The England and Wales Cricket Board is increasingly confident of selling lucrative stakes in all eight Hundred teams - harnessing money it believes will safeguard the county game for the next quarter of a century.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirmed that a long list of more than 100 potential investors had been trimmed to a “much smaller” number as the process moved towards the end of its penultimate phase.
The remaining bidders, including IPL franchise owners, American business groups and others from domestic and global markets, are vying for a 49 per cent share in their chosen side.
All eight teams have attracted serious offers, with most interested parties putting their names forward for more than one. Discussions are now under way to find the right pairings and Gould believes there could soon be a cash windfall which secures the governing body’s ambition of underwriting the sport’s long-term future.
“Over the last week or so, the second round bids have been coming in. We’ve got global interest from most of the best sports investors you would expect to see,” said Gould.
“My hope is that this will recapitalise the county game for the next 20-25 years, if that money is used really well. We have multiple bids in for every club, as you’d expect, and there are some investors - probably a majority - that have put in multiple bids as well.
“We’re not counting our chickens yet but the aim of this is to raise significant investment that is going to go into the game. If we hadn’t met our internal targets we wouldn’t have proceeded. We can now proceed at pace and with some confidence.”
A successful sale in the new year could lead to wage inflation in future editions, in turn easing the some of the mounting tensions between the ECB and its players.
Some have reportedly discussed boycotting next summer’s Hundred due to a proposed tightening of rules around participation in overseas tournaments - effectively banning players with red-ball deals accepting non-IPL franchise deals that clash with the English season.
Meanwhile, a newly-announced salary review in the Hundred has been criticised by the Professional Cricketers’ Association for showing a “lack of respect” to its members. Although the overall pay pot is set to increase by 25 per cent in 2025, those in the very top bandings (including overseas stars) will scoop a disproportionate amount of the uplift.
Asked about the potential for strike action by disaffected county pros, Gould said: “That may have been discussed on a call with with a variety of representatives, but I’ve heard nothing in that regard and and I sincerely hope that’s that’s not the case.
“Certainly there are a small section of players that are not happy and I think they’ve made their their feelings well known to the PCA. It’s certainly not what I want to hear.
“Sometimes the language can be relatively inflamed in these matters because you’re dealing with quite high emotions at times. Our job as the ECB is to try and keep everything in the best balance possible. It’s a complicated ecosystem.”
Gould added that he fully expected England to be taking part in the Champions Trophy as planned in February, despite the ongoing political stand off that means no tournament schedule exists just two months from the proposed start date.
The financial powerhouse of India remains unwilling to play games in Pakistan, which is fighting hard to retain its host status.
“Quite sensibly, both Pakistan and India will be given a bit of time and space to work through those options,” he said.
“We would much prefer to see a competition where all countries can compete in the same country but, if the BCCI and the Indian government are unable to change their position, then we just need to find other ways of making it happen.
“Although I haven’t got any advance notice of an impending decision, neither do I sense that a decent decision is not going to be made.”
PA
