ECB’s ‘The Hundred’ is ridiculous and most players aren’t interested, says Yorkshire’s Jack Brooks
Elizabeth Ammon
April 26 2018, 12:00pm,
The Times
Jack Brooks has become the latest player to speak out against the ECB’s new 100-ball competition, calling the idea “ridiculous”.
The new format — in which sides face 100 balls each, including one ten-ball over — is set to begin in 2020 and be played by city-based franchises.
In announcing the new tournament the ECB said that it had been supported unanimously by the competition’s board and by player representatives of the men’s and women’s game. However, it then emerged that only three players were consulted before the announcement and Brooks, the Yorkshire bowler, is now the latest county player to voice his opposition.
Chris Rushworth, the Durham seamer, called it “a load of bollocks” while Ollie Rayner, the Middlesex spinner, said it had “gone too far”. Brooks said that his views were reflected by most other players.
“I think the vast majority of the current players aren’t really interested to be honest,” Brooks told the Yorkshire Post. “If they want to make this franchise thing, then just stick with Twenty20 and give it a go and see what happens with that.
“You don’t suddenly have to change the rules of cricket to make it more complicated for new people.
“It’s just ridiculous, A ten-ball over? When T20 came about it didn’t really change the rules of cricket or anything, it was just a condensed format. Club cricket had already been played in T20 for years. This new format has just come out of the blue. For me, as someone who’s been around a while, I don’t see the point in it really”.
“The Hundred” was announced last week by the ECB and is, it says, firmly aimed at attracting a new audience of families who do not watch cricket at present.
The three players who were consulted were Eoin Morgan, Heather Knight and Daryl Mitchell in his capacity as chairman of the Professional Cricketers Association.
All three were told not to discuss the proposal with anyone else, meaning that Mitchell could not consult with the 420 members he represents and the proposal took the players by surprise.
The lack of consultation has led to a lot of anger among the players and yesterday the PCA issued a statement criticising the lack of clarity and detail about the new competition and raising concerns among the players about what the structure of domestic cricket will look like in 2020. Brooks says he can’t understand the need to invent another form of the game.
He said: “My immediate reaction was ‘why effectively invent another sport almost, another version of cricket.’ ”
Brooks is not the only county player to have publicly criticised the new format. On Twitter, Luke Wells wrote: “Honestly can’t believe this 100-ball game idea has actually gained any ground. Why try and fix a format that’s not broken?
“T20 works and is massively popular product which is growing worldwide! Trying to reinvent the wheel just doesn’t make sense.”
Rushworth said the tournament was a “load of bollocks”Rushworth said the tournament was a “load of bollocks”
JAN KRUGER/GETTY IMAGES
Rayner, who has played county cricket for 12 years, including 71 T20 matches, congratulated the ECB on its “hoax”.
“Ok, great hoax….@ecb_cricket you got us,” he tweeted. “Now seriously, 100 ball cricket with a 10 ball over bowled potentially by more than one bowler, this has gone too far now. I don’t think my views hold much weight amongst the cricketing community but I certainly don’t think I’m the only one that thinks the world is going mad”.
Each county nominates a player to represent them at PCA meetings and each of those 18 reps will be meeting with the ECB next month to air the views of their team-mates.
Rushworth, Durham’s representative, made his views clear in a tweet: “On this new format, what a load of bollocks. Can’t see many bowlers lining up to bowl a 10 ball over! Just machine getting hit for 4/5 sixes in an over, then still having 5/6 balls to go, hard enough as it is!! Any danger of giving something to the bowlers??? #stickwith20”
