Australian legend Mike Hussey is set to take over as head coach of the men’s Hundred crisis club Welsh Fire, strengthening his relationship with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Hussey joined England’s setup for last year’s T20 World Cup win on Australian soil, and will return to the ECB’s payroll if, as expected, he accepts Welsh Fire’s offer to be their head coach. His stint with England was so successful that some in the set up want and expect him to return for this year’s ODI World Cup defence in India, where he has experience playing and coaching.
Late last year, Gary Kirsten and Welsh Fire parted ways, as he became the first coach in the Hundred to pay the price for poor performance.
Welsh Fire have been a major disappointment in the Hundred’s first two years, losing all their matches in 2022. In 2021, they won their first two matches, the only two fixtures England’s Jonny Bairstow has been available for since the tournament’s advent (Bairstow scored a fifty in both games).
Hussey has been offered the job of replacing Kirsten after a full interview process. David Saker and Mickey Arthur were also in the running. Australian Saker also worked with England during the T20 World Cup, and is expected to be involved this summer in both white- and red-ball cricket as a consultant, as England do not have a full-time bowling coach.
Hussey, 47, averaged 51.5 in 79 Tests and 48 in 175 ODIs, during which he was part of the team that won the 2007 World Cup. He continued playing T20 cricket until 2016, and since has combined a coaching career with commentary duties.
He is batting coach with his old Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings, and has worked on a short-term basis with both Australia.
Hussey’s appointment continues the trend of the Hundred preferring overseas coaches to English talent. Seven of the eight head coaches in the men’s competition in 2023 will be foreign, with Northern Superchargers’ James Foster the exception. This winter, New Zealander Stephen Fleming has taken over from Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene at Southern Brave.
The Hundred faces challenges in 2023
In 2023, the Hundred will begin on August 1, the day after the men’s Ashes concludes, and runs until August 27. A draft for the men’s competition will take place in the first week of March, and teams have until February 14 to decide which players to retain. Teams can retain a maximum of 10 of their layers from 2022.
Each squad is now allowed just three overseas players, rather than the four permitted last year. Instead, to increase the connection with the Vitality Blast, two (rather than the previous one) place per team will be filled late at the “wildcard draft”. That allows teams to pick up players who show strong form or emerge during the Blast and secure selection.
It is also planned that there will be considerably more relaxed player movement between the Vitality Blast and the One-Day Cup (which is seeking a sponsor after the departure of Royal London). Last year, some players selected in the Hundred draft who did not make their team’s XI could not be released to their county to play a game in the ODC, much to the irritation of their counties. This year, where possible, non-playing members of Hundred squads will be released to back to the counties.
The men’s Hundred faces a couple of challenges in 2023. The first is the proximity of the new Major League Cricket competition in the USA, which takes place in July, and the Caribbean Premier League, which will limit the involvement of West Indies players.
The second is the two months of draining Test cricket that take place before the Hundred, after which the premier all-format players from England and Australia are likely to want a rest. That is especially true of English players, who have a busy month of white-ball internationals in September, followed by a World Cup in October. As a result, the ECB are increasing the financial incentives for their centrally-contracted players to be involved.
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