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[VIDEOS] The Hundred

We are required to make an amendment to the Men’s Player Selection Regulations with immediate effect as follows:

We will add in the following wording as per point (d) of the Temporary Replacement Event definition:

“Such other exceptional circumstances as are approved by the Competition’s Technical Committee”

The amendment to this regulation is related to a current situation with Southern Brave men’s team who have illness and injury (but such injuries do not merit permanent replacement events) that threatens their ability to field a fit XI today, therefore threatening the integrity of the competition.

The temporary replacement player is Colin Ackermann (Leicestershire) who will be available for Southern Brave Men today. This temporary replacement is granted for today’s match only at this stage.

We will assess the situation ahead of Southern Brave’s next match and communicate accordingly.
 
Oval Invincibles men: replacement player

Paul Stirling has joined Oval Invincibles’ squad ahead of Sunday’s final. Stirling replaces Spencer Johnson, who - alongside Adam Zampa - left for international duty at the end of the group stage.
 
The Hundred seems like cricket's attempt at a complex puzzle – seriously, I can't even find the corners! Wrapping it up and tossing it out might just save us from all this head-scratching confusion.
 
Gotta feel for Zaman Khan hasn't had the best of times in his first stint in this competition.

He needs to work on his game and work in getting his line and length better as just having a low sling arm action won't work for him all the time.
 
Just wondering if this silly format has anything to do with England’s recent ODI performance
 
gazza619 said:
Just wondering if this silly format has anything to do with England’s recent ODI performance
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Form issue. Collectively out of form. They are definitely not as bad as they played here. They should have had a ODI series with a strong side right before world cup. Australia ddi it smartly. We had Asia cup. NZ played in Bangladesh.
 
gazza619 said:
Just wondering if this silly format has anything to do with England’s recent ODI performance
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The Hundred has to be the stupidest names ever for a format of cricket. It defintely had some affect considering how dumb the whole idea is.
 
The Northern Superchargers will not be extending the contract of their Men’s Head Coach James Foster for the 2024 season.

The Superchargers Chair Kirsty Bashforth said: “We would like to thank James for his two years with the Superchargers and wish him well with New Zealand at the ICC Men's World Cup and in his roles with the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 and with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.”

James Foster said: “I’d like to thank the players, the staff, Marcus North, the board and the fans for what has been a really enjoyable last two years. I wish the team the best of luck for the future”.
 
Andrew Flintoff appointed Head Coach of Northern Superchargers men’s team

England cricket legend Andrew Flintoff has been appointed as Head Coach of Northern Superchargers men’s team in The Hundred.

Flintoff, 45, is renowned as one of England’s greatest ever players. He played over 200 times for his country and was also Test captain.

Since retiring from cricket in 2009 he has become a television host – including as part of The Hundred team in 2021, and recently has been working as a consultant coach with the England Men’s team.

The former England all-rounder will take on his first Head Coach role through the competition in August, looking to inspire his new side to success in the fourth year of The Hundred.

Flintoff said: “I am excited to have been appointed Head Coach of the Northern Superchargers men’s team. Big thanks to Kirsty and Marcus for trusting me with the team. My time with the England Men’s team has been a reminder of just how special cricket is to me, and I’m relishing the opportunity to be back amongst it, helping to guide the Superchargers team to success on the field while making memories off it and helping to take cricket to more people.

“The Superchargers have a great fan base who I cannot wait to meet and bring along with us this season. I'm looking forward to making Headingley my new home.”

Northern Superchargers Chair Kirsty Bashforth said: “We are thrilled to welcome Andrew to the Northern Superchargers family. He is an inspirational figure who has huge respect across the game of cricket and he is someone we know will excite our players, coaches, and our fans. Andrew will help us to create a unique culture and we are extremely excited about working with him to inspire our squad further with positive, entertaining and consistently winning cricket.”
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The retention window ahead of the fourth year of The Hundred opened today, allowing teams to start the process of retaining their players.

Teams in the women’s competition will be able to retain a maximum of eight players, teams in the men’s competition will be able to retain a maximum of 10.

Alongside the retention window opening, a number of new and updated regulations have been introduced, including an increase in salaries in the women’s competition and the news that selection in the women’s competition will now take place exclusively through retention, The Hundred Draft and the Vitality Wildcard Draft.

The Hundred - Women’s Competition new regulations

• An additional £100k has been allocated to each team in order to increase salaries in The Hundred women’s competition. The up to date salary bands are as below:

1. 50,000
2. 50,000
3. 40,000
4. 40,000
5. 30,000
6. 30,000
7. 17,500
8. 17,500
9. 14,000
10. 14,000
11. 11,000
12. 11,000
13. 8,000
14. 8,000
15. 8,000

• There is no longer an open market element of selection. All picks will be via retention, The Hundred Draft powered by Sage or the Vitality Wildcard Draft.

• There is a maximum of eight retentions per team.

• Two of the three lowest salary slots to be left open for the Vitality Wildcard Draft.

• Following The Hundred Draft powered by Sage, each team will nominate one player as a ‘designated marquee player’ who, if required, can be replaced by a fourth overseas or a domestic player. Each team may still only select a maximum of three overseas players in a playing XI.

The Hundred – Men’s Competition new regulations

• Salaries remain as per 2023.

• With the number of England Men Centrally Contracted players with both red- and white-ball points increasing from 8 to 17, the selection mechanism has been updated. Teams will now be able to retain one England Men’s Centrally Contracted player from that list of 17 as their nominated Central Contract player. The nominated Central Contract player is the 16th member of the squad, in the salary band of £125,000.

• Teams are able to retain other players from the list of 17 Centrally Contracted England Men’s players as domestic players (e.g. Birmingham Phoenix could retain Chris Woakes as their nominated Central Contract player and retain Ben Duckett on a salary band agreed with the player).

• In addition, if required, the nominated Central Contract player can be replaced by either a fourth overseas player or a domestic player. In the event team(s) do not retain a nominated Central Contract player then there will be a central contract player draft to ensure all teams have one central contract player. Each team may still only select a maximum of three overseas players in a playing XI.

• There is a maximum of 10 retentions per team, the nominated Central Contract player is in addition to this.

• Two of the three lowest salary slots to be left open for the Vitality Wildcard Draft.
 
After a record year in 2023, The Hundred will return on Tuesday 23 July at The Kia Oval, delivering a month of world-class cricket and blockbuster entertainment for all the family.

Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix will compete in south London in the competition’s first double-header, the first of 34 matchdays across 26 days of compelling sport at the height of summer.

A record 580,000 fans were in venues across The Hundred in 2023, including over 300,000 in the women’s competition. The Hundred’s blend of high-quality sport and entertainment saw 41% of all tickets sold to families, 23% to juniors and 30% to women.

Alongside world-class cricket, thanks to The Hundred’s ongoing partnership with BBC Music Introducing, fans were treated to memorable music performances from a diverse line-up of artists and DJs including headliners Rudimental, the Lottery Winners, DYLAN and Prima Queen.

Last year’s men’s champions Oval Invincibles will start their campaign on day one of the competition, in the second game of the day, while women’s champions Southern Brave get going on matchday two in front of their home supporters at Utilita Bowl.

Supporters who have been season ticket holders in any of the three years of The Hundred or who bought a ticket in 2023 will be able to buy a season ticket from today. From 13-27 March there will be an exclusive window open to fans who have previously bought tickets to The Hundred. The priority sale window is open from 9-23 April, open to all fans who sign up in advance at thehundred.com. The general sale period begins from 25 April.

Tickets are once again great value, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 3-15 (free for under 3s) and adults starting from £11.

The Hundred Eliminator, where second- and third-placed teams compete for a place in The Hundred Final, is confirmed for Saturday 17 August at The Kia Oval. The Hundred Final will take place on Sunday 18 August at Lord’s.

Southern Brave and England Women’s batter Danni Wyatt, who helped Southern Brave lift the trophy last season, said: “I can’t wait for The Hundred. It’s such a fun competition to play in, and the crowds are getting better and better. You can really feel the difference at The Hundred in terms of the number of young people and families in the crowd. It’s done so much for the women’s game and the lift in both the profile and the standard of women’s cricket has been amazing. We were so happy to get over the line and win The Hundred last year and we really want to do it again in year four of the competition.”

Oval Invincibles and England Men’s all-rounder Sam Curran, who was also a champion in 2023, said: “I think the third year of The Hundred was a huge step forward for the competition. As players, it’s really good to play in. We know the standard is top quality but with every year we play it the format itself becomes part of the event. We saw so many close finishes last year in the men’s competition and close contests are so good for bringing fans in. We’d love to be back at Lord’s in August to try and defend our trophy but we’re also looking forward to getting back out in front of our fans at The Kia Oval.”

The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage, will be back across both the men’s and the women’s competitions ahead of the 2024 summer as the 16 teams – including Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers men’s team – prepare their bids for The Hundred title.

For the first time, selection in the women’s competition will now take place exclusively through retention, The Hundred Draft and the Vitality Wildcard Draft. Salaries in the women's competition have increased by £100,000 per team, with the top salary bracket now at £50,000.
 

ECB Rejects Lalit Modi Offer To Buy 'The Hundred'. Report Reveals Reason​


Unwilling to jeopardise its cordial relationship with the all-powerful BCCI, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has rejected a lucrative 10-year buy-out offer of their franchise-based property 'The Hundred' from former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, the Daily Telegraph reported. Modi received a life ban from the BCCI in 2013 for "serious misconduct and indiscipline" related to bids for two new IPL franchises in 2010. Modi left India and has been living in London since then. Modi had planned the competition in peak English summer between July 1-August 15. "Modi's representatives met with Vikram Banerjee, the England and Wales Cricket Board's director of operations, who is de facto head of the Hundred, and chief executive Richard Gould to lay out a 10-year offer to buy the Hundred and fund it through private investment. However, the ECB will not be pursuing talks with Modi," the British daily reported.

The ECB isn't ready to completely let go its ownership on their flagship property but also at the same time is worried about potential pitfalls of a partnership as "dealing with Modi would jeopardise its relationship with the BCCI." It must be noted that the ECB had received a similar offer from the Bridgepoint Group worth GBP 400 million for a 75 per cent stake in 'The Hundred'.

"At the time, Richard Thompson, the ECB's chairman, said he would only consider offers of a “few billion” and since then the ECB has pursued a strategy of selling equity in the teams, with the board retaining ownership of the competition," the newspaper further reported.

Modi told Telegraph Sport that "he has lined up investors willing to pump money into a 10-team tournament but told the ECB the Hundred format does not work and should be converted into a Twenty20 competition instead." The team purse as per offer sheet would have been USD 10 million per season (roughly INR 83 crore to IPL's INR 95 Cr).

Modi's estimated valuation of the competition was earmarked at USD 100 million a year over 10 years.

In fact, the former IPL czar had advised ECB not to invite more than two IPL franchises to own teams.

His mantra was "franchises should be English owned and English run with minimal input from India." Modi had been in touch with English cricket establishment for the past 18 months and wanted to make it second biggest league after IPL.

"I would give them a guarantee of a billion dollars," Modi told Telegraph Sport.

"A lot of people have been in touch with me interested in backing it and I made a proposal to the ECB but it had a lot of conditions. The Hundred format does not work and there should only be two franchises sold to Indian buyers. It will only work if it is an English competition and not Indo-centric," he said.

The ECB believes it can raise GBP 100 million from selling equity (shares).

NDTV
 
ECB don't want to sell it to Lalit Modi but they may be interested to privatise the league by selling the teams and still be the owner of the league just like IPL. Hundred is not growing according to what ECB expected so they might think about that possibility.
 
Franchises have announced the list of retained players for the next season of The Hundred League

Retained Players

Birmingham Phoenix Women: Sophie Devine (O), Ellyse Perry (O), Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Hannah Baker, Sterre Kalis, Charis Pavely

Birmingham Phoenix Men: Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Ben Duckett, Benny Howell, Adam Milne (O), Jamie Smith, Will Smeed, Tom Helm, Jacob Bethell

London Spirit Women: Heather Knight, Grace Harris (O), Danielle Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Georgia Redmayne (O), Sophie Munro, Tara Norris

London Spirit Men: Zak Crawley, Nathan Ellis (O), Dan Lawrence, Dan Worrall, Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington, Olly Stone, Matt Critchley, Daniel Bell-Drummond

Manchester Originals Women: Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt (O), Emma Lamb, Mahika Gaur, Fi Morris, Kathryn Bryce, Ellie Threlkeld, Liberty Heap

Manchester Originals Men: Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt, Paul Walter, Tom Hartley, Usama Mir (O), Wayne Madsen, Josh Tongue, Max Holden, Fred Klaassen, Mitchell Stanley

Northern Superchargers Women: Phoebe Litchfield (O), Georgia Wareham (O), Kate Cross, Bess Heath, Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Hollie Armitage, Marie Kelly

Northern Superchargers Men: Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, Reece Topley, Matthew Short (O), Brydon Carse, Adam Hose, Matthew Potts, Callum Parkinson, Ollie Robinson

Oval Invincibles Women: Marizanne Kapp (O), Alice Capsey, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Tash Farrant, Mady Villiers, Paige Schofield, Sophia Smale, Ryana MacDonald-Gay

Oval Invincibles Men: Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Adam Zampa (O), Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, Spencer Johnson (O), Nathan Sowter, Tawanda Muyeye

Southern Brave Women: Danni Wyatt, Chloe Tryon (O), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Mary Taylor

Southern Brave Men: Jofra Archer, James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Leus Du Plooy, Rehan Ahmed, Craig Overton, Finn Allen (O), George Garton, Alex Davies

Trent Rockets Women: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alana King (O), Bryony Smith, Kirstie Gordon, Alexa Stonehouse, Grace Potts

Trent Rockets Men: Joe Root, Rashid Khan (O), Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, John Turner, Sam Hain, Sam Cook

Welsh Fire Women: Hayley Matthews (O), Sophia Dunkley, Shabnim Ismail (O), Tammy Beaumont, Georgia Elwiss, Sarah Bryce, Freya Davies, Emily Windsor

Welsh Fire Men: Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Haris Rauf (O), Tom Abell, David Payne, Glenn Phillips, Luke Wells, Roelof Van der Merwe, Stephen Eskinazi, Chris Cook
 
Last edited by a moderator:
BouncerGuy said:
Franchises have announced the list of retained players for the next season of The Hundred League

Retained Players

Birmingham Phoenix Women: Sophie Devine (O), Ellyse Perry (O), Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Hannah Baker, Sterre Kalis, Charis Pavely

Birmingham Phoenix Men: Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Ben Duckett, Benny Howell, Adam Milne (O), Jamie Smith, Will Smeed, Tom Helm, Jacob Bethell

London Spirit Women: Heather Knight, Grace Harris (O), Danielle Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Georgia Redmayne (O), Sophie Munro, Tara Norris

London Spirit Men: Zak Crawley, Nathan Ellis (O), Dan Lawrence, Dan Worrall, Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington, Olly Stone, Matt Critchley, Daniel Bell-Drummond

Manchester Originals Women: Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt (O), Emma Lamb, Mahika Gaur, Fi Morris, Kathryn Bryce, Ellie Threlkeld, Liberty Heap

Manchester Originals Men: Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt, Paul Walter, Tom Hartley, Usama Mir (O), Wayne Madsen, Josh Tongue, Max Holden, Fred Klaassen, Mitchell Stanley

Northern Superchargers Women: Phoebe Litchfield (O), Georgia Wareham (O), Kate Cross, Bess Heath, Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Hollie Armitage, Marie Kelly

Northern Superchargers Men: Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, Reece Topley, Matthew Short (O), Brydon Carse, Adam Hose, Matthew Potts, Callum Parkinson, Ollie Robinson

Oval Invincibles Women: Marizanne Kapp (O), Alice Capsey, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Tash Farrant, Mady Villiers, Paige Schofield, Sophia Smale, Ryana MacDonald-Gay

Oval Invincibles Men: Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Adam Zampa (O), Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, Spencer Johnson (O), Nathan Sowter, Tawanda Muyeye

Southern Brave Women: Danni Wyatt, Chloe Tryon (O), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Mary Taylor

Southern Brave Men: Jofra Archer, James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Leus Du Plooy, Rehan Ahmed, Craig Overton, Finn Allen (O), George Garton, Alex Davies

Trent Rockets Women: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alana King (O), Bryony Smith, Kirstie Gordon, Alexa Stonehouse, Grace Potts

Trent Rockets Men: Joe Root, Rashid Khan (O), Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, John Turner, Sam Hain, Sam Cook

Welsh Fire Women: Hayley Matthews (O), Sophia Dunkley, Shabnim Ismail (O), Tammy Beaumont, Georgia Elwiss, Sarah Bryce, Freya Davies, Emily Windsor

Welsh Fire Men: Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Haris Rauf (O), Tom Abell, David Payne, Glenn Phillips, Luke Wells, Roelof Van der Merwe, Stephen Eskinazi, Chris Cook
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gwCin6d.jpg
 
I think The Hundred is a great concept that can usurp T20 cricket but it hasn’t be executed very well so far.

The Hundred can be to T20s what the 50 over ODIs were to 60 over ODIs.

60 over ODIs died out because if offered no advantage over the 50 over format. Similarly, T20 cricket has no advantage over The Hundred because the latter offers the same action-packed entertainment in a shorter period of time, but not as short as T10 cricket which will probably never take off because it is not long enough for a team sport with 11 players.

The Hundred has the potential to make T20s obsolete because T20 has no distinct advantage over this format.

The option of having a bowler bowl 10 consecutive balls is pretty great too. Imagine Australia needing 30 of the last 10 balls vs India and Bumrah is bowling those 10 balls to Glen Maxwell. Who wouldn’t watch that.

The format forces the captain to be tactical and less predictable because deciding who should bowl 10 balls and at what stages can be a major deciding factor especially in close encounters.

People always moan about innovations. It is human nature. T20 cricket was also not well-received by many when it first started in 2003/2004 and many thought it wouldn’t take off.

The next few years could be really interesting for The Hundred and one day, we might see it replace T20 cricket altogether just like 50 overs replaced 60 overs.
 
Mamoon said:
I think The Hundred is a great concept that can usurp T20 cricket but it hasn’t be executed very well so far.

The Hundred can be to T20s what the 50 over ODIs were to 60 over ODIs.

60 over ODIs died out because if offered no advantage over the 50 over format. Similarly, T20 cricket has no advantage over The Hundred because the latter offers the same action-packed entertainment in a shorter period of time, but not as short as T10 cricket which will probably never take off because it is not long enough for a team sport with 11 players.

The Hundred has the potential to make T20s obsolete because T20 has no distinct advantage over this format.

The option of having a bowler bowl 10 consecutive balls is pretty great too. Imagine Australia needing 30 of the last 10 balls vs India and Bumrah is bowling those 10 balls to Glen Maxwell. Who wouldn’t watch that.

The format forces the captain to be tactical and less predictable because deciding who should bowl 10 balls and at what stages can be a major deciding factor especially in close encounters.

People always moan about innovations. It is human nature. T20 cricket was also not well-received by many when it first started in 2003/2004 and many thought it wouldn’t take off.

The next few years could be really interesting for The Hundred and one day, we might see it replace T20 cricket altogether just like 50 overs replaced 60 overs.
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Hundred has zero potential. What difference does an extra 20 balls make to anybody’s life.

This format will die in 2 years.
 
gazza619 said:
Hundred has zero potential. What difference does an extra 20 balls make to anybody’s life.

This format will die in 2 years.
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The same question applies to T20 cricket as well. What advantage does T20 format has over The Hundred?

The Hundred is more catchy and the 10 over adds a unique twist that T20 format doesn’t offer.

If The Hundred dies in two years it will be cricket’s loss because it is a unique concept that has a lot of potential.
 
Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff will have first pick in The Hundred draft, taking his biggest step back into work since near-fatal Top Gear crash with head coach role at Northern Superchargers.

The 46-year-old was 'lucky to be alive' after his is open-topped three-wheel 130mph Morgan Super 3 car, which had no air bags, flipped over in December 2022, leaving him with severe facial injuries and several broken ribs.

It is a a major move for Flintoff following his near-fatal crash and he will be head coach of Northern Superchargers in the fourth year of the ECB’s 100-ball-a-side competition, after succeeding James Foster at Headingley and gets to kick-start the selection process by virtue of last season’s bottom-placed finish.

The legendary former all-rounder evidently enjoyed his move back into cricket with his work around the national side last year and there will be some familiar faces in his Northern Superchargers set up.

Daily Mail
 
Haris and usama are retained. PCB giving them the NOC for this league? Strange
 
Warner, Lanning, Mandhana and Williamson available in The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage

- England internationals and overseas star names available to sign in The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage
- The Hundred Draft to take place at The Shard on Wednesday 20 March, live-streamed from 5.30pm on thehundred.com, YouTube and TikTok.
- First game to be played on Tuesday 23 July with The Kia Oval hosting the opening double-header
- For more information and to sign up for priority ticket access visit thehundred.com

David Warner, Smriti Mandhana, Meg Lanning, Kane Williamson, Kieron Pollard and Beth Mooney are just some of the players available to sign in The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage.

There is also a host of English stars within the list, including Dawid Malan, Amy Jones, Ollie Pope, Lauren Filer and Jason Roy.

The Hundred Draft will take place at The Shard on Wednesday 20 March, live-streamed from 5.30pm on thehundred.com, YouTube and TikTok.

Ahead of the fourth year of the competition, there are 890 players from 22 countries up for grabs for the 16 men's and women's teams.

Each team will take it in turns to select domestic and overseas players to complete their squads. In the women's competition, Birmingham Phoenix will have the first pick. In the men's competition it will be Northern Superchargers, led by England legend Andrew Flintoff.

On Deadline Day 137 players were retained in total, which leaves 75 spots to be filled across both competitions at The Hundred Draft. A further 16 players, two per squad, will be added to both men's and women's teams via The Vitality Wildcard Draft before the competition starts.

England Men's World Cup winner Dawid Malan said: "I've really enjoyed playing in the competition across the last three years and I'm excited about getting the chance again this year. You look at the names involved, both those retained and those in list for the draft, and there's world class talent in The Hundred across both competitions."

Sri Lanka opening batter Chamari Athapaththu said: “I am really excited about being in The Hundred Draft. There are so many good players in this competition and I would really love to be a part of it. It has looked very fun over the last three years, with big crowds at big stadiums, and it would be very exciting to play in The Hundred this season.”

Other names available to sign in The Hundred Draft include:

India's Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh; New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell, Suzie Bates, Tim Southee and Rachin Ravindra; Australia's Ashleigh Gardner, Tim David, Matthew Wade and Annabel Sutherland; Pakistan's Shadab Khan and Fatima Sana.

West Indies' Nicholas Pooran, Deandra Dottin and Shamar Joseph; Ireland's Orla Prendergast and Paul Stirling; Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews; South Africa's Lizelle Lee and Lungi Ngidi, Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman; Bangladesh's Jahanara Alam and Shakib Al Hasan

A record 580,000 fans were in attendance across The Hundred last season, including over 300,000 in the women’s competition. The Hundred’s blend of high-quality sport and entertainment saw 41% of all tickets sold to families, 23% to juniors and 30% to women.

From 13-27 March there will be an exclusive window open to buy tickets for fans who have previously attended The Hundred. There will be a priority window open from 9-23 April for all fans who sign up in advance at thehundred.com. The general sale period begins from 25 April.

Tickets are once again great value, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 3-15 (free for under 3s) and adults starting from £11.

All games will again be live on Sky Sports and BBC broadcast and digital channels throughout the competition.

To stay up to date with the latest news, buy tickets or to sign up for priority access, visit thehundred.com or follow The Hundred, and the eight teams, on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
 
Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen sign up for The Hundred draft

Pakistan cricket stars, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, have been added as late entries to this year's men's Hundred draft list.

The draft is set for March 20 and these players are now eligible for selection by the eight teams participating in the draft.

Moreover, Babar, Rizwan, and Afridi have a reserve price of £100,000, while batter Saim Ayub has withdrawn from the draft. West Indies all-rounders Andre Russell and Jason Holder, along with seamer Alzarri Joseph, have adjusted their reserve price to £75,000.

Earlier this month, a total of 65 Pakistani cricketers, including 60 men and five women, registered for The Hundred Draft. Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah have set an impressive reserve price of £100,000, while Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed have a reserve price of £75,000. Other players like Mohammad Amir, Aamer Jamal, and Abdullah Shafique have set their base price at £60,000.

Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, and Imad Wasim have entered the draft with a reserve price of £50,000, while Mir Hamza, Mohammad Hasnain, and Azam Khan have a reserve price of £40,000. Additionally, 46 Pakistani players have registered for The Hundred without specifying a reserve price. This includes Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, and Asif Ali.

Furthermore, in the women's category, former Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof and current captain Harmanpreet Kaur of India have also been included in the draft list.

Iram Javed, Nida Dar, and Fatima Sana have registered with a reserve price of £17,500, while Aliya Riaz and Javeria Rauf have joined the draft without a reserve price.

Each player in the draft has a reserve price, which is the minimum amount a team can pay for them. The fourth edition of The Hundred is scheduled to begin on July 23.

SOURCE: The Express Tribune
 
The Hundred team squads for upcoming season

1710963598274.png
Men's picks: Birmingham Phoenix Men’s: Naseem Shah, Sean Abbott, James Fuller, Daniel Mousley

London Spirit Men’s: Andre Russell, Shimron Heymyer, Richard Gleeson, Ollie Pope, Michael Pepper

Manchester Original Men’s: Sikandar Raza, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Josh Hull

Northern Superchargers Men’s: Nicholas Pooran, Daniel Sams, Tom Lawes, Graham Clark

Oval Invincibles Men’s: Dawid Malan, Donovan Ferreira, Tom Lammonby

Southern Brave Men’s: Kieron Pollard, Laurie Evans, Akeal Hosein, Danny Briggs

Trent Rockets Men’s: Rovman Powell, Imad Wasim, Tom Banton, Calvin Harrison, Jordan Thompson, Adam Lyth

Welsh Fire Men’s: Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shaheen Afridi, Jake Ball
 
Imad Wasim was in the £50k category but was picked for £100k

Congratulations Imad
 
Rana said:
For who?
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Correction they signed for it but both remained unpicked.

=====
Babar and Rizwan were included as late entries to the list of players eligible for selection in this year's men's Hundred draft. However, only three players from Pakistan secured contracts during the draft.

Naseem Shah was picked by Birmingham Phoenix for the highest price of £125,000. Welsh Fire opted for Shaheen Shah Afridi, securing him for £100,000. Imad Wasim was selected by Trent Rockets for the same price.
 
Seriously pathetic to see our so called superstars sign for every single leaugue on planet earth. Do they ever play 4 day cricket in Pakistan?
 
Ironic how people assumed babar would fetch a high bid for psl but can't even get selected for the 100
 
Saya Corporation tried a sly one this time and entered Babar and Rizwan as last minute entrees into the draft, hoping maybe to surprise the franchise owners and snap them up.

Sorry guys, these two are crap T20 players. They should have set their base price to £50k, maybe then someone might have picked up one of the two
 
mominsaigol said:
@Mamoon

How does it feel that babar and rizzu went unsold and got overlooked for the 100 whereas imad waseem and naseem shah got selected?
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It tells me that The Hundred is run by clowns and this is why it will remain a flop venture.

As I have said before, The Hundred is a great concept on paper. If it run by competent people and not monkeys, it has the potential to kill T20 cricket.

The Hundred can do to T20s what the 50 over ODIs did to 60 over ODIs. T20 cricket have no competitive advantage or benefit over The Hundred.

I wrote few weeks back that The Hundred is not living up to its potential because it is being run extremely poorly and their selections show that they have not learned from their mistakes.
 
Mamoon said:
It tells me that The Hundred is run by clowns and this is why it will remain a flop venture.

As I have said before, The Hundred is a great concept on paper. If it run by competent people and not monkeys, it has the potential to kill T20 cricket.

The Hundred can do to T20s what the 50 over ODIs did to 60 over ODIs. T20 cricket have no competitive advantage or benefit over The Hundred.

I wrote few weeks back that The Hundred is not living up to its potential because it is being run extremely poorly and their selections show that they have not learned from their mistakes.
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But if Babar and Rizwan are picked, then it’s a brilliant venture?
 
Rana said:
But if Babar and Rizwan are picked, then it’s a brilliant venture?
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If Imad was a good bowler he wouldn’t be averaging 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides.

Such hypotheticals don’t mean much but yes, any competently run cricket league would sign up a world class player like Babar.
 
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Mamoon said:
It tells me that The Hundred is run by clowns and this is why it will remain a flop venture.

As I have said before, The Hundred is a great concept on paper. If it run by competent people and not monkeys, it has the potential to kill T20 cricket.

The Hundred can do to T20s what the 50 over ODIs did to 60 over ODIs. T20 cricket have no competitive advantage or benefit over The Hundred.

I wrote few weeks back that The Hundred is not living up to its potential because it is being run extremely poorly and their selections show that they have not learned from their mistakes.
Click to expand...
Maybe babar is not so desirable to bcci, or to international franchise leagues after all, and maybe he's not so world class either.
 
Mamoon said:
If Imad was a good bowler he wouldn’t be averaging 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides.

Such hypotheticals don’t mean much but yes, any competently run cricket league would sign up a world class player like Babar.
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Imad sold for £100k, he entered in the £50k bracket. Maybe it was Salman Iqbal who hired him in the hundred?
 
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Mamoon said:
It tells me that The Hundred is run by clowns and this is why it will remain a flop venture.

As I have said before, The Hundred is a great concept on paper. If it run by competent people and not monkeys, it has the potential to kill T20 cricket.

The Hundred can do to T20s what the 50 over ODIs did to 60 over ODIs. T20 cricket have no competitive advantage or benefit over The Hundred.

I wrote few weeks back that The Hundred is not living up to its potential because it is being run extremely poorly and their selections show that they have not learned from their mistakes.
Click to expand...

You’ve been left red faced again. 🤣

Learn to take the L with grace for once rather than being such a sore loser. You remind me of Klopp after his interview with that Danish dude during the weekend when they lost to Man U.

Your bum boy Babar belongs to the Ramadhan Cup.
 
Mamoon said:
I wrote few weeks back that The Hundred is not living up to its potential because it is being run extremely poorly and their selections show that they have not learned from their mistakes.
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This is just cap.

Babar was also ignored last year by the franchises participating in The Hundred. Truth be told, you wouldn’t have come up with this post if he was signed then and actually playing.

When it comes to T20s, we all know English coaches are ahead of everyone else. They set the blueprint on how T20 cricket should be played.

The fact that Babar is not even worthy of signing speaks volumes about what his worth is in the shortest format.

The idea of playing accumulators in the England team is no longer a consideration. It is for this reason why Joe Root is no longer a regular in T20Is. Pakistan should follow suit if Babar fails like he did during the last WT20 tournament where he was batting at less than run a ball and averaging less than 20.
 
topspin said:
You’ve been left red faced again. 🤣

Learn to take the L with grace for once rather than being such a sore loser. You remind me of Klopp after his interview with that Danish dude during the weekend when they lost to Man U.

Your bum boy Babar belongs to the Ramadhan Cup.
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No bro, Babar is a world class batsmen, he was excluded from the 100 because of his class. 😂.
 
topspin said:
This is just cap.

Babar was also ignored last year by the franchises participating in The Hundred. Truth be told, you wouldn’t have come up with this post if he was signed then and actually playing.

When it comes to T20s, we all know English coaches are ahead of everyone else. They set the blueprint on how T20 cricket should be played.

The fact that Babar is not even worthy of signing speaks volumes about what his worth is in the shortest format.

The idea of playing accumulators in the England team is no longer a consideration. It is for this reason why Joe Root is no longer a regular in T20Is. Pakistan should follow suit if Babar fails like he did during the last WT20 tournament where he was batting at less than run a ball and averaging less than 20.
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The real reason why Babar wasn't selected was because England players do not like accumulators.

Naseem is being selected for his economy and inad for his allround capabilities in bowling, and batting as well as his recent form.

England players view Babar azam as a joke. The truth is every country has atleast 2 players superior to Mr no 1.

South Africa has quinton and makram, Australia have Travis head and maxwell, NZ have daily Mitchell, rachin ravindra, kane Williamson, India have Gill, kohli, rohit, and even sheryas tbh, list goes on and on.

A WORLD CLASS BATSMEN, should be in the upper patheon on the world, not have have entire teams with entire strings of players being superior to the supposed world class bat.

Rachin ravidra is much younger then babar and he's already shown why he's world class, previously rachin was viewed as a trash player but as soon as he got his opportunity, he showed why he's clearly a better top order bat then babar ever will be.

If babar batted for years at no 6 or 7 like rachin did babar wouldn't even average 20, rachin still averaged 32 for years in that position before becoming an opening superstar for NZ.
 
BTW
mominsaigol said:
The real reason why Babar wasn't selected was because England players do not like accumulators.

Naseem is being selected for his economy and inad for his allround capabilities in bowling, and batting as well as his recent form.

England players view Babar azam as a joke. The truth is every country has atleast 2 players superior to Mr no 1.

South Africa has quinton and makram, Australia have Travis head and maxwell, NZ have daily Mitchell, rachin ravindra, kane Williamson, India have Gill, kohli, rohit, and even sheryas tbh, list goes on and on.

A WORLD CLASS BATSMEN, should be in the upper patheon on the world, not have have entire teams with entire strings of players being superior to the supposed world class bat.

Rachin ravidra is much younger then babar and he's already shown why he's world class, previously rachin was viewed as a trash player but as soon as he got his opportunity, he showed why he's clearly a better top order bat then babar ever will be.

If babar batted for years at no 6 or 7 like rachin did babar wouldn't even average 20, rachin still averaged 32 for years in that position before becoming an opening superstar for NZ.
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BTW if any of these players like Glenn Philips, sanju Sampson etc were given long hauls at no 3, they'd also be superior to babar by miles.

It's just that these players know full well that superior players to them occupy the crease at no 3 and These teams aren't like Pakistan where you can go to the media and say I am not happy batting at no 5.
 
mominsaigol said:
The real reason why Babar wasn't selected was because England players do not like accumulators.
Click to expand...

England and Australia have moved past accumulators over the last few years. Joe Root and Steve Smith no longer make the first XI.

Only reason why Williamson plays is because he’s a specialist captan.

mominsaigol said:
Naseem is being selected for his economy and inad for his allround capabilities in bowling, and batting as well as his recent form.

England players view Babar azam as a joke. The truth is every country has atleast 2 players superior to Mr no 1.

South Africa has quinton and makram, Australia have Travis head and maxwell, NZ have daily Mitchell, rachin ravindra, kane Williamson, India have Gill, kohli, rohit, and even sheryas tbh, list goes on and on.

A WORLD CLASS BATSMEN, should be in the upper patheon on the world, not have have entire teams with entire strings of players being superior to the supposed world class bat.

Rachin ravidra is much younger then babar and he's already shown why he's world class, previously rachin was viewed as a trash player but as soon as he got his opportunity, he showed why he's clearly a better top order bat then babar ever will be.

If babar batted for years at no 6 or 7 like rachin did babar wouldn't even average 20, rachin still averaged 32 for years in that position before becoming an opening superstar for NZ.
Click to expand...

Indeed, Rachin is what you a call a world class player. Babar is a nobody compared to him.
 
topspin said:
England and Australia have moved past accumulators over the last few years. Joe Root and Steve Smith no longer make the first XI.

Only reason why Williamson plays is because he’s a specialist captan.



Indeed, Rachin is what you a call a world class player. Babar is a nobody compared to him.
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BTW it'd extremely easy to even counter the 2019 NZ innings. I give babar credit for it, since it was a difficult pitch and had he gotten out we'd have probs collapsed and lost, however people overhyped that one innings as it was the similar to what quinton did in the wc lol.

The truth is the target was around 240 round about, we were only 4 wickets down, haris sohail played at o whereas Bobby made 101 of a whopping 127 deliveries.

Despite being 4 wickets down only we only chased this low total in the last over.

This innings isn't world class by any means, its a good innings but all it shows is that this was babar's best anchor innings he ever did, the whole excuse it was a difficult pitch and he had to steer it through falls flat when haris sohail was striking at a healthy 90 sr whereas babar didn't even maintain an 80 sr.
 
mominsaigol said:
BTW it'd extremely easy to even counter the 2019 NZ innings. I give babar credit for it, since it was a difficult pitch and had he gotten out we'd have probs collapsed and lost, however people overhyped that one innings as it was the similar to what quinton did in the wc lol.

The truth is the target was around 240 round about, we were only 4 wickets down, haris sohail played at o whereas Bobby made 101 of a whopping 127 deliveries.

Despite being 4 wickets down only we only chased this low total in the last over.

This innings isn't world class by any means, its a good innings but all it shows is that this was babar's best anchor innings he ever did, the whole excuse it was a difficult pitch and he had to steer it through falls flat when haris sohail was striking at a healthy 90 sr whereas babar didn't even maintain an 80 sr.
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Spot on.

You have to laugh at deluded Babar fans when asked, what are his best performances? All they can throw up is this innings.

It was just a good innings. It wasn’t special. 8/10 performance.

Haris Sohail’s knock was worthy of a 9/10 because he was the one who single handedly dismantled NZ bowlers. Would have been a perfect innings if he was unbeaten at the end. But when he was out the match was already sealed.

Chances are Babar would have choked if the run chase was 260+.
 
topspin said:
Spot on.

You have to laugh at deluded Babar fans when asked, what are his best performances? All they can throw up is this innings.

It was just a good innings. It wasn’t special. 8/10 performance.

Haris Sohail’s knock was worthy of a 9/10 because he was the one who single handedly dismantled NZ bowlers.

Chances are Babar would have choked if the run chase was 260+.
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Babar would have chocked if haris striked at 78 sr as well lol
 
David Warner has also missed out means he is not a good enough player as well? This is just a league and there is no shame if you are not playing it. THE HUNDRED is not a standard else David warner should be a nobody as well like babar and riz.
 
Trent Rockets look a well rounded side this time.

I'm going to catch a few live games this year maybe Birmingham V Welsh Fire or Trent Rockets to see a few Pakistani lads in action.

It's a gimmicky format, still takes me time to understand how they display the score on the TV but they have nailed the in stadium experience.
 
Slim said:
Babar and Rizwan shown their aukat. One of them imo Rizwan definitely needs to be dropped from the international team.
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Many have been shown their auqat such as Pollard, Russell, Tim David, Jason Roy, Mark Wood. I think even Rachin Ravindra if I'm not mistaken
 
daytrader said:
Many have been shown their auqat such as Pollard, Russell, Tim David, Jason Roy, Mark Wood. I think even Rachin Ravindra if I'm not mistaken
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Coping mechanism for Babar and Rizwan fans who claim they are the best because they are top 3 ranked in the world.

Pollard is 50 years old
Roy is no longer the young Sharpshooter he wa was
Russell was picked
Tim David most likely wasn’t fully available
Maybe ECB are looking to keep Wood out of the competition purposely to make sure he stays fit
Ravindra most likely isn’t fully available
 
topspin said:
This is just cap.

Babar was also ignored last year by the franchises participating in The Hundred. Truth be told, you wouldn’t have come up with this post if he was signed then and actually playing.
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Yes of course. If the people running The Hundred were doing a good job I would be praising them. Why do people have a problem with this?

I don’t have a personal problem with them. I don’t have a horse in this race and I don’t have an axe to grind. I’m reacting to their decision making and as things stand, their decision making is awful.
topspin said:
When it comes to T20s, we all know English coaches are ahead of everyone else. They set the blueprint on how T20 cricket should be played.

The fact that Babar is not even worthy of signing speaks volumes about what his worth is in the shortest format.

The idea of playing accumulators in the England team is no longer a consideration. It is for this reason why Joe Root is no longer a regular in T20Is. Pakistan should follow suit if Babar fails like he did during the last WT20 tournament where he was batting at less than run a ball and averaging less than 20.
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It is not 2018 anymore. Babar has long surpassed the likes of Root, Smith and Williamson in Limited Overs.
 
Rana said:
Coping mechanism for Babar and Rizwan fans who claim they are the best because they are top 3 ranked in the world.
Click to expand...
I don’t think any one is still saying Babar and Rizwan are the best in the world. Mainly, the discussion has been comparing them to other Pakistani batsmen.
 
topspin said:
You’ve been left red faced again. 🤣

Learn to take the L with grace for once rather than being such a sore loser. You remind me of Klopp after his interview with that Danish dude during the weekend when they lost to Man U.

Your bum boy Babar belongs to the Ramadhan Cup.
Click to expand...
I would argue that this is an L for The Hundred and not Babar because they need players like Babar bring their flop tournament some relevance and recognition while Babar doesn’t need this competition because he already has a lot of money, fame, respect and recognition.

Nobody cares about the Hundred but signing the most popular player from the second biggest fan base in cricket would be a good starting point to bring more relevance and eyeballs to the tournament.

But we have to understand that English cricket come up with good initiatives but they haven’t got the chops to make it successful and run with it.

They started cricket but they needed Australia to make it successful.

They started T20 cricket formally but they needed other countries, especially India, to get on the train and make it the giant that it is today.

They started Bazball approach in Test cricket and they have made an absolute meal of it and perhaps they need India or Australia to teach them how to adopt this approach successfully.

They also done well to come up with The Hundred concept and as I have wrote before, I believe this is a fascinating concept that - if run properly - can seriously threaten T20 cricket.

But perhaps like always, English cricket needs others to show them how to do it. The Hundred would take off if India thinks it is a worthwhile concept. An IPL Hundred would be amazing to watch.

Who wouldn’t want to watch RCB needing 25 runs in 9 balls vs MI and Bumrah can bowl all 9 deliveries with Kohli on the crease. That is box office cricket right there, not John Turner bowling to Sam Billings.
 
mominsaigol said:
The real reason why Babar wasn't selected was because England players do not like accumulators.

Naseem is being selected for his economy and inad for his allround capabilities in bowling, and batting as well as his recent form.

England players view Babar azam as a joke. The truth is every country has atleast 2 players superior to Mr no 1.

South Africa has quinton and makram, Australia have Travis head and maxwell, NZ have daily Mitchell, rachin ravindra, kane Williamson, India have Gill, kohli, rohit, and even sheryas tbh, list goes on and on.

A WORLD CLASS BATSMEN, should be in the upper patheon on the world, not have have entire teams with entire strings of players being superior to the supposed world class bat.

Rachin ravidra is much younger then babar and he's already shown why he's world class, previously rachin was viewed as a trash player but as soon as he got his opportunity, he showed why he's clearly a better top order bat then babar ever will be.

If babar batted for years at no 6 or 7 like rachin did babar wouldn't even average 20, rachin still averaged 32 for years in that position before becoming an opening superstar for NZ.
Click to expand...
England views Babar as a joke but Gray-Nicolls, England largest cricket manufacturer, pays money to Babar to use their equipment.
 
Mamoon said:
England views Babar as a joke but Gray-Nicolls, England largest cricket manufacturer, pays money to Babar to use their equipment.

Do you even read the drivel that comes out of your keyboard.
Click to expand...
They pay Shan Masood and Rizwan too
 
Rana said:
They pay Shan Masood and Rizwan too
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Shan Masood is a successful player and captain in the low quality second division of County Cricket. He is being paid just like the hundreds of local English players who will never play Test cricket.

Shan Masood has value to English cricket, but the narrative that I have been put forward is that apparently, England couldn’t care less about Babar but it doesn’t add up when their largest manufacturer is paying Babar to use their equipment.
 
Looks like the IPL will have it's hands in The Hundred as well. There seems to be a good amount of interest from several teams for the Lord's franchise.
 
ECB opens process to secure private investment into The Hundred

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has opened the process to secure private investment into the eight teams in The Hundred.

The initial announcement of the process sparked global interest from a variety of investors for the annual short-format competition that is held across some of cricket’s most iconic venues.

Since the inaugural season four years ago, The Hundred has delivered on its ambition to attract new fans to cricket. More than two million people have now attended The Hundred, including over one million attending the women’s competition.

The Hundred has also drawn significant revenue into the game, showcased some of white-ball cricket’s best global men’s and women’s players and provided a platform for emerging talent to launch their international careers.

With the competition now thriving, incoming investors will act as strategic partners for its future success, bringing best-in-class knowledge and expertise to grow the popularity of The Hundred with fans and players around the world.

Over the coming months, the ECB will work collaboratively with the host County Cricket Clubs to assess the suitability of prospective partners, their values and their ambitions for the team of interest, as well as the wider competition.

Announcements of investment into The Hundred are expected to be made in 2025.

The proceeds from the sale will be shared across the recreational and professional game, securing its long-term financial sustainability across England and Wales and upholding the growth of women’s cricket and the grassroots game.

The ECB is being advised by co-lead financial advisers Deloitte and the Raine Group to ensure prospective bids fulfil the ECB’s ambitions for funds raised through the sale process to underpin the long-term growth of the recreational and domestic professional game. Latham & Watkins and Onside Law LLP have also been engaged as legal co-counsels.

ECB Director of Business Operations Vikram Banerjee, who is leading the process on behalf of ECB and the wider game, said:

“Since announcing our intent to launch this process, we’ve received a phenomenal level of interest from a diverse mix of investors globally. Our priority over the coming months will be to select partners that share our passion and vision for the future of The Hundred, with expertise to take the competition to the next level. Whether that's through creating unforgettable matchday events, engaging new fans, enhancing international awareness of the competition, or other areas.

“This marks the most significant private investment opportunity in the history of cricket in our country and there’s never been a better moment for partners to engage with our sport. Cricket’s global appeal continues to soar and in England and Wales we’ve seen engagement with the sport hit record levels. We are excited about the future of The Hundred and the opportunity we have to build an iconic competition for players and fans, while underpinning the long-term growth of the domestic game.”
 

Lalit Modi pours scorn on 'overambitious' Hundred in leaked financial projections​


Lalit Modi, the founder and architect of the Indian Premier League, has accused the ECB of being "disconnected from reality" in their ambitions for the Hundred, after leaking the board's confidential financial projections for the tournament, and its valuations of each of the eight teams.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Modi published details from the prospectus that the ECB's financial advisors, Raine Group and Deloitte, has sent out (under NDA) to its potential investors, alongside a lengthy post in which he dismissed their calculations as "dangerously overambitious and unsustainable".

Modi's intervention is an awkward setback in the ECB's bid to secure private investment for their tournament, and comes after Vikram Banerjee, the board's director of business operations, admitted earlier this week that they could be forced to delay the Hundred's equity sale beyond 2025 if the right investors cannot be secured in time for next summer's competition.

As recently as February, Modi himself was reportedly an interested party, telling The Telegraph that he had valued the Hundred at US$1 billion over a ten-year period, and that he had private investors ready to get behind an expanded ten-team tournament. However, his informal offer is believed to have been turned down by the ECB who did not want to sell the competition outright.

Now, however, Modi has poured scorn on the tournament's viability. Though he accepts it is "plausible" that the ECB's domestic TV rights will rise in value as projected, from £54 million to £85 million annually, he issued a withering assessment of the Hundred's place in the international market, where it faces particular competition from rival Northern Hemisphere tournaments such as the Caribbean Premier League and Major League Cricket in the USA.

"The ECB's financial projections for The Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear overly optimistic and disconnected from reality," he wrote. "The International TV rights figures make little sense, given the global competition from other cricket leagues like the IPL. It's unlikely The Hundred will attract the necessary international audience to justify these inflated numbers."

The ECB is understood to have anticipated some pushback against its figures, with potential investors inevitably seeking a favourable deal, and point to Modi's prior interest in the tournament as proof of concept.

Nevertheless, his criticism is significant, because it was Modi's establishment of the IPL in 2008 that unleashed the full potential of T20 cricket in the first place, a format that the ECB themselves devised in 2002, but failed to adequately market - an oversight that played a role in the board settling on 100-ball cricket as its new point of difference.

Fifteen years later, the IPL's media rights for 2023 to 2027 were secured for a record US$6.2 billion, cementing it as the world's second-most valuable sports league on a per-game basis, behind only NFL. And, as Modi wrote in his post on X, each of the teams involved "are valued at US$1 billion based on 16 years of performance".

"By contrast, as per my analysis, The Hundred's teams are projected to be worth a mere £5 million to £25 million in the best-case scenario in my MOST CONSIDERED #VIEW, with Manchester maxing out at £8.5 million," he added.

"Worse still, The Hundred struggles to match even the Caribbean Premier League's profitability, a sobering indication of its financial frailty. The Hundred appears to be on shaky financial ground, with projections that fail to inspire confidence in its long-term viability as these look dangerously overambitious and unsustainable."

www.espncricinfo.com

Lalit Modi pours scorn on 'overambitious' Hundred in leaked financial projections

IPL founder dismisses projected value of competition and eight teams in post on X/Twitter
www.espncricinfo.com www.espncricinfo.com
 
MCC members have overwhelmingly voted to accept the ECB's gift of a 51% stake in the Lord's 100 team, London Spirit, following a Special General Meeting (SGM).
 
Michael Klinger named Manchester Originals women’s Head Coach

Michael Klinger has been appointed Manchester Originals women’s Head Coach on a one-year contract for the 2025 competition.

The 44-year-old former Australian international - currently also Head Coach of Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Indian Premier League – takes over from Stephen Parry after two years in charge.

Klinger is an experienced coach in franchise cricket, having previously worked as Head Coach of Melbourne Renegades in the men's Big Bash League from 2019 to 2021 and has been Assistant Coach at Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League since 2023.

The former Australian batter – who spent seven seasons as a player at Gloucestershire CCC and supported the club with strategy and batting coaching in his final years of the T20 Blast – also works as General Manager of Cricket at Washington Freedom, who won the most recent edition of the Major League Cricket in USA.

New Manchester Originals women’s Head Coach, Michael Klinger, said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me, and I am eagerly looking forward to arriving at Emirates Old Trafford next summer.

“The Originals women have an extremely talented group of players, and we will have the opportunity to add to that with the squad retentions and draft coming up early next year.

“I hope that I can help the team to push on, achieve our ambitions and bring success to Manchester in The Hundred women’s competition.”

James Sheridan, Manchester Originals Chair, also commented: “We are delighted to bring one of the world’s leading franchise cricket coaches to the group as part of our ambition to provide our fans with the very best cricket stars and sporting entertainment in Manchester every August.

“Michael was the outstanding candidate throughout the process – led by Mark Chilton - and will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, across both women’s and men’s cricket, with him to Manchester Originals next summer.

“This appointment marks the start of a new era for the team, and we are extremely excited by what this group of players can achieve under Michael’s leadership.”
 
Salaries to rise in The Hundred in 2025

The salary pot in The Hundred will increase by 25 per cent in 2025.

All salary bands across the men’s and women’s competitions have increased from 2024 to 2025.

From next season, players in the top bracket in The Hundred men’s competition will earn £200,000. In The Hundred women’s competition, players in the top bracket will earn £65,000.

For the 2024 season, salaries in the men’s competition remained in line with 2023 figures, salaries in the women’s competition received an £800,000 boost.

Director of Major Events, Rob Hillman, said: “It’s imperative in the current landscape of global cricket that we keep moving forward and keep reviewing our offer to the world’s top players.

“We want the best players participating in The Hundred to keep entertaining the millions of fans who’ve come through the doors in the four years of the competition, particularly families, young people and fans who are new to the game.

“I’m glad in the men’s competition we’ve been able to boost our top earners to £200,000, while to be at £65,000 for our top earners in the women’s competition is another step forward. That we are now offering four times what we were able to offer in the first year of the women’s competition is telling of the game’s continued growth, and clearly not the end of our journey.

“We’re really excited about where The Hundred goes next, conversations with potential investors continue to be incredibly positive, and we’re committed to continue delivering a world class competition that excites fans across the globe.”
 
BouncerGuy said:
Salaries to rise in The Hundred in 2025

The salary pot in The Hundred will increase by 25 per cent in 2025.

All salary bands across the men’s and women’s competitions have increased from 2024 to 2025.

From next season, players in the top bracket in The Hundred men’s competition will earn £200,000. In The Hundred women’s competition, players in the top bracket will earn £65,000.

For the 2024 season, salaries in the men’s competition remained in line with 2023 figures, salaries in the women’s competition received an £800,000 boost.

Director of Major Events, Rob Hillman, said: “It’s imperative in the current landscape of global cricket that we keep moving forward and keep reviewing our offer to the world’s top players.

“We want the best players participating in The Hundred to keep entertaining the millions of fans who’ve come through the doors in the four years of the competition, particularly families, young people and fans who are new to the game.

“I’m glad in the men’s competition we’ve been able to boost our top earners to £200,000, while to be at £65,000 for our top earners in the women’s competition is another step forward. That we are now offering four times what we were able to offer in the first year of the women’s competition is telling of the game’s continued growth, and clearly not the end of our journey.

“We’re really excited about where The Hundred goes next, conversations with potential investors continue to be incredibly positive, and we’re committed to continue delivering a world class competition that excites fans across the globe.”
Click to expand...

PCA responds to 'disproportionate' Hundred salaries

The PCA has responded following the change to The Hundred salary bands for the 2025 season, citing a further lack of consultation with the ECB over ‘disproportionate’ increases.

With the ECB announcing 25 per cent increases in The Hundred salary pot for 2025, 81 per cent of this will be shared by the top four players in each squad across the men’s and women’s competition, with 176 players seeing negligible change from the initial structure agreed in 2020.

PCA Interim Chief Executive, Daryl Mitchell, said:

“The PCA and current players are extremely concerned at the disproportionate salary bands for The Hundred which will see very few men’s professional cricketers in England and Wales benefit while the gap between the highest paid men’s and women’s players has widened.

“An increase in the overall salary pot should, if managed correctly, be a success story in the next stage of growth for the competition and the players’ desire to feature in the competition. However, due to a severe lack of communication and consultation, there is a feeling there has been a lack of respect to the players who have been incredibly supportive in growing the competition.

“The ECB attended the PCA Summit with players in October and presented their vision for player renumeration for 2025 onwards for men and women. Unfortunately, what was presented to the players and the subsequent conversations that followed has changed significantly. There is a huge discrepancy between the increases in the top two bands, compared to the majority of positions available, especially in the men’s game.

“It is clear, the intention is to attract overseas players in the top salary bands, meaning home grown players will see little benefit from an increase.

“We have had a strong working relationship with the ECB on player matters for a significant period of time and there has been a feeling of genuine collaboration. However, this has not been the case in the last few weeks, including the lack of player consultation and clarity on the NOC Policy.

“The players views need to be central to the game’s decision making and the PCA looks forward to revisiting communication streams and negotiations for the future benefit of professional cricketers in England and Wales.”
 

ECB chief provides update on sale of Hundred teams after ‘global interest’​


The England and Wales Cricket Board is increasingly confident of selling lucrative stakes in all eight Hundred teams - harnessing money it believes will safeguard the county game for the next quarter of a century.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirmed that a long list of more than 100 potential investors had been trimmed to a “much smaller” number as the process moved towards the end of its penultimate phase.

The remaining bidders, including IPL franchise owners, American business groups and others from domestic and global markets, are vying for a 49 per cent share in their chosen side.

All eight teams have attracted serious offers, with most interested parties putting their names forward for more than one. Discussions are now under way to find the right pairings and Gould believes there could soon be a cash windfall which secures the governing body’s ambition of underwriting the sport’s long-term future.

“Over the last week or so, the second round bids have been coming in. We’ve got global interest from most of the best sports investors you would expect to see,” said Gould.

“My hope is that this will recapitalise the county game for the next 20-25 years, if that money is used really well. We have multiple bids in for every club, as you’d expect, and there are some investors - probably a majority - that have put in multiple bids as well.

“We’re not counting our chickens yet but the aim of this is to raise significant investment that is going to go into the game. If we hadn’t met our internal targets we wouldn’t have proceeded. We can now proceed at pace and with some confidence.”

A successful sale in the new year could lead to wage inflation in future editions, in turn easing the some of the mounting tensions between the ECB and its players.

Some have reportedly discussed boycotting next summer’s Hundred due to a proposed tightening of rules around participation in overseas tournaments - effectively banning players with red-ball deals accepting non-IPL franchise deals that clash with the English season.

Meanwhile, a newly-announced salary review in the Hundred has been criticised by the Professional Cricketers’ Association for showing a “lack of respect” to its members. Although the overall pay pot is set to increase by 25 per cent in 2025, those in the very top bandings (including overseas stars) will scoop a disproportionate amount of the uplift.

Asked about the potential for strike action by disaffected county pros, Gould said: “That may have been discussed on a call with with a variety of representatives, but I’ve heard nothing in that regard and and I sincerely hope that’s that’s not the case.

“Certainly there are a small section of players that are not happy and I think they’ve made their their feelings well known to the PCA. It’s certainly not what I want to hear.

“Sometimes the language can be relatively inflamed in these matters because you’re dealing with quite high emotions at times. Our job as the ECB is to try and keep everything in the best balance possible. It’s a complicated ecosystem.”

www.independent.co.uk

ECB chief provides update on sale of Hundred teams after ‘global interest’

Richard Gould also defended pay rises for top players in the competition after criticism from the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA)
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
We need to defend our game - ECB chief Gould

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has to "defend our game", its chief executive Richard Gould has said following criticism from the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

The governing body and the players' union have been at odds over new rules surrounding participation in overseas leagues and salary increases in The Hundred.

On Thursday, PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell said there has been a "lack of communication and consultation" and a "lack of respect to the players".

Gould told BBC Sport: "Our responsibility is for a very wide pool of players. Some of the comments will come from a very small part of any membership. We need to listen to them – and we will – but we also need to balance them up to the needs of the game.

"We need to defend our game. We need to take it forward and there will be times it takes precedence over the priorities of an individual."

On Thursday it was announced the highest pay band in the men's Hundred will increase from £125,000 to £200,000 for the 2025 season, in the hope of attracting more of the world's best players.

However, increases at the lower end of the pay scale are much smaller. The lowest bracket has increased £1,000 from £30,000 to £31,000.

This has led to accusations that the cash boost – up by a total of 25% on last season – is only benefiting the marquee players, often from overseas, rather than those within the domestic game.

Gould said these increases are an "interim position" before new investment arrives from the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred teams.

"I understand the criticism because there will be a number of players, particularly in the men's side, that were hoping for bigger increases," he said.

"For the higher price bands for the men's game we have put more money into that because in the last few years we haven't seen enough of the top 50 male players in the world. We want to see more of them. Therefore we need to be paying more. We've taken that money and focused it in that area."

The new highest women's salary is £65,000, another incremental increase from the £15,000 when The Hundred began in 2021.

In 2023 the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket recommended equal salaries in The Hundred by 2025. Rather than the gap between men and women closing, it has widened.

"The gap has got bigger because of market dynamics," said Gould. "That wasn't a recommendation we said we could deliver on and we have been very up front on that."

Players' frustrations over Hundred salaries come on the back of disquiet surrounding new regulations governing no-objection certificates (NOC).

A player requires an NOC from the ECB in order to play in an overseas league.

As part of the changes the ECB intends to implement for 2025, no player with a contract to play red-ball cricket for their county will be granted an NOC during the English season, except to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

This seems set to rule out the Pakistan Super League, which is scheduled to clash with the IPL and early part of the English summer.

A player with a white-ball-only contract can still be granted an NOC. There is confusion over players who are usually white-ball-only yet still have provision in their contracts to play first-class cricket. Gould said these will be taken on a case-by-case basis.

"We need to protect our summer," said Gould. "When we have players under contract we want to encourage them to remain and play in our competitions. If they chose to become a complete freelancer, that's absolutely fine.

"We don't want to be issuing no-objection certificates for people to play in tournaments when we've got great tournaments for them to play in."

Gould also said he expects stakes in all eight Hundred teams to be sold, with "multiple parties" interested in each franchise.

On the Champions Trophy, which is in limbo after India refused to travel to host nation Pakistan, Gould expects the competition to take place in February as scheduled.

"Location is the one that is still being worked through," he said. "Quite sensibly, both Pakistan and India will be given a bit of time and space to work through those options.

"The value of Pakistan and India in global events is enormous and we want to make sure they're playing."


www.bbc.com

ECB chief wants to 'defend our game' after PCA criticism of Hundred salaries and overseas league rules

The England and Wales Cricket Board must "defend our game", says chief executive Richard Gould after criticism from the players' union.
www.bbc.com
 

Justin Langer appointed London Spirit men's head coach​


Justin Langer has today been appointed as the new Head Coach of the London Spirit men’s team.

Following the announcement last month that Trevor Bayliss would be leaving the role after three years at the helm, London Spirit have appointed Langer who was the standout candidate from the impressive list of applications received for the position.

Langer, an opening batter who played over 100 Tests for Australia in one of the great sides of the modern era, was Head Coach of the men’s team from 2018 until 2022 and led the side to retain the Ashes in a memorable series in England in 2019. Australia won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup under his guidance in 2021, before going on to defeat England in the Ashes on home soil.

He has previously coached Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash and is currently the Head Coach of Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League.

Langer has a strong affinity with Lord’s, having played for Middlesex as an overseas player between 1998 and 2000. He also became an Honorary Life Member of MCC in 2015.

London Spirit General Manager Fraser Stewart said:​

"We are delighted to have secured the services of a highly respected and talented coach in Justin Langer. He excelled in the interview process, which took place before Christmas, and came out on top in what was a hugely competitive field.

"Justin has a real passion for the aims and objectives that we have for the team, in seeing London Spirit competing at the right end of table, and for The Hundred title. He has an impressive CV in coaching and we are thrilled to have him on board."

Langer said:​

"I’m thrilled to be appointed to this role with London Spirit, and I’m excited to experience The Hundred. I’m looking forward to being a part of the tournament later this year, and working with such a talented group of players and coaches."

www.thehundred.com

Justin Langer appointed London Spirit men's head coach

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