NICK HOWSON looks back on the key talking points following the clash in the men's Hundred between Welsh Fire and Southern Brave
It would be wrong to pick Tom Banton out as having had a particularly traumatic last 18 months, given what the rest of the world has been going through, but it is worth considering what has transpired.
After his breakthrough in 2019, last year saw Banton dart across the world to franchise competitions in Australia, Pakistan and India, as well as in and out of bio-secure bubbles with England.
None of them went particularly well, but it will have been an important learning experience. He was honest enough to admit that his gruelling schedule forced him to fall "out of love with the game temporarily".
At the turn of the year, he revealed his intention to skip the Indian Premier League cricket with Kolkata Knight Riders to play first-class cricket with Somerset.
This after he'd been criticised by John Cleese of all people for missing the Bob Willis Trophy final to play in the delayed competition last year.
He did return to Pakistan for the PSL, where he got Covid-19 before the tournament was postponed.
Banton hasn't played for England all year, after being called up for the end of the Sri Lanka ODIs and then being forced to self-isolate amid an outbreak in the squad.
That period stifled a return to form with Somerset in the T20 Blast. After hitting 77 against Hampshire, the 22-year-old smashes a 47-ball ton against Kent at Canterbury.
Originally picked as a local icon for Welsh Fire, Banton is a key member of this line-up which now loses Jonny Bairstow to the England Test squad.
It only lasted 23 balls and there was plenty blue in the sky went he departed, but this was an effective knock.
This might only be his second game in a month, yet Banton looked at it from the outset smashing Danny Briggs for consecutive sixes via the second and third deliveries of the match.
He showed guile to sweep Briggs behind square before taking Tymal Mills' second five apart with shots through point, cover and off his hip.
The damage was done by the time Jake Lintott had bowled him for 34, with Fire well on their way to an imposing total of 165.
Outscored by both of his teammates in the top three, yet this felt like an equally important knock given Bairstow is due to depart. Glenn Phillips has only faced 16 balls in the competition and there are some allrounders in reserve too.
Banton has been in and out of teams, bubbles, tournaments and form over the last 18 months. But for the first time, he seems settled, clear over his role and the way he wants to go about his innings. The short boundaries at Sophia Gardens will certainly help.
Follow the original draft in 2019 and in anticipation of this delayed edition of the men's Hundred, pundits were queuing up to hail the Southern Brave bowling attack.
Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Jofra Archer, Danny Briggs, George Garton, Jake Lintott, Liam Dawson. Even without Andre Russell, it looks formidable.
"I remember after the first draft everyone looking at Southern Brave and they looked like the stand-out team," Harry Gurney told The Cricketer. "Things have evolved since then but they look like they've got most bases covered.
"Tymal, when fit, is one of the best T20 bowlers in the world, we all know about CJs record from his exploits with England.
"You have your Garton's and Overton and some nice spin options. Whether Jofra plays or not it is a huge bonus but without him, there are enough guys who can put their hands up for 20 balls and do a job."
The reality has been somewhat different.
Ben Duckett scored runs on both sides of the wicket
In 182 balls they've conceded 292 runs and taken five wickets. Archer is not yet fit enough to take his place in the side but it has been a poor return.
It would be fair to consider the conditions, which have not been the easiest. Trent Bridge and Sophia Gardens are not the easiest grounds to bowl on.
Every line-up has the ability to smash the ball around. But even so, lengths have not been hit and plans have not looked clear. If thought had been put into the potential matchups, they didn't bear much fruit.
Jordan's variations didn't appear until the death when the total had already been set. Mills was out of sorts too, though there is no evidence of the injury Eoin Morgan cited before the tournament got underway.
Perhaps things will change when they play at The Ageas Bowl and if Archer is permitted to play (he has not been named in the England squad for the first two India Tests).
Lintott taking a wicket with his first ball in The Hundred having won a wildcard to enter the tournament after only signing his first pro deal with Warwickshire in February was the outstanding success from the innings for the hosts.
Giving the entire country FOMO appears to be the modus operandi of The Hundred's coverage on TV so far.
That will certainly help ticket-sales, even if it isn't attached to reality.
Crowds for the first three matches at Sophia Gardens are capped.
Fewer fans were permitted to attend the England-Sri Lanka T20s and Glamorgan's Blast matches.
Tickets were cancelled for the Southern Brave double-header after a Covid risk assessment forced a rethink. In the end, 3,021 made it along.
So to suggest Sophia Gardens was rocking on Wednesday evening was an ambitious claim.
During the winter, we queued up to criticism the propaganda pushed out by Star Sports' coverage of the India-England Tests. It smacked of BCCI influence.
Parts of The Hundred have been no different. Coverage has been unnaturally positive, questions to players have avoided anything remotely negative about performance and atmospheres have been analysed more forensically than bowling plans.
Crowds in Cardiff were limited due to Covid
"The atmosphere is absolutely electric," said presenter Kass Naidoo on multiple occasions during the near-seven hours of coverage. Even when there was barely a soul in attendance as the women's match kicked off underneath gloomy skies.
"It's a six baby!" barked Kevin Pietersen as Bairstow got a massive leading edge off Mills and the ball flew over the rope. It was the most unedifying shot of the day, yet it was an opportunity to exaggerate about something that was fully capitalised on.
There is no doubt the coverage is an extension of the Hundred PR machine. The TV product hopes to give potential ticketholders a flavour and hopefully lure them into buying a ticket.
But it is a shortsighted sales strategy. What happens when they rock up, to say Cardiff, and a few thousand have come through the gates and the only noise is coming via the DJ booth? Suddenly there is a feeling they have been conned.
Honesty is the best policy, and this is where Dinesh Karthik comes into his own. He's struck the balance between hype and hyperbole perfectly. Behind the flashy shirts and sunglasses there is integrity; plenty of fun but also fairness.
His colleagues would be well-advised to try the same.
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