![]() ![]() Yet, for all that, the countdown nature of the format - with the scoreboard ticking ominously down from 100 - did give the match a sense of theatre and a simple, compelling narrative, and this particular match was taken to the final ball.Īs with all cricket games there will be non-contests along the way which will struggle to hold the attention, but at least the games will be over quickly enough. Indeed, wicket celebrations were most notable for a team-mate running on to give everyone a squirt amid the revelry. The sterile atmosphere was taken to literal extremes given the amount of breaks that were taken for hand sanitisation. Played behind closed doors, no spectators or MCC members (aside from those playing) were allowed in the ground.Īs the only journalist inside, it all made for a rather strange sensory experience, with every shot, fielding instruction or batters’ call heard amid a backdrop of construction noise from the redevelopment of the Compton and Edrich Stands. This may have been a seminal moment in the history of Lord's but the occasion itself was a pretty soulless affair. Verdict: Simple enough for everyone to know what is going on. Thankfully, at least in the eyes of most existing cricket fans, the proposal to replace the term ‘wickets’ with ‘outs’ has been ditched, but the scoreboard has been simplified significantly.įive main features take pride of place: runs scored, runs required, wickets, balls bowled and balls remaining.Īlthough individual batters have their name and score on screen, bowlers are the unsung participants of the game, with no mention by name and only a small nod given to how many dot balls they have managed.Įverything else - partnership, run rate, last dismissal etc - is superfluous to requirements. ![]() A simplified scoreboardĪside from ensuring everything is sped up, the raison d’etre of The Hundred is to simplify the often incredibly complicated sport of cricket. However, the ECB later clarified the correct signal that will be used in The Hundred will see an umpire cross their arms in front of them. Needing a way of informing everyone that a bowler would not be concluding their spell after five balls and would in fact be continuing for another five, the umpires opted for what might be coined ‘the rollover’ - a roll of both hands very similar to that delivered when someone is injured in football and a signal is given to the bench that the player needs to be substituted. ![]() Those in charge at Lord’s on Thursday had no major slip-ups embracing the new format, although it seems even they have some homework to do. There is plenty for players and fans to learn along the way, but spare a thought for the umpires who are expected to be on top of all the rule changes and ensure the game runs smoothly. Verdict: Confusing to start with, but the divisions of five has merit. The early impression is that we will rarely see fast bowlers asked to undertake 10 consecutive balls, with spinners far more likely to do so if called upon. It is a lot for a captain to take on board and Thursday’s match was barely 20 minutes old before the fielding captain was caught unawares by the quick turnaround, remarking: “Oh, is that five balls already?” Brought up on a diet of six-ball overs, the removal of one delivery will take some getting used to. There is also the added complication that a bowler is allowed to bowl two of these segments back to back, i.e. As to whether we can officially refer to those segments as overs, the jury remains out. Each innings contains 100 balls, which are split into 20 five-ball segments. One of the biggest simplifications of The Hundred is to remove six-ball overs and make everything easily divisible. So, what did the game look like - and did it all work? A new breed of over ![]() Cricket’s newest format, The Hundred, made its debut at the world’s most hallowed ground on Thursday when the MCC hosted two intra-club matches at Lord’s as part of it’s Women’s Day.Īs the only media organisation in the ground, Telegraph Sport was given exclusive insight into a new form of the game that has proven so controversial before it has even begun. ![]()
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