Financial stability before glory: Why professional sport must grow up December 24, 2025 Professional sport has never looked richer or felt more fragile. Revenues are growing, valuations are rising, and private capital is circling like never before. Yet beneath the surface, financial fragility remains endemic. Too many clubs – across football, rugby, cricket and beyond – are one bad season, one failed owner, or one missed broadcast deal [...]
Ashes: Australian media mock ‘death of Bazball’ after defeating England December 22, 2025 Australian media have revelled in proclaiming the death of England’s much-vaunted Bazball approach after the hosts wrapped up a fourth successive home Ashes series. Sunday’s 82-run win in the third Test in Adelaide saw the Pat Cummins-led Aussies take an unassailable 3-0 lead, making a mockery of pre-series English optimism. And Australian newspapers seized the [...]
Why private capital could make this the last Ashes series as we know them December 18, 2025 This is likely to be the last Ashes as we know it; but not because England might finally win a series down in Australia, or because the format is suddenly about to change. By the time the iconic bilateral series returns for its 75th iteration in 2027, it will be against the backdrop of a [...]
Aussie Green reaches record IPL auction sale price December 16, 2025 Australian Cameron Green has been sold for £2.1m at the Indian Premier League auction to become the most expensive overseas cricket player in history. The all-rounder will play for Ramandeep Singh’s Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2026 IPL competition having been purchased for 25.2 crore by the eastern team. The Kolkata Knight Riders, whose 2024 [...]
Paramount takeover of UK sport cools despite Champions League grab December 10, 2025 Paramount Skydance has no plans to launch a UK sports channel after acquiring Champions League rights from 2027 onwards in an indication that a major expansion into sport from the global streaming platform is unlikely. As it stands the Champions League is likely to be broadcast in this country on Paramount+, while the entertainment network [...]
EY: Traditional sports cricket and rugby union surging in popularity December 4, 2025 Rugby union and cricket have surged into the top 10 most popular sports across the UK in what is a tonic for traditional sports, new research has shown. Cricket climbed six places in the EY-Parthenon Sports Engagement Index to eighth, while rugby union jumped three spots to 10th. Football, Formula 1, Swimming and Tennis all [...]
Why second Ashes Test marks start of The Gabba’s long goodbye December 3, 2025 When England’s cricketers step out onto the field at The Gabba on Thursday for the second Test, they will know they are on borrowed time. Not just to wrestle the series momentum away from Australia after a crushing opening defeat in Perth, but also to improve their record at the famous Brisbane ground. After this [...]
MI London and Sunrisers Leeds: All Hundred deals completed December 3, 2025 All eight deals for Hundred franchises have been completed after the Ambani family concluded negotiations with Surrey CCC. Six of the eight deals in the short-form competition, which saw eight 49 per cent stakes owned by the England and Wales Cricket Board sold to overseas investors, were completed earlier this year but two deals remained [...]
Ashes: England cricket fans spend big to get over first Test defeat November 28, 2025 England’s travelling cricket fans splashed the cash in the aftermath of defeat in the first Ashes Test but locals tightened their belts despite Australia’s win, data shows. The Barmy Army spent 59 per cent more in the days immediately after the match, which ended inside two days in Perth, figures shared by Revolut with City [...]
Stokes, McCullum, ECB: Who’s to blame for England’s latest Ashes failings? November 27, 2025 Assessing true accountability for England’s Ashes collapse requires tracing failure back through the chain, argues Ed Warner. “Still seething!” The WhatsApp from a prominent cricket podcaster arrived a full 48 hours after England’s capitulation in the opening Ashes Test. Did I want to provide him with a sound-bite on what appeared more than just a [...]