The 'Hundred' - new England/Wales city-based franchise cricket competition

[TheLocalYokel]

Traditionally, top level cricket in England and Wales has been founded on the first-class counties. However, from next summer and superimposed on the traditional county competitions will be a new city-based franchise competition following the undoubted success of similar franchised T20 competitions abroad such as the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League in Australia.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has decided on a different format for its new competition. Instead of 20 six-ball overs per side the Hundred will consist of ten ten-ball overs per side, which actually equates to 16 traditional six-ball overs plus four balls.

Here I will declare an interest in that although a lifelong cricket lover I have little interest in T20 which more and more is becoming a slog-fest. I can only think that 16-4 overs per side will increase this tendency even more. Nevertherless, I am aware that many people do enjoy T20 and it certainly brings in the crowds (and the money) so I try to encompass this genre but I can get no further than lukewarmth.

The eight franchised teams will play at the grounds used by the county cricket clubs in the cities involved, namely:

London: Lords and The Oval
North: Leeds and Manchester
Midlands: Birmingham and Nottingham
South: Southampton
Wales: Cardiff

Although the original intention was for all home games to be played at the venues where the teams are based, because of the disquiet of those counties not included there might be a possibility in the future for some limited hosting at other county grounds.

To this end, those first-class counties outside the eight have agreed to become affiliated with the Hundred team nearest them. The ECB's main reason for the Hundred is to encourage young people to become interested in the game, especially those living in inner city areas. They seem to believe that people from regions outside the immediate area of a Hundred team will look upon the nearest one as 'their' team, and support and watch it.

The issue is particularly contentious in the South West where, despite having two first-class counties and two grounds that have hosted one-day internationals and where cricket is hugely popular with Somerset being one of the best supported sides in the country, the entire South West has been left out of the Hundred.

The ECB believes that because the Cardiff-based franchise is to be regarded as the team representing Gloucestershire and Somerset county cricket clubs as well as Glamorgan CCC, people from the West Country will become ardent fans and travel to Wales to watch the home games and support the team.

This might be an optimistic hope with those many West Country cricket followers who are affronted to be left out of what might become a successful competition. Some feel that having already stuck up a figurative two finders at West Country cricket the ECB might have tried building some bridges.

Instead, the ECB's initial approval was for the name 'Welsh Fire'.

Belatedly conscious that such a name might not be ideal for attracting West Country supporters to travel to support 'their' team which in the first few years at least will play its home games at Cardiff, the name 'Western Fire' has now been trademarked as well. A final decision on naming all the teams will be made at the end of the current Ashes series.

Cardiff Hundred team may drop 'Welsh' from name in favour of 'Western Fire'

ECB's legal partner applies to trademark name, along with "Northern Superchargers" | ESPN.co.uk

www.espn.co.uk

It strikes me that Western Fire might be seen by some Welsh cricket followers as too West of England. Perhaps 'West Britain' or even something neutral such as 'Severn' or 'Severn Esturians' might be less controversial and help to foster support for the new team from both sides of the Severn/Bristol Channel.

The provisional names for the other teams are:

London Spirit (Lords)
Oval Invincibles (The Oval)
Northern Superchargers (Leeds)
Manchester Originals (Manchester)
Birmingham Phoenix (Birmingham)
Trent Rockets (Nottingam)
Southern Brave (Southampton)

It was originally stated by the ECB that none of the team names would include the name of the city in which it was based.

 

[Jerry]

It strikes me that Western Fire might be seen by some Welsh cricket followers as too West of England. Perhaps 'West Britain' or even something neutral such as 'Severn' or 'Severn Esturians' might be less controversial and help to foster support for the new team from both sides of the Severn/Bristol Channel.

It'll be interesting to see what the crowds are like especially with the team not being Wales branded. Generally the Wales brand may have attracted supporters who normally wouldn't be attracted to cricket.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It'll be interesting to see what the crowds are like especially with the team not being Wales branded. Generally the Wales brand may have attracted supporters who normally wouldn't be attracted to cricket.

In my opinion it would have been far more sensible to have had nine teams. The Gloucestershire bid for a franchise for the West Country (ie with Somerset) was turned down by the ECB.

That would have left Wales with its own team at Cardiff with a name that reflected its identity, and another team for the West Country/South West England which has more than enough cricket followers for it to have been well supported even if it was based at Bristol the home of Gloucestershire CCC, the traditional rivals of Somerset.

In fact, Bristol which is not actually in Gloucestershire at all is split cricket-wise, as it is with football and rugby, between the Gloucestershire and Somerset associations with the River Avon that flows through the centre of the city marking the boundary, therefore many Somerset supporters who live in and around the south of the city would have little reason not to follow a 'regional' team even one based in the north of the city at the ground of the 'old enemy'.

They would be far more likely to do that than West Country followers would be to go to Cardiff for the home matches of 'their' supposed team whatever it was called.

Currently the ECB's idea is like asking Bristol football supporters to get behind Cardiff City, or Bluebirds' fans to support Bristol City.

Will Carling once rightly described the Rugby Union as being run by old f*rts. It seems that cricket has its own share of people in high admin places whose grasp of everyday sporting reality is away with the fairies.

 

[rollo]

I agree with much of what you say Mr Yokel and although I quite like and see the attraction of the shorter forms of cricket but being a bit of a traditionalist I much prefer the slow burn of a test match with its swings and turns even if after 5 days it ends in a draw or in football terms
nil-nil.

The first test against Australia at Edgebaston attracted over 110,000 spectators a few days ago so there's life in the traditional game yet.

 

[Jerry]

That would have left Wales with its own team at Cardiff with a name that reflected its identity, and another team for the West Country/South West England which has more than enough cricket followers for it to have been well supported even if it was based at Bristol the home of Gloucestershire CCC, the traditional rivals of Somerset.

Also it would be able to create a new Severnside derby as well, leading to some hype around the game.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The Hundred team that is supposed to represent the cricketing first-class counties of Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Somerset will it seems definitely be called Welsh Fire, with its base and all its home games played at Cardiff. The first players have been selected for the various Hundred teams today.

The Hundred teams also have a women's section and the Welsh Fire female team will play its home matches at Bristol and Taunton - two of the principal towns of the Principality. You couldn't make it up. Well you could because it's the ECB.

I wonder what Glamorgan CCC cricket followers would think about a team that was supposed to represent them being called West of England Wonders.

 

[rollo]

Not to worry its obviously a cunning plan.

 

[lbaspotter]

The Hundred Draft takes place this evening live at 19:00hrs on Sky Sports, Sky Sports News, Sky One, BBC Online & BBC Iplayer

How does the draft work?

• The eight teams will take it in turns to pick a player to complete their 15-man squads, and they will have 100 seconds to make their choice.
• There are seven set salary bands, with two players to be picked at each of the following: £125,000, £100,000, £75,000, £60,000, £50,000, £40,000 and £30,000. Captains will receive a bonus of £10,000.
• Each team can have three overseas players. They can also have two 'local icons' from their catchment counties, which have already been selected.
• Australians Steve Smith, Warner and Mitchell Starc are in the highest price bracket, along with West Indies batsman Gayle, Sri Lanka bowler Malinga and Kagiso Rabada of South Africa.
• If a player is not chosen at their base price, then they won't be selected in the draft - they could, however, be called up during the tournament as an injury replacement for another player.
• Those with a lower reserve price have the chance to be drafted at a higher price.
• The final spot in the teams will be filled next summer when teams can offer a £30,000 contract to a player who has caught their eye in the preceding T20 Blast competition.

Trent Rockets will have the first pick in the draft, which then snakes around the sides as seen above

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I wonder how Yorkshire supporters will react when their own Joe Root turns up at Headingley playing for the Nottingham-based Trent Rockets against the Leeds-based Northern Superchargers, whose own England central contract player is Durham's Ben Stokes. Will they want Root to fail? Probably hope that he does well personally but that Trent Rockets lose.

The days are long gone when Yorkshire would only have players who were Yorkshire-born. In my adult lifetime players had to 'qualify' for a county not of their birth by some form of residence or association. The great Sir Vivian Richards had to play a season for a Bath club side in the summer of 1973 before he was allowed to play for Somerset.

Pre-war Somerset CCC, who were always short of cash in those days and who regularly gave amateurs of dubious standard a game because they couldn't afford too many professionals, once duped Lords when signing a player called Lowrie. They registered him as being born at Wellington which Lords assumed was the small town near Taunton, whereas in fact Lowrie was a New Zealander born in his country's capital city.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I wasn't aware of it before but there is a ten-overs per side competition (T10) in Abu Dhabi at the moment involving a number of franchised teams with squads made up of first-class and test cricketers cricketers from around the cricket-playing world. It's apparently the third year of the competition.

Our son and his wife are in Abu Dhabi at the moment and are hoping to see one of the day's play this week, although the UAE President's brother has just died leading to three days national mourning. It's not clear if this will affect the cricket. Our son and his wife were in an Abu Dhabi restaurant earlier today when the music was turned off as a mark of respect.

I watched a bit of one match today on FreeView channel two hundred and eight and a half or something to get an idea of what T10 is all about. It seems to be what it says on the label - an even shorter version of T20. I love cricket but when the game is pared down to this level I find it hard to watch as a serious contest, even when accomplished cricketers are involved.

I previously mentioned that just when I thought that T20 is as brief a version of cricket as anyone would surely want, along comes The Hundred at 16 over and four balls per side. Now we have a ten overs per side competition.

I suppose the ultimate will be a one ball per side league, or just sit in the pavilion and throw dice.

 

[lbaspotter]

So the 2020 fixtures were released today for The Hundred

Men's The Hundred

(All games start at 18:30 BST unless stated)

Friday, 17 July, 2020
Oval Invincibles v Welsh Fire (Kia Oval)
Saturday, 18 July, 2020
Birmingham Phoenix v London Spirit (Edgbaston), 14:00 BST
Manchester Originals v Northern Superchargers (Emirates Old Trafford), 17:00 BST
Sunday, 19 July, 2020
Welsh Fire v Southern Brave (Sophia Gardens), 14:00 BST
Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix (Trent Bridge), 17:00 BST
Monday, 20 July, 2020
Northern Superchargers v Oval Invincibles (Emerald Headingley)
Tuesday, 21 July, 2020
London Spirit v Trent Rockets (Lord's)
Wednesday, 22 July, 2020
Southern Brave v Manchester Originals (Ageas Bowl)
Thursday, 23 July, 2020
London Spirit v Northern Superchargers (Lord's)
Friday, 24 July, 2020
Birmingham Phoenix v Southern Brave (Edgbaston)
Saturday, 25 July, 2020
Oval Invincibles v Manchester Originals (Kia Oval), 14:00 BST
Trent Rockets v Welsh Fire (Trent Bridge), 17:00 BST
Sunday, 26 July, 2020
Southern Brave v Oval Invincibles (Ageas Bowl), 14:00 BST
Northern Superchargers v Birmingham Phoenix (Emerald Headingley), 17:00 BST
Monday, 27 July, 2020
Manchester Originals v Trent Rockets (Emirates Old Trafford)
Tuesday, 28 July, 2020
Welsh Fire v Birmingham Phoenix (Sophia Gardens)
Wednesday, 29 July, 2020
Oval Invincibles v London Spirit (Kia Oval)
Thursday, 30 July, 2020
Northern Superchargers v Southern Brave (Emerald Headingley), 19:00 BST
Friday, 31 July, 2020
Manchester Originals v London Spirit (Emirates Old Trafford), 19:00 BST
Saturday, 1 August, 2020
Welsh Fire v Northern Superchargers (Sophia Gardens), 19:00 BST
Sunday, 2 August, 2020
Trent Rockets v Oval Invincibles (Trent Bridge), 19:00 BST
Monday, 3 August, 2020
Birmingham Phoenix v Manchester Originals (Edgbaston) 19:00 BST
Tuesday, 4 August, 2020
Southern Brave v Trent Rockets (Ageas Bowl)
Wednesday, 5 August, 2020
Northern Superchargers v Manchester Originals (Emerald Headingley)
Thursday, 6 August, 2020
London Spirit v Oval Invincibles (Lord's)
Friday, 7 August, 2020
Southern Brave v Welsh Fire (Ageas Bowl), 19:00 BST
Saturday, 8 August, 2020
Birmingham Phoenix v Trent Rockets (Edgbaston), 19:00 BST
Sunday, 9 August, 2020
Welsh Fire v London Spirit (Sophia Gardens), 19:00 BST
Monday, 10 August, 2020
Trent Rockets v Northern Superchargers (Trent Bridge), 19:00 BST
Tuesday, 11 August, 2020
Oval Invincibles v Birmingham Phoenix (Kia Oval), 19:00 BST
Wednesday, 12 August, 2020
London Spirit v Southern Brave (Lord's)
Thursday, 13 August, 2020
Manchester Originals v Welsh Fire (Emirates Old Trafford)
Saturday, 15 August
Finals day, venue tbc

 

[lbaspotter]

Will be interesting to see which 8+ games BBC choose to televise Live on free to air TV next summer. Obviously its deal covers 10+ games but that will have to include at least 1+ semi final and the final.
Meanwhile Sky Sports Cricket gets to show every game live.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Although I've been a cricket fan for most of my life the shorter the version of the game, the less interest I have. I will still watch 20:20 if it's on the tv - which it isn't so far as terrestrial in the UK is concerned so I can't watch as I don't have Sky - and I went to a match a couple of seasons ago with a pal who had tickets.

At least with The Hundred I can watch as a neutral observer given the ECB's decision to snub the hot bed of cricket that is the South West and leave us without a team in that competition. The ECB says we in the South West should all be supporting Welsh Fire. Just shows the sort of fantasy world the cricket bureaucrats inhabit. It's like asking Bristol City supporters to get behind Cardiff City.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/56724330

Not content with tinkering with the concept of six-ball overs in the new The Hundred competition, the cricket authorities are now pondering whether to change the terminology in at least one aspect of the game.

They are not sure that the term 'wicket or wickets' would resonate with the newcomers they are hoping The Hundred will attract to the game of cricket.

The term 'outs' could be used instead of 'wickets' when The Hundred launches this summer. So it would be, for example, Welsh Fire 182 for seven outs.

I must admit that I checked the date of the linked BBC report but it seems it was published after 1 April.

The term 'batter' or 'batters' seems to be the new word to describe the person trying to avoid being one of the outs. No doubt it reflects the increasing profile of women in the sport but why 'batsman' or 'batswoman', as the case may be, can't be used I have no idea. Batter makes me think of a fish and chip shop.

Some years ago an Australian cricketing person tried to have all gender-specific references in cricket removed. I suppose that the fielding position third man would have become third person.

A probably apocryphal tale exists to the effect that someone once complained to the BBC regarding a commentator making insensitive personal remarks about a bowler who was described as having two short legs, one of them square. That has the imprint of that arch-joker, the late Brian Johnston.

 

[JENNYJET]

I have never been so disinterested in a cricket format as with The Hundred and the tinkering is enough to generate further changes with the wider game. Have perhaps the authorities generated a TV deal in the United States? Sounds like Baseball. grrr!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I have never been so disinterested in a cricket format as with The Hundred and the tinkering is enough to generate further changes with the wider game. Have perhaps the authorities generated a TV deal in the United States? Sounds like Baseball. grrr!

I agree.

Although a lifelong cricket follower I've never been a huge fan of 20:20 (to me it's cricket's version of five a side football) and The Hundred seems to be a further step away from 'proper' cricket. This is not the grumblings of a curmudgeon. I never wholly took to one-day cricket when it was introduced into the county scene in the 1960s. One-day cricket to me means amateurs playing on the village green or at the local cricket ground which I embrace wholeheartedly. When I watch professionals I want to see proper cricket.

If 'red ball' cricket becomes increasingly sidelined one-day cricket, 20:20 and The Hundred will eventually suffer (this year the County Championship fixtures are largely marginalised into the beginning and end of the season with peak summer given over to the various one-day competitions). Unless someone learns to play the game properly in the first place they won't have the ability to improvise in the way that is necessary in 20:20 and no doubt The Hundred. Even more important, they won't have the training to play in test matches. Comic acrobats can only perform as they do because they have trained successfully to become skilled acrobats in the first place.

Mind you, professional one-day cricket is not all bad. Fielding and throwing have improved by an incredible degree over the past 50 years.

 

[rollo]

One of the beauties of cricket is that their are no end of confusing terms, take the terms legside and offside for example.

The legside is where the batsman/women/person plays the ball on their legs off to the legside the fielders take up various positions such as long leg,short leg, square leg, leg slip, short mid on, mid on, or long on and their is also a silly short leg but that's just for new boys or anyone who dropped a dolly.

Meanwhile on the offside not to be confused with say footballs offside where VAR has been introduced (apparently to clarify things) the fielders take their positions for when the batman oops sorry batperson plays the ball off their legs to the offside, the fielders on that side have plenty of choice also. You can have short mid off,mid off, long mid off, extra mid off, slip, gully, a third man(it's not a film or movie), square cover and there also random positions such as "in the deep" or even a backstop but that's just for amateurs.

Cricket is a simple game meant to be played over three to five day days without necessarily getting a result and doesn't need confusing with silly ideas.

In otherwords in the the one hundred they may use a bat and ball but its not really cricket.

 

[JENNYJET]

The First Class game is to me, similar to field chess. Take a full Test Match. The game begins well before the first ball is bowled. The teams, or Captain's, examine the field and then the square ( the bit where those with the bat play the ball ) to determine it's playing condition before the toss to decide the order of innings. It takes up to five day's because the allocated 'overs ' require such time to complete taking account of weather and light, the lunch plus tea intervals etc., and there is the tactics between overs.

The varied one day formats offer to varying degrees a ' Bish...Bash...Bosh' entertainment experience with the flummery that goes with it. Entertainment rather than a Test. Rugby League went that way with Super League and the cheerleader model of distraction and I fear Cricket dying because people do not have the patience needed for 'proper ' cricket.

The BBC began the rot by withdrawing TV coverage as was when Grandstand was a regular weekend fixture and Sky started buying up sports rights to the exclusion of all others.

 

[rollo]

Good news and bad news.

The term wickets will be retained and the idea of outs is a dead duck, however the term batsman will be replaced with batters despite the fact the individual batting will be a man with a bat.

Absurdly the man of the match which is a dubious award anyway in my view will now be a "match hero". I always imagined a hero was someone who flew spitfires or hurricanes or maybe someone who rushed into burning buildings to rescue women, children, cats, and dogs etc. shows how little I know.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Good news and bad news.

The term wickets will be retained and the idea of outs is a dead duck, however the term batsman will be replaced with batters despite the fact the individual batting will be a man with a bat.

Absurdly the man of the match which is a dubious award anyway in my view will now be a "match hero". I always imagined a hero was someone who flew spitfires or hurricanes or maybe someone who rushed into burning buildings to rescue women, children, cats, and dogs etc. shows how little I know.

I suppose 'batter' is a nod to avoiding gender-specific titles, so the point made by a cricketing person in Australia a few years ago might come to pass and in future we shall see a third person instead of a third man patrolling the boundary behind the batter on the off side.

We've seen the removal of gender specific-titles in the emergency services where firemen are now fire fighters and policemen police officers. Doesn't always happen though. Many hospitals still have matrons and sisters, some even when the office holder is a man.

I find the idea of a 'match hero' offensive for the reasons you mention. How can doing well in a cricket match be regarded as heroic? It trivialises those who are true heroes, some of whom sacrificed their lives. Incidentally, shouldn't a more gender-neutral accolade be found or is the word 'heroine' now consigned to history in the way that the word 'actress' seems no longer to be used. These days every thespian appears to be referred to as an 'actor' whether male, female or transgender.