Big Bash League set for split as states reject Hundred-style sell-off Sport Business Cricket Australia will explore a partial sell-off of the Big Bash League after objections from some states forced it to shelve plans to seek investors in all eight teams. Queensland Cricket joined NSW Cricket in opposing proposals to copy the England and Wales Cricket Board’s sale of 49 per cent stakes in The Hundred franchises. [...]
Bellingham offers hope that celebs can find Prem Rugby investible Sport Business Jude Bellingham has invested into cricket and it offers hope for Prem Rugby, Ollie Phillips writes. Jude Bellingham’s £800,000 investment into Hundred franchise Birmingham Phoenix is smart money; he’s from the area, gets one per cent of a team where he will do very little heavy lifting, and diversifies his portfolio. And it got me [...]
Big Bash future in limbo as Cricket Australia’s plan to copy England stalls Sport Business Cricket Australia’s plans to copy The Hundred and sell off minority stakes in Big Bash League franchises have hit the buffers after some team chiefs raised the alarm. CA is exploring the sale of 49 per cent stakes in the eight teams in the BBL, its annual T20 competition, to outside investors in a move [...]
Middlesex CCC needs saving from oblivion so ECB must take bold action April 2, 2026 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, [...]
NBA Europe to copy The Hundred sale process as bid deadline arrives March 31, 2026 The NBA will borrow from English cricket’s playbook when its plans to launch a European league in 2027 take another step forward this week. Potential investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, RedBird Capital and Qatar Sports Investments have until midnight on Tuesday New York time to lodge their bids for one of the 12 [...]
Premier League +, VPN piracy and lessons from Norway and France March 28, 2026 The Premier League is built on its precious media rights but will its new streaming service be susceptible to the piracy that just scuppered a similar service in Norway? In less than five months’ time the Premier League will take one of the most significant steps in its history when it launches its own direct-to-consumer [...]
Welsh Fire Hundred owner still in mix for $1.7bn Rajasthan Royals IPL team March 23, 2026 The co-owner of The Hundred team Welsh Fire remains in the hunt for Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals despite a rejected $1.7bn bid, City AM understands. The Royals, who won the first season of the Indian Twenty20 competition in 2008, are one of two high-profile IPL teams currently up for sale. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, [...]
Sunrisers Leeds X account suspended after Hundred auction backlash March 13, 2026 Sunrisers Leeds have been caught up in backlash after buying Pakistani player Abrar Ahmed in The Hundred auction. The franchise – owned by India’s Sun Group and a sister team to the IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad – had its X account suspended in the early hours of Friday morning after Indian social media users urged others [...]
Hundred auction: Welsh Fire spend big, Coles lands £390k contract March 12, 2026 Welsh Fire were the big spenders in the morning session of The Hundred auction, splashing £540,000 on Joe Root and Jordan Cox. Wicket-keeper-batter Cox – who was the leading run scorer in last year’s Hundred competition – fetched the highest price before the lunch break, being snapped up by the Cardiff-based franchise for £300,000. Former [...]
Hundred auction: Wong and Cortneen-Coleman get 700 per cent pay rises March 11, 2026 Rising stars of English cricket Dani Gibson, Issy Wong and Tilly Cortneen-Coleman have cashed in after attracting some of the biggest bids in the inaugural auction for The Hundred. Sunrisers Leeds secured the signing of all-rounder Gibson, 24, for £190,000, making her the most expensive Englishwoman in Britain’s first auction in a major sport. Pace [...]