The first edition of the Hundred has been postponed to 2021 after the board meeting on Wednesday. This 100-ball competition about to begin with the new eight teams and going to be the showpiece event in domestic cricket as well. It was about to launch on July 17 but the global pandemic novel coronavirus has postponed or cancelled every sporting events across the globe.
Last week, the ECB has announced that no professional cricket will begin in England and Wales until July 1 amid this pandemic. However, a board meeting took place on Wednesday to discuss the status of the league, where it was decided that it should be postponed by a year.
“The situation we find ourselves in as a country means that delivery of the Hundred will not be possible this summer,” Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive shared. “Whilst we are naturally disappointed that we won’t get to realise our ambitions this year, the Hundred will go ahead in 2021 when we are safely able to deliver everything we intended to help grow the game.”
“As we emerge from the fallout of Covid-19, there will be an even greater need for The Hundred. Our survival as a game, long-term, will be dependent on our ability to recover financially and continue our ambition to build on cricket’s growing fan base. That need has not gone anyway, if anything, it is now more critical,” he further added.
Following are some of the main reasons behind the decision:
• COVID-19 left everyone to maintain social distancing, alongside the ongoing restrictions on global travel. Because of that, no world-class players and coaches could feature in the tournament this year.
• A behind-closed-door competition wouldn’t meet the goal of the tournament as it’s about to attract a broader audience.
• With significant grant leave of absence to across the partnership of 20 venues, the logistics of hosting a brand-new tournament, without a tried-and-test delivery plan will be a huge challenge.
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He again said, “The Hundred will create millions in revenues for the game, through hosting fees, hospitality and ticket sales, as well as delivering £25m in annual financial distributions to all first-class counties and MCC. Its role in driving participation alongside supporting the development of the women’s game will be material in generating take-up of our game across country-wide communities.”
“The Hundred is an important element of the game’s Inspiring Generations strategy, which has been debated and agreed upon across the whole game. While financially, our plans may be impacted, our ambition, ‘to inspire a generation’ should in no way be diluted.”
However, Tom Harrison shared to the BBC that ECB will fulfil the commitment that the Hundred was about to deliver this year.
“We would like to thank our broadcast partners, for their extraordinary commitment and support to get The Hundred to this point and our commercial partners for their ongoing support. We very much look forward to working with them as we build to the 2021 launch,” he concluded.
