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.

Parable for the church?

The Hundred is perhaps a parable for the church in the UK. In previous generations most people were inculturated into the church from birth, being brought up with its traditions. In our post-Christian context, many know nothing about church and would never even consider attending. Lengthy services at inconvenient times, and culturally alien traditions, may be off-putting.

It is incumbent on the church to constantly find ways to reach new people, adopting new formats if necessary. One reason for the global success of Christianity is that the Bible does not command a particular cultural form. The gospel does not demand we meet at a particular time, dress in a particular way, or sing in a particular genre. The danger of traditionalism is that it elevates cultural forms that are matters of aesthetic taste to moral absolutes.

The Hundred has not changed the fundamentals of cricket. The players still bat and bowl, runs are scored, and people are out in the same ways. As Geoffrey Boycott has said: ‘The Hundred is a concept for today’s society … we should all keep an open mind because over the years, when times have changed, cricket has always adapted.’ Today there are multiple forms of cricket. Test and county matches, one-day games, Twenty20 and The Hundred. Fans may have their preferred version, but the love of one form is likely to foster an appreciation of others.

Not cultural museums

The church is not called to be a museum of a past cultural forms, but to constantly adapt to reach the lost. The gospel must never be changed, but our gatherings and practices have to be culturally appropriate. The early church made huge cultural adjustments and accommodations as an exclusively Jewish movement became multi-cultural. All different kinds of churches are needed to reach all different kinds of people and communities. This is not compromise, dumbing-down or mere pragmatism. It is the missional principle that drove Paul to be willing to become all things to all men to save some (1 Cor. 9).

So perhaps the introduction of The Hundred has something to teach us. Without altering the gospel we proclaim, what changes could we make to draw more people in? My local church has recently moved from a morning to an afternoon service. The majority of people in our community are young families. The service time was a significant barrier to visitors attending church because they are committed to other activities on a Sunday morning, especially local sports clubs. If we want to reach them we have to be willing to flex and put their need for salvation ahead of our love of our traditions.