The Hundred was a new cricket competition which launched in 2021 to help attract a new audience to the sport. Many of the leading figures in the sport believed that without this revolutionary shorter format, interest in cricket would fade.
Up until this point, domestic cricket in the UK has been split by counties. This new competition sees different cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham competing against each other. The ECB have taken a big gamble, but has it paid off?
The opening year of The Hundred will have been seen as a big success to the organisers. The television ratings across the BBC and Sky Sports were very good. Records were broken in women’s cricket for viewing figures, while the grounds were packed with all age groups having a great time.
The Hundred was a chance for so many of the world’s leading players to sharpen up their game for the T20 World Cup this year. India are the favourites in the cricket betting with Betfair for that competition. That tournament may now be followed by much of the audience who watched cricket for the first time in the Hundred.
Branded as More Than Just the Game
The Hundred was branded to be more than just a game. Those attending saw firework displays, radio DJs were playing music to the crowd, while the fixtures took place at times which suited the audience (early evening/weekend).
Southern Brave from Southampton were the first ever winners of the men’s competition. They had New Zealand’s Devon Conway and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock as their overseas players. Star of England’s 2019 World Cup winning team, Jofra Archer, also helped the Brave to the first title.
The women’s competition was won by Oval Invincibles. Often matches in the men’s and women’s tournaments were played back to back at the same venue so the crowd got two for the price of one.
Changes Next Year
Talks are underway to try to ensure The Hundred does not clash with the county T20 tournament, the T20 Blast in 2022. Along with the County Championship and Royal London Cup, it is no easy task for organisers to come up with a schedule.
The dates for the 2022 The Hundred are yet to be revealed. One proposal is for the competition to be pushed back slightly, with August-September being one option they could run with.
Next year could also see each team have the opportunity to sign more overseas players to their squads. This will ensure even more big-name international players compete in The Hundred, since there is in other short-format leagues such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Big Bash in Australia.
In 2021 each franchise could sign a maximum of three overseas players. Replacements were allowed if a player had to drop out. The ECB are considering extending it to four overseas places on each roster.
All eight teams which competed in the inaugural year have the opportunity to retain 10 players from their squad. There then will be a draft early in 2022 where the remaining players will be up for selection.
Organisers, players and supporters can be excited about what the future holds with The Hundred. If it continues to grow its audience, then it could help ensure cricket remains one of the most attractive sports in many parts of the world.
