The Hundred is ‘future-proofing’ English cricket like LIV golf, claims Warwickshire chief government

English cricket is the envy of different sports activities as a result of success of the Hundred, in line with Stuart Cain, Warwickshire’s chief government.

Cain, who joined Warwickshire in 2020, has beforehand held senior roles in rugby (each league and union), athletics, swimming and soccer, and believes that there’s a “harsh economic reality” underpinning the Hundred – which stays a divisive competitors, with its third season dominating the month of August within the English cricketing calendar.

Each of the 18 counties is paid £1.3 million per 12 months by the ECB underneath the phrases of the preliminary settlement that underpinned the competitors. And Cain, who’s a director of Birmingham Phoenix, mentioned that some counties would go underneath with out these funds, and underlined his help for the competitors.

“60% of the people that come into Edgbaston [for the Hundred] have never been before, and the majority are from the local area,” Cain mentioned. “That tells you we’re getting new people into games, a much more family audience, a much more diverse audience.

“We’ve obtained new sponsors, and we have got it on free-to-air tv. If you have been tennis or golf, and somebody mentioned, ‘I’ve obtained a contest that brings a complete new viewers into your sports activities, takes it to folks on free-to-air tv’, they’d say, ‘What’s to not like?'”

The Hundred’s future has been discussed throughout the first half of the English summer and while the ECB have stressed that it is locked in until the end of their existing broadcast deal with Sky Sports, which runs until the end of the 2028 season, a change of format or structure has been mooted.

“You’ve obtained the historical past and custom of 18 counties, and then you definitely’ve obtained metropolis vs metropolis, eight franchises enjoying,” Cain said. “You’re attempting to maneuver the sport ahead in a contemporary, modern method however nonetheless attempting to respect the historical past of the sport, and it isn’t at all times simple to do this, is it?

“That’s the challenge for the sport: how do we still keep the ethos of the Hundred, attract those new audiences and bring new money in? Because that money funds the game… every county gets a payment as a consequence of that and if you took that payment away from some of those counties, they could fold. That’s the harsh economic reality behind the Hundred.”

A report by Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira earlier this 12 months questioned the ECB’s accounting strategies and claimed that the Hundred has misplaced round £9 million throughout its first two seasons.

Cain admitted he was unclear as as to whether the event is earning profits – however mentioned that short-term revenue isn’t as vital as “future-proofing” the game, evaluating it to the controversial investments made in sport by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

“Whether it makes money or not, I don’t know,” he mentioned. “But you ask the Saudis and LIV [golf] whether that’s going to make money for the next five or 10 years, or ask the new owners of Newcastle [United] whether they’re going to make money for the next five or 10 years. They’re trying to build something, aren’t they?

“I believe that is what the ECB is attempting to do: construct one thing that helps future-proof cricket by bringing new audiences in, producing new income streams for the counties and inspiring new alternatives for folks to look at the game on free-to-air tv. I believe the precept of it’s nice – and sure, I’m supportive of it.”