Reports are indicating that actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who are also owners of Wrexham Football Club in Wales, are looking into cricket. They are negotiating with the England and Wales Cricket Board about purchasing a share of the Welsh Fire in The Hundred Franchise.
The ECB recently announced they are looking for private investors for 49% of their eight teams in The Hundred Franchise. They are particularly looking for investors who own American Sports franchises, and investors from the Indian Premier League. It has also been reported that McElhenney and Reynolds are now ECB clients. They will be VIP guests at this summer’s tournament. The first match is on Tuesday between the Oval Invincibles and the Birmingham Phoenix.
Welsh Fire is one of the more financially accessible franchises. The franchise values half of its stake at around £20 million. For the first time, the Hollywood actors would be adding cricket to their portfolio. The Hundred competition aims to attract a younger audience.
Reynolds and McElhenney have showed they know how to take a sport brand global. Since they took over Wrexham AFC in 2020, they’ve captured consecutive promotions and transitioned the club into a global sensation. With the club’s documentary series, Welcome to Wrexham, they have pulled in millions of viewers. They escalated international interest in the club, to the lower league English side.
Should the deal go through, the pair can offer the same combination of star power, cutting-edge media attention, and unique promotional methods in the Welsh Fire. This could particularly improve the visibility of The Hundred competition, and cricket, outside the UK. This sort of investment is consistent with the ECB’s wider goal of growing cricket’s international appeal and commercially targeting the US market.
The talks are in the early stages, and as of now, the parties have not released any formal agreement.
