Zero to The Hundred

As cricket prepares to undergo arguably its greatest revolution yet, I

assess what The Hundred means for the future of the sport through the eyes of

one of its most proven performers – 29-year-old England and homegrown

Yorkshire batter, Lauren Winfield

It’s safe to say that cricket as a sport is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance. Ben

Stokes’ World Cup winning heroics, that same man’s blitz of boundaries in the

Ashes to save the series for England, Jofra Archer’s exhilarating innings which

made mincemeat of ill-famed Aussie Steve Smith – last summer was a flurry of

heart-racing brilliance which reignited lapsed fans’ love of the game and

commanded the attention of those outside it.

Consequently, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have pledged to bring

cricket to the masses. In April 2018, they announced the creation of a brand new

100-ball format, in which there will be 15 usual six-ball overs and a final 10-ball

over all in to reduce the length of the game and promote a faster-paced, action-

packed style of play. In doing so, it is tipped to attract a wider audience and

spread the sport beyond its usual tit-for-tat, stereotypically sluggish enclaves –

thus begging the question: was last summer’s excitement a taste of what’s to

come?

Running from 17th July to 15th August 2020, The Hundred is a new annual

competition that will showcase 100-ball cricket for the very first time. It will see

some of the world’s finest players compete in eight, brand new men’s and

women’s city-based teams from Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff,

Southampton, London and Leeds, at some of the most coveted cricket grounds in

the UK. But despite the prospect of bringing some much-needed change to a sport

that has been known to romanticise the past and fear the future, many worry The

Hundred will kill traditional county and test match cricket and taint the age-old

sport with a commercialised, profit-driven brush.

But, Lauren Winfield, captain of The Hundred’s Leeds-based Northern

Superchargers women’s team, is refusing to be bowled over by these claims. ‘It’s

a classic case of British culture, we just don’t like change,’ she suggests. Having

played for Yorkshire since the age of 10 and representing her country for seven

years, the York-born batter has experienced the ups and downs of the game, and

believes its recent stagnation means we should be welcoming the new format with

open arms.

‘You can’t hide from the fact that in recent years, there’s been a real struggle to

get quality cricket in England,’ Lauren argues. ‘Cricket has never experienced any

radical changes, so I think people are starting to get bored with it. Formats like

T20 Blast have tried to make it more exciting, but The Hundred is offering

something different.

It’s going to showcase the best players in the world, playing in a fast-paced and more aggressive style for a solid five weeks. It doesn’t get much better than that.’

After trialling two games of 100-ball cricket last summer, Lauren and her England

teammates were sold on the format. But the ECB knew that as well as winning

over the players, they had to convince, perhaps more importantly, the fans. The

following October, the board made history by hosting the UK’s first ever player

draft – a much-hyped staple of American sports, involving head coaches

announcing their squad in a round-by-round format. This saw a plethora of high-

profile stars being picked, from world-renowned batsman Jos Butler for the

Manchester Originals, to man-of-the-moment Ben Stokes for the Northern

Superchargers.

The calibre of such players garnered attention from across the world, which is why

Lauren believes The Hundred will be a gamble worth taking – especially because

of where it’s being contested. The Northern Superchargers men’s and women’s

teams will each play games at Emerald Headingly Stadium in Leeds and York

Cricket Club in York during the competition, which has particular resonance for the

Stamford Bridge girl.

‘I love where I’m from, so to bring this level of cricket to my own backyard will be

very special.’ Growing up in the small village of Stamford Bridge, with a bat in

hand, Lauren was forced to play boys’ and mens’ cricket as there were no girls’

teams in the area. This sparked her passion to become an ambassador for the

Chance to Shine programme once she turned professional – a role in which she’s

flourished for six years – encouraging more women and girls to get involved with

cricket.

‘My real hope for The Hundred is that it will make young girls’ dream that they can

play professional cricket,’ she explains. ‘I didn’t take cricket seriously until I was

around 21, which is a major regret of mine as I fell behind my teammates.

If I’d have seen a group of women playing exciting, high-quality cricket right on my doorstep, I might have been inspired to pursue it earlier.’

Last October, the ECB launched an action plan to transform women’s and girls’

cricket with the fundamental goal of making cricket a gender-balanced sport. From

now until 2022, there will be £20 million invested to improve player experience and

increase opportunities for women, with another 40 full-time professional contracts

being made available in addition to the existing contracted women’s players. The

Hundred contributes to this audacious longterm plan, with the women’s matches

being broadcast live on Sky Sports and Freeview TV.

Despite some fears that the 100-ball format will destroy traditional cricket and

drive its financial wellbeing into the ground, the bigger picture suggests a rosier

future. Without doubt, The Hundred poses potentially damaging consequences for

domestic cricket that may well find itself pushed further down summer cricket’s

pecking order, and will undoubtedly usher in a wider, perhaps less-informed,

audience. However, the prospect of a quicker, action-packed sport that will not

only create more magical moments like those we marvelled at last summer, but

make the great game more accessible for all, should only be celebrated.

www.thehundred.com