ECB reviews Yorkshire £1.75m payment tied to Northern Superchargers sale

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is reviewing a £1.75 million payment made by Yorkshire County Cricket Club to SMP73 Ltd, a company controlled by Yorkshire chief executive Sanjay Patel, after the fee was disclosed in the club’s 2025 accounts. The accounts describe the payment as “corporate broker services” connected to the sale of Northern Superchargers Limited, Yorkshire’s franchise in The Hundred.

Officials have been alerted to the payment in recent days, and no formal investigation has been opened at this stage. The review will assess whether any ECB regulations were breached and whether the matter should be referred to the Cricket Regulator.

Yorkshire said in its accounts that SMP73’s work concluded “prior to his appointment as the club’s chief executive officer” in October 2025. The club also said Patel was not employed by Yorkshire when the arrangements relating to the payment were entered into, and that he was engaged as a consultant with a defined remit that included brokering the franchise sale.

The ECB review is expected to focus on governance and timing, given Patel’s involvement with Yorkshire during the period covered by the accounts. Records filed at Companies House list Patel as SMP73’s sole director, and show he holds more than 75% of the company’s shares and voting rights.

Details from Yorkshire’s 2025 accounts

The 2025 accounts circulated to members last month state that SMP73 received a £1.75 million commission last year linked to the Northern Superchargers transaction. Yorkshire was the only county to sell its entire Hundred franchise and received about £60 million from the overall £100 million sale of Northern Superchargers to the Sun Group last year.

That £60 million total included about £40 million from selling Yorkshire’s 51% stake in the franchise, and about £20 million from Yorkshire’s share of the 49% stake sold by the ECB. The remaining proceeds from the ECB’s share were distributed across the wider game, according to the report.

Yorkshire said the consultancy arrangement had a strict scope tied to the franchise sale, and that the valuation achieved exceeded targets required to trigger the commission. The ECB has not said whether it considers the arrangement compliant, and it has yet to decide whether to keep the matter at review stage or escalate it.

Financial backdrop and possible regulatory next steps

The review comes as Yorkshire continues to manage recent financial strain at Headingley. Officials have previously advanced central funding to the club to help meet payroll obligations late in the 2024 domestic season, the report said.

Before the Hundred auction, Yorkshire owed more than £25 million to the family trust of chair Colin Graves, a debt the club has now repaid in full. The report said Yorkshire’s larger share from the Hundred sale reflected both its decision to sell its stake and financial distribution terms that benefit counties carrying large debts.

If the ECB determines there are potential regulatory breaches, it can refer the matter to the Cricket Regulator, which oversees governance and discipline across the sport. Yorkshire’s response and any subsequent findings will shape whether disciplinary proceedings follow.

The next development to watch is whether the ECB moves beyond a regulatory review and issues a formal referral, or closes the matter after assessing the documentation around the consultancy arrangement and the payment.