The English Cricket, for so long led by the wealthy and interpreted by the educated private ones, is no longer the only province of the Blazer Brigade. Only in the stage halfway, the sale of participations in each of the eight male and female teams that make up the hundred, England and the flagship competition of the Cricket Board of England and Wales, has already secured enough wealth to alter permanently the complexion of the national game.
No living room costumes and custom jackets are so loved by Lord's; After a fight of £ 280 million that has delivered a striking investment of the NFL Tom Brady legend, the executive directors of Microsoft and Google, and the Ambani family super rich in India, the world of English Cricket is about to Be turned on by your head, if it is not sartorial, then certainly in any other sense.
By the time the dust finally sits, as will do once the remaining four franchises are sold next week, officials who originally anticipated collecting around 350 million from the sale of a 49% participation in every hundred franchise They will contemplate an unexpected gain of up to £ 800 million. It is not bad for a constantly accused competition of overestimating its own value since its inception in 2021.
But since 51% of each franchise will remain with the host club, which can keep it or eliminate it as it is convenient, what are they obtaining exactly these renowned investors for their money?
In a word, history: the prestige that accompanies a connection with historical places such as Lord's, Oval and Edgbaston. It is what the new money that men and women do with that story do, how effectively they can market it and monetize it through transmission, tickets and expansion rights, which will determine wisdom or otherwise of their extraordinary disbursement.
The process will be a challenge, without a doubt, with a long -term increase in the number of equipment and games perhaps the only way to follow. The evolution of that nature will involve overcoming a variety of obstacles, no less logically, however, it would seem foolish to bet against a cast of players with almost unlimited wealth and experience at their disposal.
Few know more about the construction of a sports dynasty that Brady, who spent two decades in Quarterback for New England patriots, with whom he won all but one of his seven Super Bowl titles.
The 47 -year -old is a minority investor in Knighthead Capital Management, a private capital firm based in New York that acquired a controlling participation in the city of Birmingham of Birmingham by League One in 2023 through Shelby Companies Limited.
Tom Brady, seen here with his daughter at the Paris Olympic Games last year, is a minority investor in a company that will pay £ 40 million for a 49% participation in the Cricket Birmingham Phoenix franchise
Sam Billings in Action in The Oval in 2021. The Ambani Family Super Rica of India made a projected investment of £ 60 million in the Oval Invincible team at this week's auction
Kim and Khloe Kardashian were part of a stellar guest list at Anant Ambani and Radichika Merchant's wedding in Mumbai last summer. Anant's father, Mikesh, is the richest person in India
Knighthead promised to pay around 40 million for a 49% participation in Birmingham Phoenix the first day of bidding on Thursday, according to reports, surpassing CVC Capital Partners, the American Private Equity Company who once owned Formula One.
It raises Brady's intriguing perspective, whose net assets have been estimated at around $ 300 million (£ 242 million), occupying a place in the elegant seats in Edgbaston, as he has done several times in ST Andrew's.
But even Brady's wealth is eclipsed by that of the Ambani family of India, who made a projected investment of £ 60 million in the oval invincibles, the reigning champions of the tournament, through Reliance Industries Ltd the same day.
Reliance is chaired and directed by Mikesh Ambani, whose estimated value of £ 75 billion makes the 67 -year -old man the richest person in India and the ninth richest individual in the world.
The Ambanis are also owners of the Mumbai Indians, the most valuable franchise in the Premier League India, in itself a multi -million dollar business, as well as teams on Twenty20 Leagues in the United States, United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
In summary, family participation in the hundred is a big problem, in every possible senses of the phrase.
Last summer, when Anant Ambani, Mikesh's 29 -year -old son, married the heiress of Radichika Merchant health in Mumbai, the luxurious celebrations lasted six days. The nuptials, which cost hundreds of millions, were the culmination of a barely lesser accumulation that included a safari with jungle theme and a Mediterranean cruise full of stars.
Guests? They had them. Kim and Khloe Kardashian. Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas. Half of Bollywood. A couple of former British prime ministers in Boris Johnson and Tony Blair. Mike Tyson. American actor and fighter John Cena. Models, billionaire entrepreneurs and even a brief appearance of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Billionaire Anant Ambani, on the left, married the merchant, the daughter of a rich pharmaceutical tycoon, in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Mumbai
Mikesh Ambani in the World Economic Forum in 2017. The richness of the 67 -year -old man, whose firm trusted industries made a successful offer for oval invincibles, is estimated at £ 75 billion.
Shanayaya Kapoor was another high profile assistant in Anant Ambani's wedding celebrations, which lasted six days and cost hundreds of millions
The celebrations prior to the wedding included performances by Rihanna and Katy Perry, a DJ established by David Guetta and a surprise show of the Backstreet Boys. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg threw themselves, like Saif Ali Khan and his wife Kareena Kapoor.
Such, by extension, is the company in which the English Cricket is suddenly, and that is even before we consider the most amazing of the four agreements so far.
That came on Friday, when a consortium of technological billionaires, including the executive directors of Microsoft and Google, agreed to pay the rescue of a king for a participation in London Spirit based in Lord.
The group of great successes of Silicon Valley, led by Nikesh Arora, head of the Global Cyber Safety Company Palo Alto, and supported by a trio of colleagues CEO in L sundar . Vale £ 145 million.
The agreement, a reflection of the prestige associated with a land known as 'The Home of the Cricket', contacted only after a three -hour offers war with Sanjiv Goenka, a billionaire owner of the Ipl Lucknow Super Giants team.
They also competed for the Pièce de Résencence of the two global investment signatures with interests in the football of the Premier League: Lancer Capital, chaired by Avram Glazer, the co -president and director of Manchester United, and Cain International, headed by the director of Chelsea Jonathan Goldstein and backed by Todd Boehly, the joint owner of the Stamford Bridge Club.
“All those with whom we are talking about were so anxious to be part of what we do, and it is a great credit for all in Lord's that there has been this remarkable interest,” said Mark Nicholas, president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owner of the Lord.
'(The size of the agreement) shows what we have always known: our club is special. That is why people want to get involved with us.
Nikesh Arora, head of the global cyber security company Palo Alto, directed a consortium of technological entrepreneurs that obtained an agreement worth £ 145 million for London Spirit
The CEO of Google, Sussian Pichai, on the left, seen here talking with Elon Musk at the inauguration of President Donald Trump last month, was also part of the group led by Arora
Satya Nadella speaks in an event at the Casa Chatham in London last year. The Microsoft CEO is also part of the consortium that assured the spirit of London based in Lord
The congratulations conferred by Lord's were emphasized, in relation to other places, when Welsh Fire went to the Indian-American businessman Sanjay Govil, for a relatively modest £ 35-40 million.
Govil also has the Washington Freedom, a major leagues from the American capital that won the league last season under the administration of Ricky Ponting, the former Australian captain.
It is understood that Govil's obvious passion for the game won hearts and minds in Glamorgan, Welsh Fire's host county, from the beginning of the bidding process, although his victory was sealed simply presenting the greatest of the two sealed offers.
The tycoon, who saw Capri International, another group that has international interests in the game, is the founder and president of Infinite Computer Solutions, a global firm of technology services, and Zyter, a digital health services company.
The auction process will continue in the next few days with the sale of the remaining four teams, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Trent Rockets and Southern Brave.
Despite all the understandable emotion that surrounds offers, it is not yet signed and sealed. Each of the eight favorite bidders will enter a period of exclusivity of eight weeks before sales are formally ratified at the end of spring.
However, the ramifications for English game, both at the county and base level, are deep. Crickt's unexpected gain will be shared between the recreational game, which will receive 10%, and the 18 first class and MCC counties, which will receive the rest.
It is an extraordinary influx of cash and, for all accusations that the Cricket Board of England and Wales has sold the soul of sport, the platform is now there for renewal and revitalization; for greater investment in school crying and improvements and improvements opportunities at the recreational level.
The auction of one hundred represents a unique opportunity; Like the high profile of sports, the game must extract the maximum value of it.