The Hundred: early days yet

Wisden said when the idea was mooted that “The Hundred hung over the English game suspended only by the conviction of a suited few…”

Questions might be asked about the need for yet another format in cricket, its fourth, but The Hundred in England has been about Jemimah Rodrigues so far. With two quite incredible knocks, 92 from 43 balls and 60 from 41, she guided Northern Superchargers to victories. Clearly this is one Indian who loves the format. But the questions remain. Does lopping off 20 deliveries, giving bowlers 10 deliveries per stint (or five; there are no ‘overs’) and a 25-ball PowerPlay make The Hundred a) all that different b) easier to understand or c) more likely to bring in a new set of fans who can’t watch sport without music, colourful graphics and strategic timeouts? More importantly, will the new fans come in at the cost of the existing ones, thus merely retaining the numbers if not actually reducing them? Wisden said when the idea was mooted that “The Hundred hung over the English game suspended only by the conviction of a suited few…”