The dust had barely settled over the Oval after a thrilling conclusion to the fifth and final Ashes Test when the fireworks starting this year’s Hundred were launched into the air.
If the turnaround appeared quick, for some of those involved it was even quicker. Moeen Ali capped off his comeback from retirement with some of the best bowling of his Test career at the Oval, and the next day was in Nottingham for the first match of the ECB’s flagship tournament.
The Hundred has been controversial since the outset, and this year was no different. No expense has been spared: the flames shoot into the air whenever there is a wicket or a boundary, regardless of the day’s temperature, and sparklers form tunnels as the players make their way to the pitch. It is bright, loud, and apparently here to stay.
Arguably the biggest obstacle for this year’s competition was the dismal British weather, which had affected the Ashes before it and did not improve as August continued. But three years in, the Hundred is no less divisive.
It is worth remembering that the tournament’s biggest success – the women’s competition – was an afterthought, and the double-headers were only brought about in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. In the original plan there were a few double-headers, but the women’s games were to be shared about and played at out-grounds, or places that had missed out on having a franchise team based in their county.
Undoubtedly, though, it has achieved at least some of what it set out to. In 2022, families made up 41 per cent of ticket sales, up from 36 per cent in 2021, and it has attracted those who do not go to other forms of cricket. The biggest reason for that, of course, is the heavy subsidisation of ticket prices. An adult can go to a day game (11.30am and 3pm starts) for just £20, and an evening one (3pm and 6pm starts) for just £30 – far cheaper than the prices offered by some teams in the 18-county T20 Blast competition.
Attending a day game at Trent Bridge, for example, Nottinghamshire’s colours are few and far between compared with the bright yellow Skips-adorned shirts of the Trent Rockets, although there are still some examples of the more traditional cricket fans, including those dressed as bananas and nuns playing cricket beneath the concourse. The marketing has also paid off in terms of how many children there are, including in specially designated non-alcohol stands, designed to suit those of all ages and backgrounds.
Some of the other features miss the mark. It is disarming to hear a DJ blasting club music before midday from a special booth that has taken the place of normal seats – and it’s not always the sort of music that is aimed at attracting the next generation, either. Some of the presenters’ screeches into a loud microphone have caused children, the very audience whose attendance the game is designed to encourage, to cover their ears due to the volume. The “BBC Introducing” stage for the gap between matches falls flatter – it is quiet, occasionally awkward, and on a sound system not designed to support anything beyond blasting out “Sweet Caroline” between overs.
The Hundred has organised dedicated autograph zones that have been a huge success with children
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The players seem to enjoy it, especially as every game is played out to a TV audience, and it was once described by a prominent broadcaster off-air as a “month-long stag do”. But the players themselves do not find too much difference between the Hundred and the T20 competition it was designed to take the place of.
“It’s obviously very similar,” Oval Invincibles and England all-rounder Will Jacks told The Independent. “The Hundred and T20 cricket, there’s virtually no difference.
“It’s relatively easy to switch between the formats; the only difference really is the 10 balls in a row from each end, but apart from that it’s all relatively simple.”
Lots of traditional cricket fans have spurned the competition, often vocally, and key cricketing counties such as Surrey and Somerset were always opposed to it, but three years in and the Hundred is still here, and the games are competitive, and the quality of cricket is good.
“With there being only eight teams, it’s pretty obvious that every team is pretty good and every team could beat anyone,” Jacks said.
“I think in the Blast, every year there’s a few games that you’d look at and you’d expect to win. I think it’s tough, looking at the Hundred, to go into any game thinking like that.”
The DJ booths take up space and it can be hard to hear the artists’ shows, while dedicated hype-voices sound odd
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The games are of high quality and there are lots of child-friendly activities in some grounds, including autograph areas with players, face-painting, and cardboard cut-outs to take photos with, but none of these are things that could not have been achieved with a different T20 competition.
Ultimately, children enjoy it, and it’s cheap enough to make it an affordable day out for a family of four, but it still feels as if the six weeks of Ashes that preceded it will have done as much to attract the next generation as the Hundred has done in three years.
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