Hundred.
The Hundred: New Funding and Deal Probability
The ECB has been contacted by the London-listed buyout company Bridgepoint Group with a proposal that could bring up to £300 million (around 3200 crore) in new funding to English cricket. Despite its drawbacks, this idea is likely to appeal to the cash-strap counties dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic’s aftermath.
With a record 271,000 spectators likely for women’s matches in the 2022 season. The investment group is thought to be particularly drawn to the women’s Hundred because of its enormous potential.
The expectation is that this particular offer will be rejected because the ECB is unlikely to want to cede control over their new product after only two full seasons of competition. The Hundred was created by the ECB to be a brand-new revenue stream that can enable the board to wean itself off its dependence on international cricket as the game’s primary breadwinner.
Bridgepoint In Sports Arena
Bridgepoint’s track record includes multiple years of MotoGP investment, and through its media rights firm, InFront, it has also managed the commercial growth of the Winter Olympics. The organisation recently tried to strike a deal to invest in football’s Women’s Super League, but it was unable to do so.
ECB Chair Calls Abu Dhabi T10, SA20 Lucrative New Leagues
The new chair, Richard Thompson, gave a few hints about the Hundred’s future in an interview. He did so in light of the growing popularity of franchise T20 tournaments around the world. With the UAE’s ITL20 and South Africa’s SA20 being the two most recent and lucrative additions.
He said, “There’s a feeding frenzy at the moment. Rights holders have never seen a rise like the one they have [recently]. The Hundred will undoubtedly get more and more interest as a unique format that finds an audience the others don’t.
“We’re open but treading carefully in that space. We’re not going early. It’s just two years old, we can’t get greedy, we have to see it play out. The worst thing would be to do something too early, then see the value go through the roof and you’ve lost out and someone else benefits. It’s important to let it grow and develop first.”
The Hundred: A Hindrance for Domestic Cricket
The bid comes at a crucial time for English cricket’s future. The league is already dealing with the fallout from Andrew Strauss’s recent High Performance Review. In this he suggested a reduction in red-ball play and a dedicated August window for the Hundred. The counties are expected to reject several of the review’s suggestions because of the Hundred’s dominant position in the calendar, which is already a source of friction for many.
