With the England vs South Africa ODI postponed today due to a COVID issue, I thought it was only right to spend my time writing about another cricketing event that has been delayed by Covid-19.... and that’s The Hundred.
Now, I know that The Hundred is a very sore point for many cricket fans; especially those who are avid followers of county teams. I totally understand these worries, as I also support a lower-league football team and totally understand the many worries that come along with not being one of the ‘big dogs’. There is always financial worries, and always worries of what the people in power will or won’t do and how it affects you (B-Teams/U23s being the big one in football.)
I am not going to go into the complexities of the various financial states of each county and how the ECB investing in The Hundred will affect them. I am simply going to discuss why The Hundred might not be that bad, why I will be supporting it and why I think current cricket fans should give it a chance.
On this point, I’d like to make it very clear that it is very important that the counties remain, and we can only hope that in the long term The Hundred, the TV deals and the ECB enable that to happen.
So, why am I supporting The Hundred? Well basically because I was lost to cricket (other than watching England and the odd knock around/net with a mate for old times sake) between the ages of 11 and 21; but I think had The Hundred been around, I may have stayed playing and watched more cricket.
The Hundred most importantly brings one thing along with it... and that’s free-to-air TV! One of the biggest issues with cricket since 2005 and the amazing Ashes win (when I was 10) was the lack of accessibility for people, and particularly children, to watch the sport and hear about it. The Hundred has helped to bring this back, with the ECB securing a new deal with BBC as well as Sky.
I am sure that some will argue that a deal involving free to air coverage may have been possible without the need for The Hundred; but it seems that would be very very unlikely whilst still securing as big of a payout as previously. Simply, the free to air TV companies (in particular the BBC) were not interested in paying out for a rebranded T20 Blast, they wanted something new and they wanted it to follow the IPL, Big Bash etc with a number of new city-based teams containing the world’s biggest stars.
For many, these new city-based teams are a direct threat to their beloved counties; and so their anger towards the ECB and The Hundred is understandable. However, using the IPL and Big Bash as examples, there doesn’t seem to be a reason as to why the counties cannot still prosper (especially using the extra money from The Hundred) alongside the city-based teams that only exist for a month or so each year.
For me though, these city-based sides are a brilliant opportunity for the ECB to connect with youngsters across the country and for them to build bonds with these teams to last a lifetime; the same as many others have with county teams.
From personal experience, I have never really had a county team to support (although I will take suggestions!) as I am a cricket fan from a county that is not lucky enough to have a first class team. This is a real big issue for many children, there is always a local professional football team to support, and if they don’t take their fancy, then there is always the big 4-6 teams to go and pick (not that I advocate gloryhunting!) but in cricket there isn’t really either option for a large proportion of the country.
If the teams and players are presented correctly, then there is no reason that there will not be a team for every child in the country to associate and grow a bond with; even if it doesn’t hold the name of the city they live in.
The key to everything is that the ECB and their partners get the marketing right, but if they get their content right on all the latest social media, follow the trends, create collectible cards, release a mobile game, and no doubt more; then they should be able to tap in to the market of the many children who aren’t lucky enough to live in a first-class county but may fancy a game of bat and ball.
The reality of cricket in England and Wales is that it needs to attract more children in. All Stars has been a massive help in starting this, but there is still so many children in our country that simply don’t know enough about cricket to ever fall in love with it. As a former teacher, it’s amazing how few children know what cricket is, never mind how to play it or who the best players and teams are.
This is why The Hundred has been created, and these children and their families are the target audience. It upset many that the ECB admitted this, and maybe they didn’t use the greatest way to say it, but they are not wrong to be targeting them; and their first thought can’t be current fans when it comes to The Hundred.
I do have to admit though, that the hundred ball idea is a bit of a strange one. I actually agree with the ECB that they couldn’t just do another T20 with the 8 city teams like Australia and India; even if the BBC would have brought into it. This is because I think it may then have really negatively impacted some of the counties by downgrading the T20 Blast even more than The Hundred will, as there simply isn’t a need or space for two T20 competitions in our country. T20s have also started taking way too long, and so shortening the game was probably sensible.
The 100-ball idea, with a countdown, isn’t necessarily that crazy and cricket has forever changed and innovated throughout the years. But I do think they may have been better keeping to 6 ball overs and keeping the rest of the game play as close to ‘normal’ cricket as possible in that regard. A last over of 10 balls branded as some type of new ‘Smash-Over’ would surely have been more of a hit and acceptable to the current fans; whose support is obviously still needed even if it isn’t the main target audience.
But, right or wrong, the decision has been made on the format and English cricket now need its to be a success and increase the game’s popularity across the country with youngsters.
The Hundred can be England’s Big Bash (hopefully even bigger and better) and help to do everything we’ve spoken about, thus helping to improve and grow our game for several generations. But it requires our help and support, especially in the first couple of years, to help it be a success.
That is why I’m supporting it by attending games, watching games, tweeting about it, sharing it on our club Facebook and with our juniors. I want the game to grow and improve, I don’t want it to descend down the pecking order of sports for kids.
The best chance for a great future for English cricket is by making The Hundred a success. Yes, many will rightly worry about the future of the 18 counties, and many will say that the money could have been spent elsewhere; but there’s no guarantee that those ideas would have the results needed either.
The Hundred needs to be a success for the future of English Cricket, not just the ECB. That means it also needs to be a success for our amateur clubs, our minor counties and even the first class counties too.
So please, let’s hope it is and let’s support it and give it a chance... even though it has had a very bumpy inception.
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