Two-year-old image of rap concert in Miami used to promote The Hundred

SAM MORSHEAD: Photographer Nicholas Green said: "I took this shot to catch the reaction of fans of Logic expressing how they feel about his lyrical music". And there we were thinking they were going crazy for a Pat Brown wicket maiden

On Wednesday, the ECB unveiled their first public marketing material for The Hundred.

*a sense of dread fills the room*

The governing body are on a hiding to nothing when it comes to this competition. Many in the cricket family have already passed judgement on the way the concept has been bolted together, while others have fundamental concerns about its impact on the structure of the sport in England and Wales. Winning over hearts and minds now seems a somewhat unlikely venture for the organisers.

But, as has been the case throughout the year-and-a-bit since The Hundred was first mooted, so often those in charge just have not helped themselves.

And this soft launch was just another example.

Up has popped a one-page website, blending stock imagery with slogans you might ordinarily expect to accompany the trailer for E4’s latest teen angst half-hours.

^{The ECB's use of the stock image, above, and, top, Nicholas Green's original photograph}

And it is one stock image in particular which will now be pinned to The Hundred forever - a concert-going group of 20-somethings jumping up and down with excitement, presumably not at the sight of an AB de Villiers reverse ramp.

Why oh why could the ECB and their marketing affiliates not have commissioned original photography for the front page of its signature website? By settling for a stock image, they lay down the red carpet for blowhards like yours truly.

And a few clicks on the internet later, here’s the story of that picture.

Far from representing The Hundred’s target demographic, the image was actually shot at a concert by American rapper Logic at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater in Miami, Florida.

It is two years old.

The photographer who snapped the picture, Nicholas Green, uploaded it to image-sharing website upsplash a few days later.

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Green’s caption on his post read: “I took this shot to catch the reaction of fans of Logic: Everybody’s Tour expressing how they feel about his lyrical music.

“This photo means a lot to me because Logic is one of my favorite rappers and catching this reaction from the fan reflects on how I was feeling during the concert!”

And there we were thinking that they were going crazy for a Pat Brown wicket maiden.

The photo has been downloaded more than 60,000 times over its two-year lifespan, and has been used in a plethora of ways by various web designers in need of a standard “audience” illustration.

A simply reverse image search shows it to have been employed by the vegan community, brand engagement specialists, industry journalists detailing Black Friday, blog-building tipsters and a colouring club.

It’s been featured on websites written in English, German, French, Spanish, Mandarin and Dutch.

Its appearance on thehundred.com was, however, the first time it has been associated with cricket.

As far as this particular blowhard can see, anyway.

You can download Green's inadvertent cricket promo by clicking here.

PS - by 11.15am, around 20 minutes after this article was first published, the website had been updated and a new picture installed.

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