The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is considering to have private ownership for the proposed The Hundred cricket league franchisees.
The league has originally been conceptualised on the basis of the ECB-ownership for the teams. However, cricket news website The Cricketer has reported that the ECB is now considering private ownership for the tams on the lines of the Indian Premier League.
The governing body for cricket in England though as of now only has a mandate from English counties for the ECB-owned, 100-balls an innings league. Reports suggest that the ECB might still launch The Hundred at its own, and then go for private funding by way of selling teams’ shares or stakes in order to generate more funds.
The ECB is influenced by the factors like the escalating costs of launching The Hundred and the significant marketing advantages the private franchisees can potentially bring on board. As per the last estimates, the cost to launch The Hundred in 2020 will go beyond $ 52 million (£ 40 million).
The ECB will have its next meet on November 28 to take stock of The Hundred preparations and chart out the future course of action.
While the Board of Control for Cricket in India has pioneered the privately-funded commercial cricket league model, Cricket Australia had planned to own the Big Bash T20 league teams, before finally implementing the model where the national governing body for cricket in Australia owned the league IP and its State Associations were give the ownership of the teams.
A section in the ECB is though reportedly concerned that to cede ownership of The Hundred to private players would make the competition – and therefore the ECB – hostage to the fortunes and behaviour of external businesses, especially in the light of the betting scandals that have afflicted the IPL.
The advantages of the outside investment in The Hundred would not just be the initial income, but the influence and marketing spend of the investors to appeal to a broader population than those within cricket could reach.
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