Latest news with #Hundred
Int'l Business Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
English Cricket Chiefs Confirm Sale Of Six Hundred Franchises
Six teams in English cricket's controversial Hundred competition have now been sold to private investors, with deals for the Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets still to be formally completed, officials announced Wednesday. The England and Wales Cricket Board expect a windfall of nearly GBP1 billion ($1.32 billion) from an auction of Hundred franchises, with the fifth edition of the 100 balls per side tournament due to start next week. Global investors, including four groups with links to the cash-rich Indian Premier League, have sunk vast sums of money into the competition's eight city-based teams. The 100-balls-a-side format, which features men's and women's sides, was launched to great fanfare in 2021. It has proved controversial, with many county cricket fans angry at the way the tournament deprives their clubs of key players at the height of the season. The Hundred has also squeezed a marquee five-match Test series such as England's ongoing clash with India into a congested seven-week schedule so it can have much of August to itself. But the ECB is confident that GBP520 million of new investment will eventually work its way into the game following a franchise auction earlier this year. The ECB confirmed Wednesday the sale of stakes in six teams has now been completed, but the 49 percent share of Oval Invincibles to Reliance Group, the creation of the wealthy Mumbai-based Ambani family, the owners of the IPL's Mumbai Indians -- has still to be finalised. And the joint takeover of the Trent Rockets by Cain International and Ares Management has yet to be completed as well, although the ECB said Wednesday that both deals "remain on track". But purchases for London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire have now been completed. "The Hundred has already played a vital role in growing cricket in England and Wales --- attracting new audiences, elevating the women's game and delivering high-quality entertainment," ECB chairman Richard Thompson said Wednesday. He added: "Crucially, this investment will not only fuel the competition's growth, but also channel transformative levels of funding into our professional counties and grassroots game." Three IPL ownership groups, out of a proposed four, have completed their takeovers, with the Sun Group taking full acquisition of Northern Superchargers.
NZ Herald
21 hours ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Black Caps v Zimbabwe first test: Live updates from Bulawayo
All the action as the Black Caps face Zimbabwe in the first test, from Bulawayo All you need to know The Black Caps don the whites for the first time in more than seven months as they begin a two-test series against Zimbabwe, a side they have never lost against. Who is in and out for the Black Caps? There is no Kane Williamson (he is playing in the Hundred T20 tournament) or Glenn Phillips (groin injury), with Michael Bracewell coming in as a replacement for Phillips for just the first test before he also joins the Hundred in England. Tom Latham was set to captain the side but has been ruled out of the first test due to a shoulder injury. Mitchell Santner will captain the test side for the first time. Other than those omissions and the retirement of Tim Southee, it's a similar-looking squad to the last test series against England in the middle of December. Devon Conway returns after missing the third test against England for the birth of his child. The only new name is Northern Districts fast bowler Matthew Fisher, a genuine quick, who is likely battling Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy for the third bowling spot behind the established duo Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke. Santner and Ajaz Patel are the spin bowling options in the squad, with Patel having a chance to continue his fine record outside of New Zealand, where he has taken all of his 85 wickets. Both are likely to play, although Bracewell's inclusion for the first test may change that. Henry Nicholls is also in the squad, having last played in 2023, and could come into the side with Latham out of the first test. Black Caps squad Mitchell Santner (captain), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Will Young, Tom Latham (out of first test). Zimbabwe squad Craig Ervine (captain), Ben Curran, Roy Kaia, Clive Madande, Tanunurwa Makoni, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nick Welch, Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Tanaka Chivanga, Trevor Gwandu, Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamhuri. The Black Caps 'perfect' coach Rob Walter The other newcomer to the Black Caps is of course the man in charge. It will be Rob Walter's first test and so far he's made the perfect start at the helm of the Black Caps, with five Twenty20 victories to take out the Tri-Series. The 49-year-old South African will coach all formats until the end of the T20 World Cup in November 2028. He replaces Gary Stead who coached New Zealand to 27 test wins, the most by a Black Caps coach. Are there World Test Championship points on the line in New Zealand-Zimbabwe series? No. Zimbabwe are not one of the nine teams competing in the 2025-2027 World Test Championship edition. The Black Caps don't begin their WTC campaign until the home series against West Indies in December. The Black Caps have never lost a test against Zimbabwe... New Zealand and Zimbabwe have played 17 tests, dating back to their first meeting in 1992, and the Black Caps have won 11 with six draws. They have also won the last six straight tests against Zimbabwe, the most recent draw being in 2000 at the Basin Reserve. The last time the two sides met was nine years ago, two tests at Bulawayo. Latham, Nicholls and Santner are the only members of the current squad who have faced Zimbabwe in a test. Zimbabwe are coming off four successive heavy defeats, three by an innings. The last one was this month to South Africa when Proteas captain Wiann Mulder made 367 before declaring short of Brian Lara's test record. Zimbabwe's last 15 tests had a return of 12 defeats, two draws and one win against Bangladesh. The closest Zimbabwe have come to beating the Black Caps was in 2011, when they fell 35 runs short of a fourth innings chase of 366 with New Zealand capturing the final wicket after drinks in the final session on day five. The 1997 test could have also gone Zimbabwe's way, ending in a draw with New Zealand needing 11 more runs to win with just two wickets left. When does play start in the first test? Play is scheduled to begin each day at 8pm NZT. First session: 8pm-10pm Second session: 10.40pm-12.40am Third session: 1am-3am The Herald will have live updates from 8pm each day. ThreeNow is broadcasting the tests live and free. TAB odds Black Caps v Zimbabwe New Zealand win $1.11 Draw $9.25 Zimbabwe win $11.50
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England and India deserve better - this box-office series is hobbling over the line while money men count their corn, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH
It says everything about a packed schedule, and even more about the state of England's Test pitches, that Ben Stokes and his team were lying low at their hotel in Kensington only 48 hours before the start of their biggest game since the 2023 Ashes. There was no training, no team announcement, no press-conference mind games ahead of a match that could deliver the most impressive series win of the Bazball era. Instead, the players were knackered, driven to exhaustion by administrators who have concertinaed the summer to keep August free for the Hundred, and by surfaces which have been 'kryptonite' to England's wearyseamers, as the former Test star Steve Harmison put it following the draw in Manchester. The irony as we await the toss at 10.30am on Thursday is that whoever wins it may feel obliged to bowl. You have to go back to April 2023, when Hampshire's James Vince said 'we'll have a bat', to find a red-ball captain at the Oval who bucked the trend. Since then, 20 matches — both county and Test — have come and gone, and everyone has fielded first. With good reason: Surrey like a bit of grass on their pitches, a bit of pace and carry. It's nine first-class games since the team batting first at the Oval finished victorious, and that was last summer when a powerful Surrey side beat Essex en route to a third successive Championship. It should, then, be the kind of surface England have been craving all summer, having banged their heads against brick walls from Leeds to Birmingham and from Lord's to Manchester. Yet a question remains: which of their seamers will be in any fit state to take advantage of a pitch that may finally help them? Their bowlers - including Chris Woakes - are exhausted, with August preserved for the Hundred, meaning games have to be crammed in Stokes prefers continuity of selection, but it is asking a lot of Jofra Archer to play three Tests in a row so soon into his comeback. Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, meanwhile, were running on fumes during the last five sessions at Old Trafford, where 140 overs brought England just two wickets. Had Joe Root not dropped Ravindra Jadeja shortly before lunch on the last day, they might have been able to rest their first-choice attack with the series already won. Instead, they must contemplate bringing in any or all of Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and, for only his second Test, Jamie Overton against an Indian team determined to leave with the 2–2 draw they believe their cricket has merited. And their resolve will have stiffened after their ever-prickly coach Gautam Gambhir took offence at Surrey head groundsman Lee Fortis's request to stay off the Oval square during training — the latest flashpoint. The prospect of England fielding a second-string attack is not ideal for a team trying to tick off a 3-1 victory. Neither will it impress the fans who have ensured a five-day sellout in south London to watch the series finale between two teams who have fought like maniacs. India, too, may stick to their pre-series pledge of resting Jasprit Bumrah for two of the five matches, potentially robbing a must-win game of another star attraction. This is not how a blue-riband Test match should be, yet the players are hardly at fault. Despite England's repeated requests for pitches with pace and bounce, chief executives at the Test grounds prefer surfaces that guarantee at least four days of ticket revenue, plus income from merchandise, food and beer. As one member of the England set-up told Mail Sport: 'I think they've made enough money out of us this series.' Groundstaff are overworked by a crippling schedule, their job made harder by the driest summer in living memory. To make matters worse for the bowlers, the Dukes ball has been going unusually soft. In all, England have bowled 5,366 balls. Only once before, in the West Indies in 1929-30, have they sent down more in four Tests, and those games were played to a finish — until the last match, in Jamaica, was abandoned as a draw after 10 days because Freddie Calthorpe's England team had to catch the boat home. If this five-game series had been given more room to breathe, so would the seamers. But the Hundred now has pride of place in August, and so the fifth Test must be over by the time the men and women of London Spirit and Oval Invincibles clash at Lord's on Tuesday. Inevitably, bowlers on both sides have struggled. When the pitches are green and the Tests over inside three days, this is less of a problem. When they are brown and dry, and tempers are flaring, and everything is repeatedly at stake in the final session, something has to give. This series deserves better than to hobble over the line.
Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Times
India's Gautam Gambhir clashes with Oval groundsman before fifth Test
The India head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated altercation with Surrey's head groundsman during the team's training session at the Kia Oval on Tuesday morning. Gambhir was seen pointing his finger at Lee Fortis and shouting 'you can't tell us what to do'. Fortis responded and eventually the pair were separated by Sitanshu Kotak, India's batting coach, and other members of support staff. The Times understands that the argument arose because India had wheeled their bags over an area of the square that was being prepared for future matches and that the team had encroached out of the area set aside on the outfield for their training session. Surrey are hosting 60 days of cricket at the Oval this summer and the groundstaff were trying to protect the square before the fifth Test, which begins on Thursday, and for future fixtures, including five days of Hundred matches, a limited-overs match against South Africa in September and several home Surrey matches. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Kotak defended the India head coach and his players, saying they had done nothing wrong, and accused Fortis of being 'not the easiest person to deal with'. 'When we were having a conversation near the pitch, they had sent a man to send a message for us to stay 2.5m away from the pitch,' he said. 'What he said about the head coach is his opinion and I don't want to comment. We did nothing wrong, we were wearing rubber spikes. 'None of the bowlers were even wearing spikes. You can be protective, but not arrogant. [The pitch] is not an antique that you can't touch. He said, 'We are trying to grow the grass.' At the end of the day, it's a cricket pitch.' Fortis was asked by India reporters at the ground about the flare-up but did not expand on what caused the row, although he suggested that Gambhir had been 'touchy'. 'There's quite a big game coming up,' Fortis said. 'You saw what he [Gambhir] was like this morning. You'll have to ask him. There's no side to the story. I'm OK, we've nothing to hide here. It does look a bit like you're ganging up on me. If you turn the cameras round and show what this is.' India have confirmed that they will not be lodging a formal complaint against Surrey or Fortis. England take a 2-1 lead to the Oval, the final Test in what has been a heated series with a number of flashpoints. Late on the third day of the third Test at Lord's Shubman Gill accused England of not playing in the spirit of cricket after what they perceived as deliberate time-wasting tactics, which resulted in the India captain telling Zak Crawley to 'grow some f***ing balls'. That tension spilt over into the fourth Test at Old Trafford when England were annoyed by India declining the offer of an early handshake by Ben Stokes to end the match in a draw, with the visiting side wanting to bat on to allow Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to reach centuries. Stokes has since been accused of being petulant by some commentators and pundits, who have argued that India were perfectly within their rights to bat on. There is nothing within the regulations that says teams have to accept the draw with an hour of play still left in the match, even though that option is on offer. Gambhir is under pressure as India's head coach after a string of poor results — since he took over, India have won only two and lost eight of 12 Tests and his future may hang on the result of this final Test. If India can win and draw the series that will be seen as a good result for the touring side, but if they lose and therefore lose the series, it will be a third consecutive Test series defeat. Fifth Test, the OvalThursday, 11amTV Sky Sports Cricket/Main Event
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
English cricket goes into bat with bulk of £520m Hundred windfall
English cricket's governing body will on Wednesday hail a landmark moment for the sport when it announces that three-quarters of the deals to bring in new investors to The Hundred have been completed. Sky News understands that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) plans to issue a statement confirming that it has received proceeds from the sale of stakes in Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire. The two other franchise deals - involving the Oval Invincibles and Nottinghamshire's Trent Rockets - will be completed on October 1, the ECB is expected to say. One insider said a statement was likely to be issued on Wednesday, although they cautioned that the timing could slip. When all eight deals are concluded, they will generate a collective windfall of £520m for the sport's strained coffers. Last week, Sky News revealed that unresolved talks between India's richest family and Surrey County Cricket Club - which hosts the Oval Invincibles Hundred team - were threatening to delay the delivery of a vast windfall for the sport. One of the outstanding issues relates to the name under which the Oval Invincibles will play in future years, with the Ambani family keen to use a derivative of the Mumbai Indians brand that it also owns. This week's announcement will come after months of talks after the ECB and the eight Hundred-playing counties agreed exclusivity periods with their preferred investors. The backers include some of the world's most prominent financiers, billionaires and technology executives. Following protracted talks, the ECB has agreed to revised terms with the investors, with host venues now retaining control of their teams' intellectual property rights. The investors will also hold an effective veto over future expansion of the Hundred, while the ECB will be barred from launching any other short-form professional version of the sport while the Hundred remains operational. Meanwhile, the governing body will retain full ownership of the competition itself as well as controlling the regulation of it and the window within which it can be played each year. The ECB has been waiting for investors in the eight franchises to sign participation agreements since an auction in February which valued the participating teams at just over £975m. Some of the deals involve the investors owning 49% of their respective franchise, while India's Sun TV Network has taken full ownership of Yorkshire's Northern Superchargers. The proceeds of its stake sales will be distributed to all of English cricket's professional counties as well as £50m being delivered to the grassroots game. The windfalls are being seen as a lifeline for many cash-strapped counties which have been struggling under significant debt piles for many years. The most valuable Hundred sale saw a group of technology tycoons, including executives from Google and Microsoft, paying about £145m for a 49% stake in Lords-based London Spirit. This year's kicks off next week with fixtures including a clash between the two London-based franchises. The ECB declined to comment.
