Business of Sport
County cricket’s competitive balance under threat amid growing financial divide
Prof Rob Wilson, co-author of the Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report, has warned that county cricket’s competitive balance may be under serious threat amid the growing signs of a widening financial gap between the seven counties who host a team in The Hundred, and the 11 non-hosts.
While the race for the 2026 County Championship was tight for much of the season, host county Warwickshire claimed their first title since 2021 after finishing 20 points above non-hosts Somerset, and five of the top seven in the Division One table were Hundred franchise hosts.
In both the men’s white-ball competitions this summer, non-hosts have emerged victorious, with Northamptonshire winning the T20 Blast and Middlesex triumphing in the One-Day Cup.
However, Warwickshire’s success in the County Championship makes it six years in a row a Hundred host side have ended the season as champions in what is still regarded as the toughest of the three major county competitions to win.
Prof Wilson suggests that as concerns grow over the structure of county cricket the game faces a pivotal moment as it grapples with worries over the gap in financial strength between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
“The growing financial divide between The Hundred host and non-host counties is one of the biggest governance challenges facing English cricket,” he said.
“While some inequality is inevitable given the ownership of The Hundred franchises, the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] needs to ensure that all counties remain competitive and financially viable.
“That requires a combination of equitable central distributions, investment in county infrastructure, stronger revenue-sharing mechanisms and continued support for player development across the entire game.”
He added: “A healthy county system ultimately benefits England as much as The Hundred itself.”
Updated Financial Performance Index
Prof Wilson’s comments follow the publication in July of the second edition of the Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report, which features an updated version of its Financial Performance Index, ranking the 18 first-class counties based on their results on and off the field from 2015 to 2024 (the last ten years where financial data from all counties is available).
With a lower score more desirable, the seven counties with a Hundred franchise all feature in the top ten of the Index, and the average score of the host counties is 7.30 (up from 7.25), compared with 10.00 for the non-hosts (up from 9.07).
The report warns the county game faces a “series of financial realities” despite the £520m windfall for domestic and grassroots cricket generated by sales of stakes in The Hundred’s eight franchise teams.
Some of those realities have been highlighted by the plight of Sussex, who were hit with points deductions by the ECB this season following an operating loss in 2025 of £1.33m.
While being an exceptional case, the report notes that the difficulties faced by Sussex – who finished third in this season’s County Championship – in many ways act as a warning sign for other non-host counties who want to remain competitive on the field and invest in their playing squad despite there often being a yawning gap between their revenues and those of host counties.
Proposals for additional white-ball fixtures for non-hosts
As they look to close the gap on their wealthier rivals, many of the non-hosts such as Sussex are planning to use The Hundred windfall to invest in their grounds and other facilities to develop fresh income streams.
There have also been calls for additional matches, and in August the new Sussex chair Ed Warner even proposed the creation of a new T10 tournament for non-hosts that would take place alongside the One-Day Cup.
The Guardian reported that “there is widespread frustration among the smaller counties at the limited cricket they currently play during the height of the summer”.
Sussex had just four days’ play at home during this year’s edition of The Hundred, which ran from 21st July to 16th August.
David Brown, the Leonard Curtis COO and former batting all-rounder for Gloucestershire and Glamorgan, said it was understandable non-hosts would want to explore the possibility of extra matches, but stressed that such moves would face an array of challenges and that exploring sources of revenue beyond cricket would likely prove more significant in the long run.
“The challenge is how you develop a meaningful competition that would divert eyes away from The Hundred in what is already a crowded calendar, and how you make it attractive when most of the best players are appearing in the franchise tournament,” he said.
“The difficulties for the non-host counties would only increase if The Hundred switched to a T20 format in the future, further diluting the T20 Blast,” he added.
“So for most of the non-hosts, the key to boosting their financial position is most likely to come from developing greater revenue-generating opportunities beyond matchday, through investing in their facilities and maximising the potential of their assets.”
Football-style profit and sustainability rules
Back in April, it was reported that Sussex's financial woes had prompted the ECB to consider introducing football-style profit and sustainability rules governing counties' spending on player salaries.
While any potential changes to the ECB’s financial regulations remain under discussion, Prof Wilson – who is a professor of applied sport finance, and provost at University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) – said such a move has the potential to be effective if the rules are combined with other measures.
“A version of profit and sustainability rules could work in cricket, although they would need to reflect the different financial model of the county game,” he said.
“Spending controls linked to genuine revenues could discourage excessive wage inflation while still allowing ambitious counties to grow responsibly.
“Alongside financial regulations, greater financial transparency, regular reporting and independent monitoring could strengthen confidence across the county game.”
He added: “The most effective approach is to improve the overall financial health of the domestic game rather than simply suppress wages. Better central funding, stronger commercial opportunities and investment in player development would help all counties compete more effectively.
“At the same time, greater transparency around salaries and careful monitoring of spending trends could reduce the risk of unsustainable inflation while still rewarding the best players appropriately.”
“Excessive disparities risk weakening competition”
Brown – who played 24 first-class matches and 73 List A and T20 games between 2003 and 2011 – said it was also important that the new audiences and fresh investment generated by The Hundred provide a platform for the wider domestic game to develop successfully rather than widening the existing gaps within county cricket.
“The key challenge for English cricket is ensuring that the success of The Hundred strengthens the whole game rather than creating a permanently divided county system,” he said.
“A degree of financial inequality is inevitable in professional sport, but excessive disparities risk weakening competition, reducing player opportunities and undermining support across the county network.
“The ECB's long-term objective should be to ensure that every county has a realistic opportunity to thrive while recognising that sustainable success depends on the health of the entire domestic structure.”
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