ECB Plans Review Of Yorkshire’s £1.75m Hundred Sale Payment

What happened:

Watch the highlights:

The England and Wales Cricket Board is planning to review a £1.75m payment made by Yorkshire to SMP73 Ltd, a company controlled by the county’s chief executive Sanjay Patel, according to The Guardian. The payment was described in Yorkshire’s 2025 accounts as commission for “corporate broker services in connection with the sale of Northern Superchargers Limited”.

What is confirmed:

The Guardian reports that Patel owns more than 75% of SMP73’s shares. Yorkshire say the work was done before his appointment. The accounts were circulated to members last month and show the £1.75m payment was made last year. Patel is also described by the source as one of the key architects of the Hundred from his previous role at the ECB.

Why it matters:

This is not a scoreline issue, but it is a governance story with tournament consequences. The Hundred is one of English cricket’s central commercial competitions, and the sale of stakes connected to teams such as Northern Superchargers sits inside a broader reshaping of how the tournament is financed and controlled. A large commission paid to a company controlled by a county chief executive is therefore not just an accounting footnote; it affects confidence in the process around a major competition asset.

Tournament impact:

The immediate competition format is not reported to be changing because of the review. The practical impact is oversight. If the ECB review raises concerns, the fallout could land around transparency, conflict management, county governance, or future sale processes. If the review finds the payment was properly handled, Yorkshire will still have had to answer a high-profile question about how the Hundred sale was monetised and disclosed.

What to watch:

The key follow-up is scope. “Planning to review” is not the same as a completed investigation or a finding of wrongdoing. The important details will be whether the ECB examines only the payment, the timing of Patel’s work, Yorkshire’s approval process, the disclosure to members, or the wider sale framework. Yorkshire’s position, as reported, is that the relevant work predated Patel’s appointment, which will likely be central to any assessment.

Confidence:

Confirmed by the source: the ECB is planning to review the £1.75m payment, the payment appeared in Yorkshire’s 2025 accounts, SMP73 Ltd is controlled by Sanjay Patel, and Yorkshire say the work occurred before his appointment. Still requiring follow-up: the ECB’s final scope, whether any governance breach is alleged, and whether the review leads to action.