The Hundred

I don’t mind watching it if I ignore all the rubbish around it but the problem is that it is upsetting the teams for County Championship cricket.

Actually one of the few obvious historical exceptions to my comment that towns don’t keep disappearing and reappearing, at least in terms of local government, might be said to be Middlesbrough. I wonder if its identity might have been diluted in the way that some of the old counties have been if the Teesside experiment had lasted longer than five years?

coluka said:

I support the team, where the players come from is not the relevant part, I support Yorkshire and England at cricket, but I can not support a team where MY teams best players are then spread far and wide.

Bringing age into the equation as an excuse is nonsense, would love to see your survey on young people and boundaries btw as the number of people who hang on to Teesside as being their calling over Yorkshire seems quite high. Younger teenagers and 20 somethings I know through family, friendships and neighbours all seem to affiliate with the area they are from. I can understand culture and heritage playing its part rather than birthright on occasion and thats totally understandable.

The actual team names and format has nothing to do with traditional county borders anyway other than people will be encouraged to support the team that actually plays locally. There are only 8 venues of which 2 are in the same city, so when I say locally, there are great swathes of cricket supporters that wont be able to attend due to distance of travel, transport issues, time issues, financial constraints, work and family commitments. Fine if you live close by but for the many its a non starter. The tv coverage is gimmicky, It just comes across as an ‘Americanised‘, tacky, spectacle that is about as much fun as I expect walking on hot coals is.

Can you imagine watching Dael Fry, Hayden Hackney et al playing for Boro one minute then on a different day playing for Yorkshire and Humberside Hawks at Elland Rd alongside Luke Ayling, Aaron Connolly, Harry Cornick and Tim Krul, with the players miked up, chatting with Jobie McAnuff mid game the home colours being a snazzy Turquoise, Pink and Navy ensemble and wanting to travel to see it. Tweak the rules so there is no offside, throw ins can be drop kicks, the keeper can handle the ball wherever on the pitch or you can elect to play fly goalie etc. Nah, not for me.

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You don’t have to watch it? Its obviously not for you. My son loves it, it’s a great day out with his mates.

The rules haven’t been tweaked that much, so I think you’re getting a bit carried away with your vitriol.

Yearbyred said:

You don’t have to watch it? Its obviously not for you. My son loves it, it’s a great day out with his mates.

The rules haven’t been tweaked that much, so I think you’re getting a bit carried away with your vitriol.

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I don’t have to watch it? You’ll be telling me there is an off button next
Guess what? I don’t watch it. My response was merely a reply to Atypical, if thats ok?
Good luck to anyone who enjoys it, maybe if there is something someone doesn’t like they should always remain silent rather than express opinion?

You don’t need to read ‘my so called vitriol’ either, but you did and felt it worthy of brusque comment, thats your prerogative I wont criticise you for it though.

FishofContemplation said:

It isn’t like. Football is almost entirely organised on the same basis. You’ll search in vain for a Cleveland or a Tyne and Wear FA.

The difference is that cricket names its teams after the old counties. And it’s certainly true that’s why it struggles to be relevant when the counties get changed every five minutes where towns largely don’t keep disappearing and reappearing. Try telling some kid in Tower Hamlets they’re from Middlesex when the place hasn’t even existed for 50 years and St John’s Wood is about as far removed from their London as it is possible to be.

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Well this was my point. Your first point about football organisation at local level is a good one, but not really the point I was making in terms of how younger folk identify.

atypical_boro said:

Well this was my point. Your first point about football organisation at local level is a good one, but not really the point I was making in terms of how younger folk identify.

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Your point doesn't really work though when you're saying that 18 teams is too many in T20, if they don't identify with counties, they're not going to identify with fabricated franchises either.

Young people on Teesside might not identify with Yorkshire as much anymore, but they absolutely don't identify with Leeds.

The reason there was a backlash wasn't just because of county purists, it was because 8.5m people, from the North East and Yorkshire, most with absolutely no connection to the city, were being represented by a team called Leeds Superchargers.

Northern Superchargers is an improvement, but it's one that was only made because of the stink that was kicked up, and showed the lack of thought that the organisers had put in to it.

coluka said:

I support the team, where the players come from is not the relevant part, I support Yorkshire and England at cricket, but I can not support a team where MY teams best players are then spread far and wide.

Bringing age into the equation as an excuse is nonsense, would love to see your survey on young people and boundaries btw as the number of people who hang on to Teesside as being their calling over Yorkshire seems quite high. Younger teenagers and 20 somethings I know through family, friendships and neighbours all seem to affiliate with the area they are from. I can understand culture and heritage playing its part rather than birthright on occasion and thats totally understandable.

The actual team names and format has nothing to do with traditional county borders anyway other than people will be encouraged to support the team that actually plays locally. There are only 8 venues of which 2 are in the same city, so when I say locally, there are great swathes of cricket supporters that wont be able to attend due to distance of travel, transport issues, time issues, financial constraints, work and family commitments. Fine if you live close by but for the many its a non starter. The tv coverage is gimmicky, It just comes across as an ‘Americanised‘, tacky, spectacle that is about as much fun as I expect walking on hot coals is.

Can you imagine watching Dael Fry, Hayden Hackney et al playing for Boro one minute then on a different day playing for Yorkshire and Humberside Hawks at Elland Rd alongside Luke Ayling, Aaron Connolly, Harry Cornick and Tim Krul, with the players miked up, chatting with Jobie McAnuff mid game the home colours being a snazzy Turquoise, Pink and Navy ensemble and wanting to travel to see it. Tweak the rules so there is no offside, throw ins can be drop kicks, the keeper can handle the ball wherever on the pitch or you can elect to play fly goalie etc. Nah, not for me.

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Bairstow, Root, Brooks etc are not Yorkshire's anymore. They're England's, contractually, and when England aren't playing they are eligible to play for and make money from a pool of other sides around the world, Yorkshire being their primary but not exclusively. Another difference between football and cricket, and hence why your final paragraph may make sense to some people, but plenty of people don't really see the parallel.

The Teesside thing is a bit of an anomaly, and there's no cricket team anyway. Yorkshire is also an anomaly with a much stronger identity than most other counties. It is about the only county where you could go to a rock concert and hear chants of 'Yorkshire'. It doesn't happen in Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and most others. Even in Lancashire, the chant is mostly reserved for cricket and occasionally the small handful of towns that have always been Lancashire and never enveloped into Greater Manchester. Of course you never hear the Yorkshire chant at Boro matches because of the differing opinions and lack of clarity about where Middlesbrough actually sits, but you cannot base this discussion purely on the area between (say) Sedgefield and Loftus.

The thing about not being able to attend unless you live locally is the same with county cricket, there are just more teams. If you live in Cornwall, Cumbria, or Norfolk, you can't even watch the County Championship without a 2 or 3 hour drive. Its the same premise as watching England, you either live near the stadiums or you don't, its always been exclusive like that. But the team 'names' do actually cater for just about everyone, loosely speaking, and especially for TV viewers. And loose is enough for most people, it just isn't as tribal as football.

Of course its gimmicky, tacky and Americanised, like everything else is now including football. No arguments at all there, but its the modern world and it sells. The counties were/are in big financial trouble, the Hundred was created for not much more reason than that. The revenue from the Hundred is shared amongst all 18 counties and they (almost) all voted for it.

TeaCider said:

Your point doesn't really work though when you're saying that 18 teams is too many in T20, if they don't identify with counties, they're not going to identify with fabricated franchises either.

Young people on Teesside might not identify with Yorkshire as much anymore, but they absolutely don't identify with Leeds.

The reason there was a backlash wasn't just because of county purists, it was because 8.5m people, from the North East and Yorkshire, most with absolutely no connection to the city, were being represented by a team called Leeds Superchargers.

Northern Superchargers is an improvement, but it's one that was only made because of the stink that was kicked up, and showed the lack of thought that the organisers had put in to it.

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There was a huge backlash even before the names were devised. This is not just about the NE! The NE is also far from a cricketing hot-bed. Along with Merseyside, its one of the few areas of the country where one sport absolutely dominates the public conscious (and its not cricket). Most other places have a big interest in either cricket, rugby league or rugby union.

I wasn't saying 18 teams is too many in terms of identity, I was meaning it dilutes the standard of teams in comparison to, say, the IPL (which lets face it is exactly what the Hundred was created to compete with). The IPL has a global audience, the T20 Blast doesn't and never will if there are 18 teams vying for the best stars. The Hundred was created with a view of also attracting a global audience, in the way India and Australia did exactly the same thing with city/regional names rather than traditional states.

Someone said to me at York yesterday that it might be getting binned because here we are at the height of the summer and there is no test cricket and vey few county games. Those going ahead are with very weakened sides.

Yearbyred said: My son loves it, it’s a great day out with his mates.

So is going to Yorkshire games. Yesterday at York it was a fantastic game to watch. Loads of kids there and thoroughly enjoying it.

asredastheycome said:

So is going to Yorkshire games. Yesterday at York it was a fantastic game to watch. Loads of kids there and thoroughly enjoying it.

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You might not like this response but nobody is going to watch that on telly. That's the difference.

I'm certainly not in favour of abolishing any other forms of cricket or anything, 50 over domestic cricket is great, but I can see why the Hundred was needed alongside.

ADHD cricket. I can’t stand it. It’s so far away from real cricket it’s basically a different, bereft of class sport

SmallTown said:

ADHD cricket. I can’t stand it. It’s so far away from real cricket it’s basically a different, bereft of class sport

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I understand that viewpoint but people also said that in early 70s about one-day cricket, and again in early 2000s about T20. The Hundred is just the next bad boy on the block.

Never watched cricket apart from The Ashes and World cups. Decided to give this a go a few weeks ago and I'm hooked. Absolutely loving it.

Blf said:

Never watched cricket apart from The Ashes and World cups. Decided to give this a go a few weeks ago and I'm hooked. Absolutely loving it.

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You are exactly what it was created for. And that is why England test stars are in the sides.

The problem with the Hundred is that most 'pre-Hundred' cricket fans would rather you stuck to not having any interest in cricket outside of the Ashes and WC. I'd prefer the counties to survive personally.

I think I saw the start of this on telly. The opening credits were embarrassing. The sort of stuff 70 year olds think is appealing to 15 year olds. I'm surprised they aren't calling it urban ballers or something.

coluka said:

I don’t have to watch it? You’ll be telling me there is an off button next
Guess what? I don’t watch it. My response was merely a reply to Atypical, if thats ok?
Good luck to anyone who enjoys it, maybe if there is something someone doesn’t like they should always remain silent rather than express opinion?

You don’t need to read ‘my so called vitriol’ either, but you did and felt it worthy of brusque comment, thats your prerogative I wont criticise you for it though.

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There's an off button

I have been to County Championship games, T20, Test matches, ODI's and enjoy them all for different reasons. Watched the end of the Yorkshire game yesterday on the stream.

atypical_boro said:

I understand that viewpoint but people also said that in early 70s about one-day cricket, and again in early 2000s about T20. The Hundred is just the next bad boy on the block.

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And they were right back then. Cricket is a genteel, thoughtful sport played out over days. One day cricket is ok as a loosener for players who want to play in their Jim jams before playing in flannels. The rest is just “sports entertainment” as serious as wrestling or F1

SmallTown said:

And they were right back then. Cricket is a genteel, thoughtful sport played out over days. One day cricket is ok as a loosener for players who want to play in their Jim jams before playing in flannels. The rest is just “sports entertainment” as serious as wrestling or F1

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You're probably right. But the Hundred was created to keep the counties afloat financially, preserve red ball cricket and preserve the Test format and the Ashes etc. It wasn't created to destroy anything, quite the opposite. The T20 Blast simply wasn't making enough money, viewing figures have always been mediocre, Sky pay way more to show this.

OK, it maybe was created to destroy the T20 Blast (eventually), but certainly not 50 over or red ball cricket.

I was extremely critical of it at first but the way it has sucked my son in to cricket, which I love, I have decided to take a bigger interest in it this year, and I now love it.

We went twice last year but will, by the time it has finished, gone to four games this summer alone. As previously mentioned, it’s great value for money: straight £5 for kids and between £18-£30 for adults for two games.

Two things needed to happen this year: women’s games needed to be a better standard and by god they’ve improved and the mens games needed to be closer and they haven’t disappointed.

One of the games we went to we sat behind the players benches and they’re so accessible. My kids got loads of autographs and son got his Hundred card collection signed. Getting Harry Brooks autograph has made his summer.

There was 15,000 people at Leeds last Friday night against Oval then 10,000 were in for the women’s game on Sunday against Manchester before the men’s game. It’s doing something right.

I’m eating humble pie and never saw the bigger picture. It’s a brilliant gateway and if it gets kids into such a great sport well it’s brilliant. After this year I think it’s here to stay.

I do watch it occasionally and generally enjoy it but like a lot of franchise tournaments it suffers from a two-tier roster.

Yes, you've got some of the England squad and some decent overseas players but it's a fair gulf to the county players present in most cases.

IPL remains the gold standard, can't see that changing any time soon.