Nick

To grow as fast and as much as their stunning valuations required of them, too many start-ups have apparently ballooned out the balance sheet with expensive hires. Thank goodness we’ve decided it’s the cost of the people that’s the problem, and not the insane valuations and millions in venture capital that threatened to drown the fledgling business... See more

But while the idea that ‘good ideas will keep getting funded’ is a fixture of start-up chatter right now, it also sounds like a silent admission that venture capitalists have spent the last few years funding a whole swag of dubious ideas.

Test cricket is safe for now, with the World Test Championship (WTC) scheduled at least till 2029. Which means that bilateral series with a few Tests will continue at least for the next seven years. But Test matches hardly earn any revenue, so there are bound to be a few T20 Internationals sprinkled here and there during the tours.

Sure, macroeconomic conditions change and the cost of capital underpins everything loss-making, high growth start-ups are valued on. It just feels a bit tough on founders like Teo, who now had to fire 44 people to fit a growth profile that, until two months ago, was likely the apple of her VC investor’s eye.

We already know from the work by Yale’s Nicholas Christakis and others that behaviour happens in friend networks. If people in your friend network quit smoking, then you’re more likely to quit smoking. If your friend gains weight, you are more likely to gain weight. Heck, if one of your friend’s friends – who lives far away and who you have never m... See more

Over ten years, it has estimated costs at USD 56 million and revenue at USD 119 million, which will leave the board with a profit of USD 63 million, which is a lot more money than it makes from bilateral cricket. And that's only the benefit to CSA. From its first year, the league will pay players bumper salaries in US dollars, which dwarf the Rand ... See more

CSA is in this position because, quite simply, it’s not as powerful and influential as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In fact, the South African board is in rather dire straits. Its cash reserves as per its 2020-21 annual report were US$32.3 million, down from US$740 million in 2017, according to Cricbuzz. The BCCI, meanwhile, ju... See more

It’s clear that franchise T20 leagues are the future of cricket.