So I was digging through my sports memorabilia yesterday morning when my buddy texts me about that crazy auction where some old cricket trophy sold for more than his car. Got me thinking – how crazy expensive have these T20 trophies actually gotten over time? Grabbed my laptop right there on the floor surrounded by old scorecards.
First step was just trying to find any solid numbers. Man, official price tags for these trophies? They hide that stuff better than my grandma hides her secret candy stash. Started simple: all them search engines. Typed in “ICC T20 World Cup trophy cost” and variations. Mostly got junk – news stories about who won, articles analyzing players, zero about the actual bling. Paywalls everywhere.
Shifted gears. Figured auction houses deal with fancy expensive things all the time, right? Searched Christie’s, Sotheby’s sites (not linking anything, remember?) for keywords like “cricket trophy,” “sports award.” Total bust. Found antique vases, paintings of some duke, some footballer’s signed boots, but nada on big ICC trophies. Realized these major trophies never actually get sold; the winners get a replica, the real one stays locked up. Dead end.
Needed another angle. Started hunting old news reports, deep diving into articles around the first T20 World Cups – 2007, 2009. Scanned hundreds of paragraphs. Finally! Buried in a 2009 piece talking about tournament costs, one line mentioned the trophy itself for the 2007 event costing something like $30,000. Jackpot! Wrote that down quick.
Did the same for recent years. Found a more recent reference hinting at the current trophy design being valued around $300,000 – $350,000 due to materials, branding, inflation, all that jazz. Big jump! Confirmed this pattern in a couple of obscure sports finance forums where folks discuss valuation methods. Still no official receipts though, just best guesses.
Noticed something important: the type of trophy matters. Early ones might be simpler. The current one? It’s got intricate silver and gold work, precious materials, huge branding for the ICC. Makes sense the price rocketed. It’s not just a cup you buy off the shelf.
Here’s the gist of what I put together:
- 2007 Trophy (First T20WC): Roughly $30,000 (from old reports)
- Current Trophy Design (Recent Years): Estimated $300,000 – $350,000 (based on valuations, materials)
Finished up with a spreadsheet tracking the rough estimates over time. Honestly, seeing that jump spelled out? Wild. Shows how much cash and prestige is wrapped up in this game now. Went from basically a nice silver plate to a proper luxury item worth a house in some places. Done for the day. Closed the laptop, put my dusty old gear away. Proof sometimes you gotta dig through garbage to find a few useful nuggets.
