There are query marks over the long-term way forward for The Hundred following experiences that the England and Wales Cricket Board is open to reviewing the format.
So far there have been two seasons of the eight-team event, with a 3rd due to get underway in August, however it continues to divide opinion and appeal to debate.
The Hundred was successfully ring-fenced and spared scrutiny through the high-performance evaluate of English cricket helmed by Sir Andrew Strauss final yr, however with a number of of its key suggestions discarded the Daily Mail and The Cricketer have reported that the governing physique is now prepared to put it again on the desk. The ECB has been approached for remark.
Reverting to the T20 format and a two-division construction with promotion and relegation is one suggestion, however any changes are unlikely to come shortly. While contracts related to the competitors, from gamers to backroom workers, sometimes run yr to yr and may very well be unpicked with relative ease, the ECB’s present broadcast cope with Sky runs to 2028 whereas the BBC’s current free-to-air association covers a minimum of the subsequent two editions.
It is probably related that the ECB is at the moment led by chief govt Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson. The pair held matching roles at Surrey when The Hundred was first beneath mooted, with the membership forthright in their opposition throughout their tenure.
Gould has publicly reversed his stance since taking over on the ECB, declaring the 100-ball event “a significant success” and predicting it might have “a long future”.
Opinions on The Hundred stay combined. The elevation of the ladies’s sport has been an unvarnished success, whereas there may be proof that the scheduling, advertising and ticket pricing have helped appeal to new followers and a broader demographic to cricket grounds.
But the monetary state of affairs is disputed. A report from Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira, a chartered accountant, attaches a £9million loss to the primary two seasons however the ECB argues that it turned a revenue of £11.8m.
The Hundred has been granted a transparent window on the top of summer time, going down all through August in the instant aftermath of the Ashes, however seems unlikely to be granted the identical luxurious in 2024.
Discussion about this post