Sale of Hampshire was moment that changed English cricket for ever

For well over 100 years — the County Championship was established in 1890 — English professional cricket has been county-based, organised and run by member-owned mutual societies. Until this year, when Hampshire Sport and Leisure Holdings Ltd was sold to India’s GMR Group, ownership of county clubs had remained exclusively in English hands.

Hampshire was one of three county clubs that had demutualised to survive, the others being Durham and Northamptonshire. Demutualising from a member-owned co-operative to a limited company allowed the pharmaceuticals’ millionaire and local supporter Rod Bransgrove to save the club from insolvency in 2000.

Hampshire’s journey is a parable for the game in the past 20 years. Once upon a time, the county played at a community-style cricket club, Northlands Road: a

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