Kia Oval worth £80m to the UK economy as Test gets underway Sport Business The Kia Oval is worth £80m to the UK economy, new research has found ahead of England’s second Test against New Zealand. The south London cricket venue, sandwiched between Vauxhall and Oval tube stations, welcomed more than 550,000 fans in 2025 across Test matches, domestic cricket and the Hundred. Over one quarter of those fans [...]
Middlesex CCC needs saving from oblivion so ECB must take bold action Sport Business As the English cricket season begins again, the demise of Middlesex should be ringing alarms bells at fat cats Surrey and the ECB, writes Ed Warner. Of course the forecast is for biting winds across the country this weekend. What did you expect? The English cricket season starts tomorrow. Expect confected hoopla about The Hundred, [...]
Oval Invincibles sale delayed due to unresolved issues, reports say Unresolved issues including the future name of the franchise have delayed completion of the sale of Oval Invincibles – and the flow of funds to hard-up counties – according to reports. The deal will see RISE Worldwide, a subsidiary of the Ambani family’s Reliance Industries, take 49 per cent ownership of the Oval Invincibles franchise [...]
Hundred: Who are winners and losers from £1bn cricket sale? February 14, 2025 When a collective £975m valuation was placed on the Hundred this month many were surprised a competition in its infancy could fetch such a number. But the franchise competition through, largely, eight 49 per cent stakes being sold by the England and Wales Cricket Board, has exceeded expectations – around £700m was seen as a [...]
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 [...]
Surrey to keep majority as Mumbai Indians owners confirm Oval Invincibles stake February 10, 2025 Surrey have confirmed that they will remain majority owners of the Hundred franchise Oval Invincibles after taking investment from super-rich Indian family the Ambanis. The family, through Reliance Industries Limited, have agreed to purchase a 49 per cent share in the south London side in a deal that values them at around £125m. It was [...]
ECB chair Thompson: I’ve found myself in an extraordinary moment for cricket November 19, 2024 "A lot of the next 10 years will be determined almost by what happens in the next 10 weeks," said Thompson.
Arsenal are overachieving in the Premier League, but do fans appreciate it? October 10, 2024 In a parallel universe, Arsenal have already beaten Manchester City to the title. Forget Pep and Mikel’s inflamed war of words in this season’s scrap for the Premier League trophy; the Gunners have bagged the prize for outperforming their playing budget. Football, though, must ultimately be about fans’ dreams, not investors’ and bank managers’ bottom [...]