Former Notts left arm spinner Jim Hindson, accompanied by his kids Archie and Louie, takes in his first Hundred fixture at Trent Bridge
"Dad, can I wear a yellow t-shirt today – so I can look like a Trent Rockets player?"
This was my son Louie's request last summer after becoming aware of The Hundred. A tournament that has polarised opinion across the wider cricket community and specifically our family. Two generations up, my dad, a lover of tradition and proud Nottinghamshire member cannot stand the tournament. Cursing its presence that has pushed his beloved county game to the edges of the schedule during high summer.
Walking down to our first game with Louie (aged eight) and his younger brother Archie (aged five), I sit somewhere between the two generations. There is no doubt it is a premium tournament and a higher standard than the Blast.
Take this fixture – regular Notts T20 players Steve Mullaney, Matt Carter and even keeper Tom Moores are on the periphery of a Rockets squad that contains four overseas players and a glittering array of English stars. Locking horns with an Oval Invincibles team blessed with sublime talent – Jason Roy, the Curran brothers, Reece Topley and Sunil Narine.
That said, I love LV= Insurance County Championship cricket and am fed up of seeing spin bowlers, wrapped up like Michelin Men, with beanies to boot, onlookers as seamers rule under grey skies. This leaves me sitting on the fence, for now...
Entering the ground, The Hundred is buzzing. We are nearly bowled over by New Zealand's Suzie Bates, just dismissed and jogging up to the changing rooms, spikes clattering on the concourse. A great start that grabbed my boy's attention.
The Hundred has partnered with Minions for the 2022 competition (Jim Hindson/The Cricketer)
Then a chance meeting with my former Notts teammate Wayne Noon, match referee for this fixture and his colleague Richard Kettleborough. Rich is famous for his umpiring but for me, he'll always be the bloke that whacked my bowling to all parts in second XI cricket whenever Notts played Yorkshire.
The next stop was The Hundred Club, set up in the Radcliffe Road stand, with various kids activities and a chance to meet some of the Rockets' women stars following their game and, believe it or not, Minions.
My boys loved this and it did cause me to reflect on my first experiences watching cricket. Initially at Chesterfield, falling asleep in a temporary stand watching David Steele bat and then Trent Bridge, where Derek Randall provided entertainment for autograph hunters, pulling caps over eyes and making jokes, much to our delight. A far cry from this immersive, branded experience.
Onto the match itself, we watched Alex Hales and Dawid Malan tuck into the 'not so' Invincibles, as it turned out. The cricket was entertaining and while the bowling of two sets from one end made complete sense watching live, it did create a spectator problem… when to drag the two boys for a trip to the loo with no obvious stoppages. "Just get up and sit down when you want – there's no waiting till the end of the over." So said the steward and when I proffered that it might upset people trying to watch the game he laughed "Not with this crowd – you will be fine."
"In such a charged atmosphere, dot balls, umpire reviews and even singles down the ground – they are just not as exciting as diving into a ball pit with silent disco headphones on"
I wasn't so sure. Yes, tuning into the chat from the row sat behind us revealed a bunch of first-timers: "Is anyone famous playing today…is there a chap called Simon Broad playing?"
This contrasted with the gentleman sitting next to me, binoculars in hand, only applauding 'proper' cricket shots, such as when Hales used the pace to beat the short third. Rather than when he bludgeoned the ball over the stand. Looking around, there did appear to be a broad mix of people, including loyal fans of the game. Don't believe all the talk about the Hundred haters.
While Archie was simply buzzing to be out late, Louie was genuinely interested in the cricket. "Mohammad Hasnain's coming on to bowl," he informed me.
He knew the Pakistani paceman and a lot of other players thanks to a combination of watching games on TV and playing The Hundred on his Xbox. This knowledge came to light on our recent holiday, when he told me that I would be playing as the Welsh Fire during our beach cricket battles, who are lower rated on computer games than his beloved Rockets. The marketing spend has been huge, but anecdotally it is working.
Pakistan and Oval Invincibles' Mohammad Hasnain (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The Rockets were superb in real life too, making 181 for 4 from their allocation. Then it was off to The Hundred Club again for the break between innings. One of the challenges with having so much exhaustive entertainment - the band, kids activities and of course, Minion selfies, is that the cricket can appear mundane. In such a charged atmosphere, dot balls, umpire reviews and even singles down the ground – they are just not as exciting as diving into a ball pit with silent disco headphones on.
This created a challenge to drag the boys out for the second innings and I would like to apologise again to the patient lady sitting in front of us who was accidentally booted by a restless Archie on more than one occasion. She also had to hand me back his trainer when Archie imitated Tabraiz Shamsi's wicket celebration by removing his shoes.
As the game went down to the wire, I found myself cheering wickets for the Rockets along with the boys. Not because I was a huge fan – more that I wanted the Rockets to win for my sons. So they would go home happy and want to come again. Probably not all that different from watching football at Meadow Lane with my dad back in the 1980s.
As we squeezed down the row to depart just before the end, saying hello to another professional umpire, this time Sue Redfern who had been on duty in the women's game earlier. It struck me just how accessible the players and officials were. I couldn't see you bumping into the superstars at Nottingham Forest across the road in quite the same way.
Jogging back home with the boys, looking for foxes, I have to say it had been a really fun experience. Archie and Louie were still buzzing when they got in, a proper happy family. Well, apart from my dad, who will be told he has been signed by the Welsh Fire for the next garden cricket match.
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