What can cricket’s new competition teach us?

This summer has seen the start of a new cricket competition, The Hundred. This has been developed to make cricket more accessible.

Each side faces 100 balls, bowled in lots of t e n balls rather than six- ball overs. The shorter games produce greater excitement, are more attractive to families and provide entertaining television. Needless to say, traditionalists are outraged. Simon Heffer has written that it is a ‘bastardisation of a once-great game.’ Many have repeated the obvious cliché that The Hundred is ‘just not cricket’.

Cricket on the wane

Whilst it is easy for traditionalists to dismiss The Hundred, it represents a noble attempt to extend the game’s appeal. Cricket used to be a major national sport, but is now of more marginal interest. Many schools do not play it, and the lack of coverage on free-to-view television has deprived a whole generation of the opportunity to enjoy the game. Few people have time to attend day-long games, let alone multi-day contests. Attendance at county games is minuscule. The world centre of gravity for cricket has shifted to the Indian sub-continent.