Yorkshire chief says Hundred cash can give county a ‘once in a lifetime' chance

Glasgow Times

4 days ago

The White Rose have sold their entire 51 per cent share in Northern Superchargers to the Sun Group, owners of Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, becoming the only one of the eight host counties not to retain a stake.
With around £40million coming in as part of that deal, as well as another payment in region of £18m from the England and Wales Cricket Board's central sales pot, Yorkshire are finally in a position to eradicate the onerous £25m debt that has hamstrung the club for a generation.
England pair Harry Brook (left) and Zak Crawley in action for Northern Superchargers (Mike Egerton/PA)
The Hundred may not be universally popular in Yorkshire, a hotbed of cricket tradition, but Patel is clear that the influx of money has helped avert the prospect of oblivion.
'Without this money coming in we were going into administration,' he told the PA news agency.
'Financially, it wasn't sustainable and there's no way of trading your way out of that. We were borrowing money to stay alive and there's only so long you can do that.
'Thankfully this cheque has come along, allowed us to clear our debts, and make sure this club never gets itself into this financial position again. It's amazing news, a once in a lifetime opportunity.
'We can look forward now to doing things that haven't been achievable in the past because of the finances: it's a platform to think about the stadium, the facilities and how we grow cricket in Yorkshire for the next five to 10 years.'
Patel is relaxed about being an outlier in selling lock, stock and barrel to outside investors, insisting it remains more of a relationship than a takeover.
'I'd like to think it will still be a partnership, they have a massive affinity to Headingley and are very respectful to the heritage and traditions,' he said.
'India is fanatical about cricket and the closest you get to that in England is right here in Yorkshire. It's in the DNA. If you can have a partnership on a cricket level and be able to say, 'the club should be safe forever if we look after this money', why wouldn't you do it? It seems like a no-brainer.'
One change is already in the works, with the Sun Group preparing to bring the team into line with the 'Sunrisers' teams they already have in India and South Africa.
After five seasons attempting to foster new allegiances to the Superchargers name, they will need to start afresh in 2026.
'One of the implications of selling if you're going to have different brands. If you're not comfortable with that, don't sell,' concludes Patel.
'Our brand will change and that decision will be made over the next couple of months. What we've got to do is make sure the audience we have for the Superchargers translates to whatever the new brand is.'