Dr Dan Plumley, Senior Lecturer in Sport Finance<\/a> from Loughborough\u2019s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, said:<\/p>\n\u201cFinancial resilience and sustainability are at the heart of this report, but the data presents a clear picture. County cricket in England and Wales is not quite there yet. The presence of \u2018haves\u2019 and \u2018have nots\u2019 is evident and the gap has the potential to widen further depending on what the game does next. Collective action will be key to this.<\/p>\n
\u201cCricket has the benefit of multiple formats that opens up avenues for new interest and commercial growth. It must use the financial benefits that come with this to protect and grow the game for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Vaughan calls for greater collaboration among counties<\/p>\n
Former Ashes-winning England captain Michael Vaughan, who has written the report\u2019s foreword once again, commented: \u201cDevelopments over the past year have shown us that the windfall from The Hundred is urgently needed. While they face varying challenges, counties need to be sustainable, 12-months-a year businesses that are not reliant on central ECB funding to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI would love to see some of The Hundred money put towards developing county academies, which are jewels in the crown, and to see the county game really coming together and working to improve things, both on and off the field. How can they work collaboratively to improve their balance sheets, attendances, memberships and fanbases?\u201d<\/p>\n
Digital Footprint Index and England Player Development Rankings<\/p>\n
New features in the Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report 2026 include a first-ever Digital Footprint Index for County Cricket, assessing each club\u2019s presence across Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube.<\/p>\n
Surrey again come out on top, and the findings show that the combined Instagram reach of the bottom five counties by follower count \u2013 Glamorgan, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire and Gloucestershire \u2013 totals around 211,000, less than Surrey\u2019s single account of 228,000.<\/p>\n
The report also includes new England Player Development Rankings for the period from January 2015 to March 2026, which show a broad correlation between the numbers of England men\u2019s players produced, total appearances, and a county\u2019s position in the Cricket Revenue League.<\/p>\n
Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Surrey are the top three in the rankings, while Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Glamorgan make up the bottom three.<\/p>\n
Prof Rob Wilson, who is a Professor of Applied Sport Finance and co-author of the report, said: \u201cAs the game enters a new era of investment, there is a real opportunity to strengthen the entire ecosystem by supporting the player journey from grassroots through to the professional game, while also expanding cricket’s digital footprint to engage new audiences, unlock commercial value and ensure the sport remains relevant and financially sustainable for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cTo achieve sustainable growth, county cricket cannot rely on traditional revenue streams on their own. The data shows that long-term success is increasingly driven by diversified commercial income, investment in infrastructure and disciplined financial management.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clear strategy needed for counties to capitalise on Hundred windfall<\/p>\n
Alex Cadwallader, Leonard Curtis Business of Sport lead and a former England U21 rugby union player, commented: \u201cI suspect this report will be referenced for years to come as the calm before the storm of The Hundred windfall.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny business that has been relatively stable for years and is about to receive an injection of \u00a3520m from external investors is going to need a very clear strategy which all stakeholders have bought into.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be great for the game if in years to come we can look at this event as an example of how it can be done successfully. However, at this stage I do often ask, what are we trying to achieve and what would we, the counties, the ECB and investors deem a success?\u201d<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 presents new opportunities for county cricket<\/p>\n
The Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report 2026 assesses the potential impact of England\u2019s hosting of the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 on women\u2019s domestic cricket, which shifted to a new professional structure last summer, with teams now connected to each of the 18 first-class counties.<\/p>\n
Gessica Howarth, Vice-President and a founding member of Sphera Partners,\u00a0a growth equity investment firm focused on unlocking the potential of underinvested, under-commercialised and emerging opportunities across the sporting ecosystem, of which women\u2019s sport is a key focus, was on the expert panel which contributed to the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis summer has demonstrated that a professional women’s game in England and Wales can attract a mainstream audience. The next challenge is turning that momentum into sustained domestic growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen’s cricket is already creating value, but it is too often assessed as a cost centre rather than a growth asset. The focus now is whether increased investment translates into enduring value through growing attendances, broader sponsorship, more marketable players and an expanded fan base. Those are the foundations of a commercially sustainable sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disability cricket: support for pan-disability format<\/p>\n
Another aspect of the game experiencing significant change is disability cricket, with a new pan-disability format trialled at international level by England and India, and rising participation as the sport expands across England and Wales. The latest key developments are examined in the Leonard Curtis report.<\/p>\n
Iain Nairn MBE, a Leonard Curtis Director and former T20 World Series-winning England Physical Disability cricket captain, welcomed the continued support for the pan-disability concept.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis game-changing approach will maximise opportunities for players of all impairments to participate and represent their team, be that at county level, as part of the Disability Premier League, or internationally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the commitment of the ECB and BCCI to deliver another pan-disability series in 2026 should be applauded. \u201cWe hope that other international boards follow suit and commit. They could make cricket the leading disability sport in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cForum between business and sport to help solve problems\u201d<\/p>\n
The Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report 2026 also contained a message from Leonard Curtis CEO Dan Booth, who leads the PE-backed corporate restructure firm, which helps business owners and their advisers navigate complex, challenging situations every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs county cricket continues to evolve in a competitive landscape its ability to think like a business will remain essential,\u201d he said. \u201cThis report is not just designed to shine a light on issues but create a forum between business and sport to help solve problems. When we exchange lessons in leadership, innovation, performance and culture we will inspire both sporting and commercial success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leonard Curtis has published the second edition of its annual report assessing the financial health of domestic cricket…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-817183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}