The County MOT: A deep dive into the finances of the 18 counties (The Cricketer article by Sam Morshead)

https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/county-cricket-premium/the_county_mot_deep_dive_finances_18_counties.html

The Cricketer is excellent, strongly recommend subscribing.

Yet more BS from the powers that be on how good the Hundred/private equity/outside investors/blah will be for the county game tho:

"Perhaps a more likely route for private equity to come into English cricket is via The Hundred. The ECB and the counties are in a consultation period to discuss the tournament's future, with three primary options on the table: leave it at eight teams, increase it to 10, or make the jump to 18 or even 19 depending on the MCC's appetite. As part of this consultation, The Hundred's ownership framework is also under review. It is likely that the new structure would involve the ECB handing control of Hundred teams to the counties – making it more like the IPL than the Big Bash.

That control comes with increased costs, but also an opportunity to seek external investment.

"If private investment does come in through The Hundred and its teams, perhaps that is the right vehicle for private investment to come in while leaving the clubs largely as member-owned organisations, owned by the communities they sit in," says Gould.

"That is attractive, because if a Hundred franchise overcooks things and you have a club struggling, those issues are insulated from a county community club.

"There are some really interesting structures which we can put in play to have the best of both worlds: the stability of community-owned clubs and investment opportunities too."

I also subscribe to the Cricketer. George Dobell is always worth reading especially on the Hundred.