This week’s big story inevitably concerned the delayed launch of The Hundred. I’m sorry but there’s a strong sense of déjà vu. I remember twenty-odd years ago when the ‘new’, ‘exciting’ and ‘innovative’ cricket format was promoted to attract young family audiences who’d never consider watching long-form cricket. Cue pictures of girls, blokes in fancy dress, young Asians with bat and ball in the street, bright lights and pop bands.
It wasn’t the IPL, it wasn’t The Hundred but the groundbreaking Twenty20 Cup in England. The parallels with this week are extraordinary. Of course, the counties have been displaced by city franchises and, in the only genuine positive innovation, women’s teams have equal billing, but it’s still just the same game but with twenty fewer balls on each side. From the first couple of fixtures, it’s also reassuring that the BBC can still attract vastly higher audiences than Sky. This is the only thing that might possibly lure me into the Hundred’s over-hyped hysteria in the evenings schedules.
I’m no great fan of Twenty20 either but I did pay attention to the final group matches of the Blast last weekend. Nottinghamshire dominated the North division, Ben Duckett their star performer in the last two games. Lancashire leapt into the top four with two victories, including a low-scorer against Yorkshire at Old Trafford where Luke Wood claimed 4-20.
Both Roses counties qualified for the quarter-finals, while the Birmingham Bears squeezed through in fourth. Leicestershire failed to make it, despite a thunderous 118 not out against Worcestershire by Leeds-born Aussie Josh Inglis.
Following their Covid problems the week before, Kent topped the South league despite losing to rivals Sussex. Thanks largely to James Vince’s 204 runs, Hampshire triumphed in all three of this week’s fixtures, ending the hopes of Surrey and Gloucestershire. The latter would have reached the last eight at Taunton had Somerset’s Tom Lammonby not crashed a 36-ball 90.
Somerset will have to defend their 2019 Royal London Cup with a depleted squad, but in the coming weeks other counties will also lose their best players to The Hundred. Durham were off to a flier, smashing 405-4 against Kent at Beckenham. Graham Clark and Alex Lees shared an opening partnership of 242 on the team’s way to a record 50-over total. There’s a long way to go, of course. I wonder what future lies ahead for The Hundred…
Team of the
Week: Inglis (Lei), Vince (Ham), G Clark (Dur), Bedingham (Dur), Lammonby
(Som), Bopara (Sus), McManus (Ham +), Harmer (Ess), Cullen (Mid), Briggs (War),
Wood (Lan)
