County cricket’s competitive balance under threat amid growing financial divide, expert warn

A co-author of a financial report about county cricket has warned the competitive balance could be under serious threat amid the growing signs of a widening financial gap between counties.

Rob Wilson - a professor of applied sport finance, and provost at University Campus of Football Business - who co-authored the Leonard Curtis Cricket Financial report say there is a clear divide 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 seasons 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’.

He said: “The growing financial divide between The Hundred host and non-host counties is one of the biggest governance challenges facing English cricket,”.

“While some inequality is inevitable given the ownership of The Hundred franchises, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) 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.

“A healthy county system ultimately benefits England as much as The Hundred itself.”

Professor 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.