Vitality ends relationship with cricket’s T20 Blast Sport Business Vitality has scaled back its involvement with English cricket, opting not to continue as title sponsor of the T20 Blast. The health and life insurance firm has backed England’s red-ball competition since 2018 but faces increasing competition from The Hundred, and will also downsize its involvement as sponsor of England’s home international T20 series’. The [...]
All Hundred owners expected to explore bids for Big Bash cricket franchises Sport Business All eight Hundred owners are expected to explore bids for franchises in Australia’s Big Bash after teams in the T20 cricket competition were put on the market this week, City AM has learned. Cricket Australia this week announced that it would push ahead with a franchise sale, similar to the 2025 Hundred auction, despite some [...]
Stokes Big Bash deal could kickstart £3m franchise cricket pay day Sport Business Former England Test captain Ben Stokes has signed a deal with Australian T20 Big Bash team Adelaide Strikers in a move that could see him earn nearly £3m on the lucrative franchise circuit. Stokes, who retired from international cricket in June, has not played franchise cricket since the 2024 Hundred but has signed Down Under [...]
In defence of The Hundred, by co-chair of Welsh Fire August 20, 2026 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, [...]
Not enough bums in Brum: Why so many empty seats at European Athletics Championships? August 13, 2026 Britain loves sport yet ticket sales for the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham have been slow. Ed Warner wonders why. British sport has a capacity problem or a bandwidth one, depending on which way you want to look at it. Too many seats in too many venues with too few bums to fill them. Or [...]
Cristiano Ronaldo on Mars: Where will sport take us in the next five years? July 30, 2026 Tech disruption, athlete power and new formats: sport has changed dramatically since Ed Warner started writing weekly about the industry in 2021. This column – based on my weekly newsletter, Sport Inc. – has just reached its fifth anniversary. The book of the same name is three years older. In this short span of time, [...]
Bumper IPL takeovers boost T20 cricket franchise league’s value to over $20bn July 29, 2026 Multiple blockbuster team sales have boosted the Indian Premier League’s business value to more than $20bn, according to a new report by global investment bank Houlihan Lokey. The IPL’s value has increased more than 11 per cent year-on-year to $20.6bn following the takeovers of franchises Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a record $1.78bn and Rajasthan Royals [...]
Financial gap between Hundred host counties and others widening, report warns July 22, 2026 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 July 20, 2026 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 [...]
Ed Warner: Why I’m optimistic about the future for Sussex Cricket July 9, 2026 ‘What will you do about your blog?’ was one question at interview, repeated a number of times since I was announced as the chair of Sussex Cricket last week. What of my trenchant criticisms of cricket’s leadership, the sport’s confused calendar and the divide between its haves and have nots? For now, this column and [...]