Investment in the Hundred could save UK cricket from a financial sticky wicket

Cricket is an old sport that has evolved over centuries. But 2025 is shaping up to be a historic – and lucrative – year for the game in England and Wales.

For the first time^[1], private equity investment has entered the domestic game, changing the business structure of professional cricket forever. The source of this corporate interest – worth around £550 million – is the league of eight teams known as the Hundred^[2].

Established in 2021 by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the focus of the Hundred was appealing to new audiences^[3] who have not engaged with cricket before.

It is a much shorter format than traditional forms of the game such as the four-day County Championship competition, or the One Day Cup, which is made up of 50 overs (300 balls) per side.

With the Hundred, each side gets 100 balls to bowl at their opponent’s wickets. The highest number of runs wins. It’s very simple. And entertaining.

Not everyone is a fan of course, and there has been criticism of the tournament’s design, its addition to an already congested cricket calendar^[4], and the fact that only eight of the 18 county cricket clubs (CCCs) are involved.

But the ECB stood firm. And given the recent investment into the Hundred, it will no doubt feel vindicated.

Because the cash is sorely needed. Our research shows that CCCs have struggled financially^[5] for a while, and are overdue an economic boost.

To help with this, the Hundred started off with the ECB owning all eight teams or “franchises” in the league. Now it has sold 49% of each franchise^[6] and gifted the remaining 51% to each Hundred-hosting county.

So now, for example, 51% ownership of the Oval Invincibles is in the hands of Surrey CCC. Each hosting county was then given the option of selling their share – and so far Yorkshire and Lancashire^[7] have done just that.

The total sale of the franchises has generated £550 million^[8], far exceeding expectations. From that, 10% (£55 million) will be ringfenced by the ECB to invest in measures to increase participation in cricket throughout England and Wales.

A slightly complicated division of the rest of the spoils then basically leaves each Hundred-hosting county cricket club with £18 million (plus the 51% ownership of the franchise). The non-hosting CCCs will receive around £32 million each.

For context, in 2023, Surrey CCC had the highest revenue at £65 million, while Leicestershire had the lowest at £5.5 million. So a one-off injection of £18 million would represent significant growth for clubs across the scale.

But it’s not all good news, as the influence of private equity may cause internal conflicts about a CCC’s strategy. For while the ECB has said it will remain in control of the Hundred as a competition, the primary goal of the franchise sales is to achieve a return for investors.

This will probably mean that the Hundred is prioritised over the other formats of domestic cricket – and even international commitments. As many of the high-profile players play across the different formats, they will need to manage their schedules and are likely to choose whatever brings the greatest financial rewards.

And while the ECB has hinted at increasing the number of franchises in the future, the worry will still be that some clubs benefit more than others.

Yet investment in the future is essential if cricket is to remain relevant and appeal to new audiences. There are already suggestions that Gen Z prefers other sports^[10] such as basketball and boxing, over cricket.

Investment must also be used to improve stadium infrastructure and facilities, to attract good crowds and to generate the superstars of the future. But the influx of money means the Hundred is likely to dominate the broadcast schedule, and prioritising the tournament in this way may alienate some more traditionally minded fans.

The commercial interest now stretches towards international markets and other sports. Four of the investment groups now involved in the Hundred are owners of Indian Premier League cricket franchises, while others are linked to the worlds of professional football^[11] (Birmingham Phoenix and Birmingham City FC) and Silicon Valley^[12] (London Spirit).

Eventually, this could lead to increasing levels of commercialisation, of the kind sports fans have become accustomed to within English Premier League football^[13].

Overall then, cricket fans may look back on 2025 as a year of major change in the sport in England and Wales. Success is far from guaranteed but the early indications, especially with regards to finance, are overwhelmingly positive.

And that was probably the point of the whole exercise. It might not be cricket as it used to be – but as with other sports today, many of the biggest decisions come down to whether or not they make money^[14].

References

1. ^{^} first time (www.ecb.co.uk)
2. ^{^} the Hundred (www.thehundred.com)
3. ^{^} appealing to new audiences (www.theticketingbusiness.com)
4. ^{^} congested cricket calendar (www.espncricinfo.com)
5. ^{^} struggled financially (www.mdpi.com)
6. ^{^} sold 49% of each franchise (www.ecb.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Yorkshire and Lancashire (www.bbc.co.uk)
8. ^{^} generated £550 million (inews.co.uk)
9. ^{^} Graeme Dawes/Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com)
10. ^{^} Gen Z prefers other sports (www.ey.com)
11. ^{^} professional football (www.thebusinessdesk.com)
12. ^{^} Silicon Valley (www.theguardian.com)
13. ^{^} English Premier League football (www.sportspro.com)
14. ^{^} they make money (www.sportico.com)