The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced ambitious plans to launch a new limited-overs tournament code-named ‘The Hundred‘ in 2020.
Featuring eight city-based teams, each side will face exactly 100-balls comprising of 15 six-ball overs and one final super over of ten balls.
Here Sport360‘s No1 cricket writer Ajit Vijaykumar and sports’ journalist Alex Broun debate this latest innovation.
YES – Ajit Vijaykumar
How many more T20 leagues can cricket fans endure? That was the big question that forced the England cricket board to think outside the box while planning for the new city-based competition. The league was earlier expected to be a T20 tournament but with South Africa, Sri Lanka and even Afghanistan planning one for themselves, it would have been one among numerous others fighting for scraps left behind by the big boys – IPL and Big Bash. So they have come up with a new format where each innings lasts 100 balls. Brilliant.
After Test, ODI, T20, T10 and five-overs-a-side matches (Hong Kong Sixes), is it fair to expect fans to embrace another format? Well, that’s not the point of this debate. Cricket calendar crossed the saturation point a long time back with international cricket and T20 leagues running almost simultaneously round the year. Since everyone is in it for the money (seriously, who isn’t?), the England board has every right to strengthen its finances and pull in the millions that will feed the system and sustain first-class cricket and Tests – the ugly ducklings of the cricketing world.
Make no mistake, only those cricket boards with more than a few million dollars to spare can afford to play Test cricket and sustain first-class matches.
Which is why an innovation like 100-ball cricket is superb. On paper, it’s a product corporates should embrace because the rules of the game will have to be changed to accommodate a 10-ball last over. That’s something that can add a whole new level of drama which no other platform offers at the moment.
While earlier there were some concerns as to how England will differentiate it’s franchise league in a market saturated with T20 tournaments, including it’s own T20 Blast, a completely new format should make it easier for investors to get the pen and chequebook out.
Whether it will benefit the game of cricket is another debate. However, for the moment credit should be given to the England board who realised their folly at not capitalising on a product they invented – T20 – and are now attempting to remind the world they have a few tricks up their sleeve.
ECB’s 100-ball plans are a gimmick likely to kill off County Championship | By Vic Marks https://t.co/ojxA0RSwjP
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) April 20, 2018
NO – Alex Broun
It’s hard to think of a more obvious and transparent attempt at overkill than the ECB’s new 100-ball plans, including a staggeringly stupefyingly stupid 10-ball last over.
The IPL, and lately the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, have had great success with the T20 format and the reason why England now want to tinker with that number is dumb-founding.
How many variants of limited overs do you want?
First there was 50-over One-Day matches, then T20, then T10 (ten overs), and then Sixes (which is actually five-overs). What next – one over games?
Can you imagine turning up to Wimbledon to watch Roger Federer take on Rafael Nadal in a one-game tennis match? With these latest “innovations” cricket is heading in that direction.
The reasoning is the ECB need a point of difference to other T20 leagues around the world but as the IPL and BBL have proven – do the basics right and there is very little that can beat a good T20 match as sporting entertainment.
By basics I mean a wicket with very little lateral movement where the ball comes on to the bat (the latter being crucial), some off-field entertainment and the best players in the world – which equals spectacular entertainment whether you are at the ground or watching on TV.
Indeed much of the attraction of the IPL is watching the amazing Indian fans emotions rise and fall on the performance of their team.
One minute they are up on their feet as their side hits a six or takes a wicket, the next they are choking back tears as their team’s fortunes take a nosedive.
The other reason given by the ECB is it makes it easier for families because the game will be quicker with one game starting at 14:30 and the other at 18:30.
Guess what the match times are currently for the IPL? 14:30 and 18:30!
You are essentiually taking three-overs off per team – 20-minutes in total – are you saying that makes a difference?
And don’t start me on the 10-ball final over – what bowler in the world can get through that? Why not an eight-ball final over? Now that would be innovative. Oops! Tried that.
