ECB postpones inaugural edition of \'The Hundred\' to 2021 over coronavirus

ECB postpones inaugural edition of 'The Hundred' to 2021 over coronavirus

Felt holding the tournament behind closed doors contradicts 'the competition's goal to attract a broader audience', says England and Wales Cricket Board

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BS Web Team & agencies  |  New Delhi 

Lord's cricket ground. Photo: @HomeOfCricket
Lord's cricket ground. The Hundred is franchise based 100-ball cricket tournament to be played in England and Wales and administered by the ECB. Photo: @HomeOfCricket

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday said that the inaugural edition of The Hundred has been postponed to 2021.
 
"The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today confirms that the launch of The Hundred will now take place in summer 2021," said the ECB in its statement.
 
"The news follows a meeting dedicated to the subject, where the board concluded it was not possible for the competition to be staged this year."

What is The Hundred tournament?


The Hundred is franchise based 100-ball cricket tournament to be played in England and Wales and administered by the ECB. The league will consist of eight city-based franchise teams, each of which will field both a men's and women's team.
ECB said that apart from the logistical challenges posed by the pandemic including social distancing norms, travel restrictions and furloughing across the venues, it felt holding the tournament behind closed doors contradicts "the competition's goal to attract a broader audience."

 
"Whilst we are naturally disappointed that we won't get to realise our ambitions this year, The Hundred will go ahead in 2021 when we are safely able to deliver everything we intended to help grow the game," said ECB CEO Tom Harrison.

 
"The Hundred will create millions in revenues for the game, through hosting fees, hospitality and ticket sales, as well as delivering £25m in annual financial distributions to all First-Class Counties and MCC. Its role in driving participation alongside supporting the development of the women's game will be material in generating take-up of our game across country-wide communities.

Format of The Hundred tournament

The 100-ball tournament has a very unique format which would excite the fans as they will see for first time five or 10 balls over.

Following the rules and regulations in The Hundred:

  • The match will have a total of 200 legal deliveries with 100 balls per innings.
  • One over will consist of 10 balls.
  • One bowler can bowl a minimum of five and maximum of 10 consecutive balls.
  • One bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls in a game.

Powerplay

  • Powerplay will be of 25 balls.
  • Only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle during powerplay.

Timeout

  • There is one strategic time-out of two-and-a-half minutes per innings for the bowling side.
  • The coach can walk out to the middle of the ground and discuss tactics with their players mid game.

Duration of 100-ball tournament

  • A match of The Hundred will last two and a half hours.
"The Hundred is an important element of the game's Inspiring Generations strategy, which has been debated and agreed upon across the whole game. While financially, our plans may be impacted, our ambition, 'to inspire a generation' should in no way be diluted," he said.
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First Published: Fri, May 01 2020. 14:51 IST