ECB chief executive Richard Gould has insisted the sale of the eight Hundred franchises can bankroll county cricket for the next two decades and beyond, as the bidding process from private investors nears the end of its second phase.
The 110 letters of interest from prospective buyers for the first phase has dropped significantly, but Gould remained optimistic about selling all eight teams between ‘February and late summer’, and said there were ‘multiple bids’ for every team. The ECB believe they can easily surpass their minimum target of £350m.
He warned that ‘guardrails’ would be put in place to ensure that the money, which will be divided between the 18 first-class counties and MCC, was properly invested.
‘We’re not counting our chickens yet,’ said Gould, who is in Hamilton for England’s third and final Test against New Zealand. ‘But the aim is to raise significant investment that’s going into the game. My hope is this will recapitalise the county game for the next 20 to 25 years, if that money is used really well.’
Gould played down concerns raised by the Professional Cricketers’ Association that pay rises for next summer’s Hundred have been pushed through despite a ‘severe lack of communication and consultation’, and risked leaving cricketers lower down the food chain under-rewarded.
The highest men’s salary is rising from £125,000 to £200,000, and the woman’s equivalent from £50,000 to £65,000, and Gould admitted: ‘Certainly, there is a small section of male players that are not happy with the outcome.’
But he denied that the ECB had not consulted properly with the PCA, and said: ‘If you tot up all the player announcements we’ve made over the last 18 months, it amounts to in excess of £15 million per year extra that we’re putting into the pot.
‘That’s because we realize how important the players are. We’re in a global market, and we need to be able to compete properly for those players.
‘Sometimes the language can be relatively inflamed in these matters, because you’re dealing with quite high emotions at times.’
Gould also said he had heard no talk of strike action from players said to be unhappy about the board’s refusal to allow county cricketers with a red-ball contract to take part in overseas franchise competitions that clash with the domestic season.
Meanwhile, ECB chairman Richard Thompson has denied that the sale of the Hundred teams will not ‘end up being an IPL takeover’, amid speculation that Indian investors will dominate the bidding.
Thompson told Wisden Cricket Monthly: ‘There’s a huge amount of American money involved – very sophisticated investors who understand franchise sport… and they’re looking long-term.
‘They know we’ve got the best time zone in the world. And if you’re looking to maximise cricket’s media rights, you look at the fact that rugby and football have got such incredibly successful domestic products, and we haven’t. They can see how unvalued it is.’
