Latest news with #MichaelVaughan
Forbes
a day ago
- Sport
- Forbes
The Ashes 2005 Was The Time When Cricket Became The New Football
England cricketers Andrew Flintoff with daughter Holly, Kevin Pietersen (C) and Michael Vaughan (R) ... More celebrates winning the Ashes on the team bus during the Ashes victory parade in London, 13 September, 2005. England regained the Ashes yesterday after drawing the final Test match and winning the series 2-1. AFP PHOTO/GARETH COPLEY/WPA POOL/PA (Photo by GARETH COPLEY / AFP) (Photo by GARETH COPLEY/AFP via Getty Images) The Ashes is one of the longest-running sports tussles in the world and will kick off for its 74th edition at Perth this November. The drama of the current series between India and England is stirring memories of the memorable 2005 Ashes when, after 18 years of humiliation at home and abroad, England finally reclaimed the famous urn from Australia with a 2-1 victory. For one golden English summer, cricket was the head of class in national sport. Michael Vaughan's winning team paraded through a 25,000-strong crowd in Trafalgar Square on top of a double-decker bus in a celebration usually reserved for all-conquering football teams or the World Cup rugby-winning heroes of 2003. In the deciding match of the 2005 Ashes at the Oval, tickets were selling for over £1,000 each while a penthouse flat with a view of the ground was taken on a five-day let for 20 times that price. Test cricket had never been this compelling since Ian Botham's 1981 heroics. He was the original 'rock star' that Ben Stokes wants England's Bazball squad to be now. On the pitch, there were A-list stars aplenty in the 2005 Ashes. The late, great Shane Warne took 40 wickets, the South African-born, skunk-haired Kevin Pietersen announced himself with a thrilling array of shots, and Andrew Flintoff performed magic with both bat and ball to help England over the line. 'Cricket, played like this, could stand on its own two feet. Indeed, it was variously the new football, the new rock'n'roll, the new everything,' said ESPNcricinfo. The market conditions for a glorious summer were there in England. There was no competition from an international or European soccer tournament or an Olympic year. The team had risen from the nadir of being bottom of the Test rankings in 1999 to second having won 14 of their previous 18 Tests. Fast bowler Simon Jones said that the team 'felt like Premier League footballers." When the EPL kicked off, it was in the middle of a brilliant third Test at Old Trafford, where 10,000 people were locked out on the final day to see a thrilling finish. Manchester United's "Theatre of Dreams could not have been more passionate. Crucially, Channel Four's free-to-air coverage, hosted by the ubiquitous Mark Nicholas allied with the expert delivery of Richie Benaud, Tony Greig, Michael Slater and Mike Atherton, cut through with a peak audience of 8.2 million. An estimated 22 million people in the United Kingdom watched at least 30 minutes of cricket during that summer. A year later, the 2006 series between England and Sri Lanka was the first episode of a new four-year, £220m Sky Sports deal with the ECB (English Cricket Board), giving the station exclusive live rights to all home Test matches and one-day internationals. The 2005 Ashes zeitgeist moment had passed. Live access was reduced to subscription although highlights were still available for free-to-air. 'On average, it is fair to say that Sky's audiences are running at around one sixth of those on Channel 4 - precisely what critics of the deal feared and the game's administrators ignored,' said the 2007 Wisden Cricketer's Almanack. LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Harry Brook of England shakes hands with Mohammed Siraj of India after ... More Day Five of the 3rd Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Lord's Cricket Ground on July 14, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by) Yet when Test cricket had the general public in the palm of its hand 20 years ago, the ball was slipped to the highest bidder to futureproof the grassroots of the game. The Lord's Test match between England and India showed what a magical game the five-day format can be with two teams going at each other with bat, ball and words. It deserves a bigger audience, a bigger narrative and exposure of new stars. Then again, there was something about 2005's age of innocence that had a reach difficult to recapture, that sense of a new, bold team against a brilliant, but ageing side in a nascent digital age that was just gaining traction. The cricket Test match cake is shared unequally between partners, with only the Big Three of India, Australia and England attracting broadcasters, sponsorships and ticket sales when playing among themselves. For the rest, it's a loss-making business. World Test champions South Africa have no home Tests until October 2026. Cricket South Africa simply can't fill the stadiums, and it's a similar story with the West Indies who were just shot out for 27 in front of a sparse crowd in Sabina Park. The ICC is now reportedly looking into a tw0-tier system of promotion and relegation in the next cycle of the World Test Championship. The glory of playing for a country is being challenged by the new money that T20 cricket brings. The IPL is cricket's richest franchise league, worth a cool $12 billion. Cricketers are globetrotters now with over 20 such leagues like the BBL, PSL, and Major League Cricket in the States offering the kind of remuneration that is beyond national cricket boards. The Hundred, English cricket's spin on the IPL, has now taken over the whole of August, a month where Pietersen, Strauss, Flintoff and company once wore the whites in front of a captivated households. Nothing ever stays the same, but the Ashes 2005 will forever be 'the greatest series' to many who saw what a box set drama Test cricket can still be.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
'There's so much money in the ICC': Michael Vaughan rants about what annoys him most in modern cricket
Former England captain Michael Vaughan (Photo by) International cricket as a whole, has its own flaws and challenges. From players preferring to focus their careers on domestic leagues and competitions across countries over donning the jersey of the national team, to stars retiring early from international duty, the current scenario is far from ideal. In an earnest discussion about the current state of the sport, cricket legends Brian Lara , Alastair Cook , David Lloyd, Phil Tufnell and Michael Vaughan debated what could potentially fix the current predicament. Speaking on the "Stick to Cricket" podcast, the legends mulled over what the most 'annoying' thing in the modern game is at the moment, with all of them taking turns. "That playing for your country isn't the biggest thing," said Cook, eliciting sharp reactions from the rest of the legends. Brian Lara sided with the former England skipper. In a long rant about how the money is not shared equally between the various cricket boards across the world, Vaughan said, "I think the thing that annoys me most about the game is the pie's not split right. There's so much money in the ICC. Seriously, that's wrong. That is my biggest frustration. If we want to get to a stage—and it might be two tiers of cricket—the only way that's going to be fair is if the pie's—I'm not saying it has to be exactly the same—but the likes of the West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand—they've got to get more of the pie. " The legend argued that paying players better will directly result in them playing for their countries for a longer period of time. A recent instance of the same could be seen in the retirement of Nicholas Pooran, aged 29 from international cricket. 'Cricketers Aren't Cattle... ': Harish Thawani on the IPL and Business of Indian Cricket "So you can pay your players a nicer sum of money that they will stay playing for their country for longer. That's my biggest bugbear," exclaimed Vaughan. Poll What do you think is the biggest issue in international cricket today? Players prioritizing domestic leagues Unequal distribution of funds among cricket boards Lack of loyalty to national teams On the same, Lara said, "The truth is, I don't think the West Indies Cricket Board or the administration has done anything meaningful to keep players loyal to West Indies cricket, unlike what boards in countries like England, Australia, or even India have done." Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
NDTV
3 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Will IPL money Via The Hundred Route Rescue Financially Struggling County Cricket Clubs?
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.
India Today
3 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Will IPL money via The Hundred rescue financially struggling county cricket clubs?
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 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 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 Read: Asia Cup 2025 in limbo as India refuses to attend meet in Bangladesh: SourcesThe 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 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 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 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 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 importance of creating different revenue streams for clubs that don't have teams in The 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 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 of the financial crunch, the quality of cricket in the 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 help the counties hugely. So, IPL has 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.- EndsTrending Reel
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
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. Live Events 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.
