Lord's Hundred franchise weigh up egg-and-bacon kit colours
The Lord's Hundred franchise could change its name and take to the field in Marylebone Cricket Club's egg-and-bacon colours as the side enters into a new era.
England used to tour abroad sporting the instantly recognisable red and yellow of MCC on their whites until the winter of 1996-97, and now the same colours could be sported by a side in the newest format of the sport.
The Hundred teams have been sold off in a series of auctions earlier this month at a £975 million valuation and will bring an initial £520 million into the game, although the deals are not yet fully complete. All that has been bought so far is an eight-week exclusivity window between the buyers and the host venues.
On Friday, MCC emailed all of their members with details of the sale of 49 per cent of the Lord's Hundred franchise to the Silicon Valley consortium, dubbed the 'Tech Titans', for upwards of £145 million or officially Cricket Investor Holdings Limited.
London Spirit were valued at £295 million in the auction, with the remaining 51 per cent belonging, at least for the foreseeable future, to MCC.
In a letter to all of its members, MCC chair Mark Nicholas said both the club and the Tech Titans have 'maintained an open mind on whether or not to continue with the London Spirit name'.
He added: 'There are advantages in using the name of the Club, MCC; the name of the Ground, Lord's; and the name of our home city, London; the latter may give us the greatest traction as we look to grow the franchise and its brand.
'Team colours have also been the subject of discussion and we are leaning towards using MCC colours in the livery.'
Such decisions would require approval from the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The MCC also did not rule out the prospect of a future sale of the organisation's 51 per cent stake in the side.
'We are committed to retaining MCC's 51 per cent stake for the time being but, as noted in the SGM papers, we will keep under review whether and if so, when, to sell some, or all, of this stake,' the letter said.
However, if the committee decided to make any further sale it would be the 'intention' to seek the members' approval, which would be expected to happen 'through a formal process'.
MCC being part of the Lord's-based franchise was something that attracted the Silicon Valley consortium, according to the club.
Any alterations to names or team kit is not expected to take place until 2026, with the ECB viewing the 2025 edition of the tournament as a transitional season.
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