Durham "100 per cent committed" to hosting Hundred franchise, says CEO Tim Bostock

While The Hundred has divided cricket fans, Bostock believes it is the "silver bullet" for domestic cricket and says the competition cannot continue to ignore the north-east

Durham CEO Tim Bostock says the club are "100 per cent committed" to hosting a franchise in The Hundred.

Discussions about the future of the competition are ongoing, with an expanded 10-team tournament among the options on the table.

Other options include introducing a two-division model to fall more in line with the 18 first-class counties, changing the format to T20, or opening the competition up to private investment. In 2022, it was reported the ECB had received a £400m offer from Bridgeport Group in exchange for a 75 per cent stake in The Hundred.

At present, The Hundred features eight teams, with Durham affiliated to Northern Superchargers. However, they do not host any matches, with the franchise instead based at Yorkshire's Headingley home.

^{Durham are affiliated with Northern Superchargers [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

^{The Hundred has divided cricket fans [Julian Finney/Getty Images]}

"We are 100 per cent committed to bringing a franchise here to the north-east," Bostock told Press Association. "We are very confident we would be able to mobilise very quickly.

"The north of the country cannot be ignored, and we have an international ground ready to go; the facilities and infrastructure are in place.

"People are sports mad in the north-east and we sell out every international we get. I have no doubt if we got [a team] as part of any expansion, it would be brilliantly supported."

The Hundred, the first edition of which was held in 2021, has divided cricket fans, with its impact on the men's county calendar and the widening of the gap between host venues and the other first-class counties among the frequently raised concerns.

However, Bostock believes the future of domestic cricket would be bleak without it.

"This is the silver bullet, game changer for the game," he said. "I'm yet to see another product three years on from start up that is thought to be worth £750m.

"That money will sustain 18 counties, accelerate the growth of the women's game and support recreational cricket. The economic reality is that without the advent of The Hundred and the huge investment it's going to bring, it's unlikely we'd still have 18 counties in five years' time."