Faux outrage eclipsing the real issues facing The Hundred - key questions remain unanswered

SAM MORSHEAD: The conversation around the 100-ball competition has to alter. But the ECB must be held to account over some issues that remain unresolved

It has been very easy to target The Hundred for criticism over the course of the past year-and-a-half, most specifically because of the scattergun, haphazard nature of its PR.

Information leaked readily and frequently from within, depicting a project which always appeared to be keeping up with its own appearance; its various foibles and flaws roadtested in the public arena before they had been properly analysed in-house.

There was never a coherent, decisive message from those in charge of introducing the brand to the world, and so we ended up with confused soundbites about mums and children in the school holidays and how The Hundred was not necessarily for people ‘inside cricket’. 

No attempt was made to engage doubters or change the minds of dissenters. Divisions were allowed to fester and brew, and we have ended up with a partisan split.

Organisers have become weary at the relentless and occasionally blinkered nature of opposition; broadcasters have become irritated by being seen as the bad guys despite their multi-million pound investment; communications staff within the walls of ECB HQ have become frustrated, perhaps embittered, by a probing and picky media; county administrators have become stuck between two stools - one softened by a £1.3million cushion, the other not.

And so we have reached this inglorious impasse, where protest groups have formed on one side and resolves have strengthened on the other. No good can come of this. In order for the debate to rediscover some semblance of civility, we have to embrace No Man’s Land, and everyone is responsible.

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There are fundamental questions which the ECB still have not fully addressed with regards to the new competition’s impact on the fabric of county cricket, the scope and detail of the research which led them in The Hundred’s direction, and their apparent indifference towards the genuine and heartfelt worries - in many places anger - of existing supporters of the domestic game.

These are the subjects which most pertinently affect the sport, not the identity of sponsors or the five-ball blocks or the inane pseudo-emotive psychobabble which tells us that London Spirit are “lighting the way for the future” and Welsh Fire’s “hunger will prove the haters wrong”.

We can mock organisers for using a picture of a Miami rap concert to push family entertainment, or for photoshopping New Balance-sponsored Jason Roy into Slazenger kit, or juxtaposing ‘Oval Invincibles’ with the very vincible logo of an umpire’s raised finger - and we have in these pages - but ultimately none of that really matters.

And if we do not recognise that this tournament does have some redeeming, positive features then how can we possibly expect our fears and concerns to be taken seriously?

We do not want to become the bloke in the corner of the pub who has not a single word of praise or constructive criticism to offer, because - let’s face it - how many of us give a second’s thought to his utterances? Does he not end up as background noise, barely recognisable over the hum of the air conditioning and the clinking of glasses?

^{Steve Smith leads the overseas stars who have entered The Hundred draft}

Undoubtedly, The Hundred will represent the largest single concentration of international cricketing superstars within the English game. Ever. Whether you regard these men and women as mercenaries or role models does not really matter, the fact is that during late July and early August 2020, there will not be a cricket tournament on this planet with bigger headliners.

Organisers know this. They are banking on these players generating the necessary interest in the first year to draw in crowds (assisted, of course, by promotional budgets large enough to have their own moons). Whisper it, but the quality of cricket will be extremely high, too. And yes, it is still cricket.

The kits and identities might be garish to some, but to others they will be eminently recognisable - day-glow chic, following the trend of the recent retro renaissance.

Association with junk food, as each of the eight franchises will have thanks to the sponsorship agreement with KP Snacks, may not be ideal but it makes sense when it comes to identifying with the intended target audience. Young people eat crisps, don’t they? Why do you think Specsavers bought into the Test series?

It’s hardly uncommon in cricket, either. The Big Bash stuff their children’s heads into upturned chicken buckets; the IPL introduced a break in play specifically to advertise tyres; the England captain routinely posts about mattresses and hotel rooms on social media.

It is not a problem unique to the ECB’s new competition, and it would be unfair to present it as such. 

^{The ECB still have questions to answer over the structure of the domestic game}

To moan at every new morsel of information about The Hundred is to become the village idiot, bouncing around a field threatening to eat the sky. People end up leaping over stiles to avoid those folk, you know. 

At The Cricketer, we understand we have a duty to represent the views of our readership - a massive majority of whom oppose The Hundred quite vehemently - but at such a critical time for the game we must avoid becoming an echo chamber. We must avoid shouting at each other until we have sucked the oxygen from the room, while those with the power to instigate real change merrily go about their day outside.

Instead, we must generate reasoned debate. When we do, we can fairly expect to be heard - and most importantly acknowledged - by the ECB.

We can expect to be assured that The Hundred is not the first step on the road to the streamlining of the county structure. 

Football has had its own similar matter over the past five years, with the introduction of Premier League under-23 teams into the Football League Trophy. The concerns of supporters - that it is the first step towards the permanent integration of B teams in a very proud, historic domestic pyramid - have never been addressed, and attendances have suffered as a result.

We can expect to be told, in much more detail, about the 100,000 people whose opinions made up the bulk of the research which eventually brought this new competition to life.

The ECB employed sports marketing agency Two Circles to look into the make-up of cricket support in England and Wales, and their data has been at the epicentre of the discussions since, yet for whatever reason there has been little inclination to offer more than a basic precis.

^{Can county cricket survive once The Hundred becomes a staple of the schedule?}

We can expect to hear how the county season will survive and thrive alongside a fourth format, how the existing 18 teams will manage without elite competition for four weeks in high summer, how the Blast will not be commercially undercut nor county membership devalued, and why we should not be concerned by the suggestions by people in positions of influence that 18 would be much more manageable as 12.

We can expect to learn more about the pathway which will turn interest in The Hundred into sustained and impactful participation. 

A vague description exists in the ECB’s “Inspiring Generations” mission statement, which states that “a new participation product, linked to (The Hundred)” will be created.

“More people will be given the opportunity to play cricket through a new participation product that will provide a gateway to becoming a regular cricketer,” the document says. What does that mean?

These are important questions which relate to the sport’s future, and which have yet to be satisfactorily answered. But for as long as we wag our fingers and shake our heads at every announcement, however benign, those who should be answering these questions will feel justified in looking the other way.

We cannot give them that opportunity. 

Pick your battles, pick your arguments and pick the subjects that really matter.

If then still clarity is not forthcoming, there will be good reason for fury. Until then, we’ll just be the fools mouthing off over a pint.

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