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England’s cricket chief Tom Harrison says the controversial Hundred has become “even more important” due to economic damage from the coronavirus ahead of a meeting that will decide the fate of the new competition. Last week, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) further delayed the start of the 2020 season until July 1 at the earliest, but said the inaugural Hundred would be on the agenda this Wednesday.
The new 100-ball-per-side format, to be played by eight franchises instead of the 18 first-class counties established by English cricket, is slated to begin in July.
ECB officials have long insisted that it will attract a vital new audience to safeguard cricket’s future, with some matches slated to air live on terrestrial television.
But public health restrictions, the problems of bringing stars abroad and the issue of launch costs in a time of economic crisis mean that a delay seems inevitable.
“We will see how the situation impacts the Hundred, which was seen as a tournament that allowed us to expand the audience for the game,” said Harrison.
“With an internal environment, with international players, it will be very, very difficult.”
– Voices of opposition –
Many voices within English cricket have opposed Cien from the start, arguing that there is no room for a new format on an already congested calendar.
They say that many of the ECB’s objectives could be achieved with better support for the existing Twenty20 Blast.
But Harrison, one of the key drivers behind the competition, said current conditions made it more important than ever.
“In any case, this crisis and the implications, in the long or medium term, mean that the case of the Hundred is even more important,” he said.
“So I don’t think this in any way dilutes the case for the Hundred, absolutely speeds it up and makes it something that cricket should endorse.” Even before the pandemic, the ECB had predicted that the Hundred would lose in their first five seasons.
Costs in the first year, including the 1.3 million pounds ($ 1.6 million) paid to each county, were estimated at 58 million pounds, against an income of 51 million pounds.
Failure to play the Hundred could potentially save the ECB million at a time when it released a £ 61 million virus aid package for the national game.
But Harrison is convinced that he will make money in the long run and help preserve the county’s existing configuration.
“It will help us achieve one of our priorities, which is to keep the lights on through the network: making sure that county cricket is really healthy and strong going forward,” he said.
“And it will help broaden the audience for the game. There will be a great outcry for the public to come out of this crisis, for all sports. ”
