E50: We need to talk about....cricket

Today we’re going deep in to the business of cricket with Tim Wigmore, who has broken a few stories over the past week in The Daily Telegraph around the consequences of coronavirus on the English county game, and the broader Twenty20 calendar from iPL to the Big Bash. We talk about the economics of T20, the development of the game around the world and how cricketers earn a living. Twenty20 cricket was an early example of some of the big themes in the sports business, from the rise of short form sport, private equity in sport and how vulnerable governing bodies are to apparently rich men arriving in helicopters.Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde have written a great book called Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, out now and available via Amazon.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.