Will IPL money via The Hundred route rescue financially struggling county cricket clubs?

Manchester: Will the investment by IPL owners in The Hundred competition ease the financial struggles of the majority of 18 county clubs in England? It is a "make or break" question facing the struggling clubs in the county circuit right now.

According to the recently-released Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report, the gap between the top clubs and the smaller ones is widening with the big three -- Surrey, Lancashire and Warwickshire -- generating 44 per cent of the total revenue of all 18 first-class counties in 2023.

The smaller clubs like Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire are hugely reliant on the funding from the parent body -- the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The sale of equity in the eight franchises of The Hundred is expected to raise approximately 520 million pounds, a part of which would be shared with the county clubs.

The ECB decided to sell stakes of the eight franchises ahead of The Hundred's fifth season that begins on August 5, day after the conclusion of the Test series between India and England.

Four out of the eight teams have attracted investments from IPL franchise owners connected to Mumbai Indians (49 per cent of Oval Invincibles), Sunrisers Hyderabad (100 per cent of Northern Supercharges), Delhi Capitals (49 per cent of Southern Brave) and Lucknow Super Giants (70 per cent of Manchester Originals).

The other four teams -- Welsh Fire, Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Trent Rockets -- have drawn huge sums from American investors.

The eight counties hosting The Hundred teams, including the hosts of Test matches in the summer, are sitting pretty but the majority of the remaining 12 face an existential threat.

"The Hundred money allows the 18 first-class counties to look to the future rather than simply survive from one summer to the next," said former England captain Michael Vaughan in the report.

"I would like to see counties being transparent with each other and sharing knowledge about what works for them. Sometimes petty rivalries prevent that from happening and divisions between the Test host counties and the others develop." In a separate interaction with PTI, Vaughan said the fresh investments into The Hundred would help England produce better cricketers.

"There is an expectation that it's (Hundred investments) going to help County cricket. What it does do is help England produce better players because some of our players go to the IPL and mix with some of the legends of the game and coaches and they come back better players.

"The IPL is not going to move and it's not going to get any smaller, so the game is going to accelerate," he said, referring to the money pumped in by the IPL teams.

Stuart Cain, CEO of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, believes the fresh influx of cash in English cricket will help all 18 counties but in the long run they need to develop multiple revenue streams.

"In its most simplest form, that money will help red-ball cricket and T20 cricket thrive in all the counties, not just the eight franchises where there are teams.

"So, if you're a Worcestershire or Northamptonshire or Leicestershire where you don't have a Hundred team, but you have that money, you can build better stadiums, which will attract more fans, give them a better experience. So, they want to come back again," Cain told PTI.

"It allows you then to create more money, which you can invest in the squad, which means that you can employ better red-ball players. If we can make it even more attractive through the investment from The Hundred money, then I think that the 18 counties will all benefit and the game in general will benefit." Cain said there is also plenty to learn on the operation front from the IPL biggies besides stressing on the important of creating different revenue streams for clubs that don't have teams in The Hundred.

"What's great with The Hundred is four of the teams have got IPL investment and four have got predominantly American US investment. So there's a nice mix here. We can learn a lot from the IPL.

"So, the investors are operating in those global franchise environments can help us build The Hundred competition. We've got a strong T20 tournament already in the Blast. So what we need to do is make sure that it stays really strong and healthy and that The Hundred stays different," Cain said.

"Being straight, county cricket doesn't make money. So what we have to make sure is that through The Hundred money, the venues that aren't playing Hundred cricket can take the Hundred money and invest it in their stadiums." For example, Cain is building a new on-site hotel at Edgbaston for an additional revenue stream through the year.

"All those things will then drive more money into the pockets of the county to then invest back into county cricket and to the Blast," said Cain.

Because of the financial crunch, the quality of cricket in county circuit has been impacted. With more cash in hand, the clubs would be able to attract better players and improve the standard of red ball game, said former India stumper and Lancashire great Farokh Engineer.

"It'll help the counties hugely. So, IPL have actually come to the rescue of certain dwindling counties. The county cricket's standard has fallen down. In my time, there was myself and Clive Lloyd playing for Lancashire. There was Gordon Greenidge, Barry Richards playing for Hampshire, Andy Roberts, Ian Botham and all these guys are playing.

"The standard of county cricket was very high. Now, it has sadly gone down. But with Indian money coming in, let's hope county cricket standards will improve, because county cricket is the basic form. It was the best form of cricket in my time," said Engineer.