In defence of The Hundred, by co-chair of Welsh Fire Sport Business Welsh Fire co-chair Mark Rhydderch-Roberts dissects The Hundred season, and urges doubters to give it a go. After a frenetic 27 days and a gripping and sold out Finals Day last Sunday at Lord’s, the 2026 Hundred tournament has concluded. Despite the best efforts of some to focus on a marginal decline in total attendances, [...]
Financial gap between Hundred host counties and others widening, report warns Sport Business The financial gap between Hundred host clubs and the other 11 counties is widening and could continue to do so, according to a new financial report. The big four counties of Surrey, Lancashire, Hampshire and Warwickshire generated over half of the total revenue of all 18 first-class counties last year, with a “series of financial [...]
Mega-rich Hundred franchise owners in London for start of competition Sport Business The mega-wealthy owners of London’s two Hundred franchises will be in the capital this week as the franchise cricket competition gets underway at the Oval. One of Asia’s richest family dynasties – the Ambanis – are expected to be at the Vauxhall cricket ground this afternoon as the newly branded MI London – formerly Oval [...]
NBA Europe bids fall short of $500m mark for some city franchises July 1, 2026 Some of the 12 permanent franchises in the NBA’s planned European basketball league have not yet attracted bids in excess of $500m, the mooted base price for teams. The latest round of bidding from seasoned sport owners, institutional investors and existing football and basketball clubs closed on Monday, with the most sought-after locations – believed [...]
New mixed gender trophy introduced for coming Hundred season June 1, 2026 The Hundred will this season introduce a new team trophy as the franchise cricket tournament seeks to further expand its reach. The trophy, demonstrated at a kit launch at the Oval yesterday, will see men’s and women’s results combined, akin to a Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship that combines two driver performances. Fans will have the [...]
England cricket chiefs refusing to let counties blow Hundred cash on wages January 21, 2026 The England and Wales Cricket Board is at loggerheads with a number of counties who are growing increasingly frustrated at delays in accessing the proceeds from the £520m sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises last year. While the ECB have already distributed tens of millions of pounds from the sale to counties with [...]
Exclusive: Hundred investors in power struggle with counties January 15, 2026 The honeymoon period for some Hundred franchises following their windfall from overseas investors appears to be over, with relationships between counties and the new co-owners at multiple teams described as “fractious”. Sources with knowledge of the power struggle told City AM that “culture clashes” between investors, mostly from India and the US, had led to [...]
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 [...]
Exclusive: Welsh Fire co-owner wants Hundred to be T20 within two years October 7, 2025 The Indian-American co-owner of The Hundred franchise Welsh Fire, Sanjay Govil, wants the competition to drop its unique format and become a T20 league within two years. The 100-ball format has come under pressure following the sale of stakes in all eight Hundred franchises to overseas investors, some of whom are keen to bring the [...]
Joe Root piles pressure on cricket chiefs over Hundred format September 10, 2025 Joe Root has piled pressure on the England and Wales Cricket Board and the new Hundred owners to keep the competition’s format. While ECB bigwig Richard Thompson said the competition would remain 100 balls per innings, fewer than the 120 seen in Twenty20 competitions, the new franchise investors have been mulling a change to the [...]