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SPORTS JULY 30, 2021 | The Indian Eye 46

an Outsider’s perspective on the County

Cricket-hundred Debate: Can they Co-exist?

Abraham Lincoln famously remarked, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

ngland cricket is having 2 groups, 133 matches,
that moment right now June-September
Ewith the County Cricket • The Hundred: July-August
vs The Hundred debate. From Add the home Test summer,
the outside, everything seems the English rain, and this is a
fine—2019 World Cup victo- packed schedule. The issue with
ry, Anderson-Broad still going the T20 Blast is that it is played
strong, finally a somewhat sta- over 18 teams, broken over sev-
ble opening Test partnership in eral months, with numerous
Burns-Sibley, and an enviable games on the same day. The
depth. momentum is stagnant, regu-
Deep down, though, there lar international talent not re-
are gaping cracks. Tradition, tained, and coverage low.
history, club cricket, profession- Why not Follow the india
al contracts, indirect impact on brOken cricket dreaMS
Tests are stacked against city- Model?
based franchises, new format, NITESH MATHUR With 38 teams & multiple
media rights, and emphasis on groups, Ranji Trophy, Syed
limited overs cricket. www.brokencricketdreams.com Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the
IPL coexist. A separate window
is controversy helping for the IPL ensures availability
que part-timer keeps it tight, let The level of women’s cricket of homegrown talent as well as
county cricket or hundred? him continue. was criticized in Women’s T20 majority of foreign players. Ran-
I have no affinity with a spe- I also like the speed of the Challenge when the Velocity
cific county and do not follow game. The over-rate field place- were bundled for 47 although ji Trophy provides professional
much of County Championship, ment penalty and the swiftness conditions were not ideal. In support, SMAT is scheduled
Royal One Day Cup, or the T20 of DRS decisions has reduced the Hundred, when the wom- strategically a month before the
Blast. Nor did I watch a single the time down to less than 3 en’s team only scored 113-93, auction to showcase new talent,
and the IPL, in return, provides
game of the Kia Super League. hours. the men’s teams did even worse developed players, academies,
Yet the endless debates Most importantly, the crick- 87/10 a few hours later in a spin & scouting systems back to the
and discussion on social media et has been good, and it looks dominated pitch. The average domestic teams.
against The Hundred piqued my like a fun family time. Afford- scores are 124 and 137 so far
curiosity. I have since watched able tickets, priceless expres- for the women’s & men’s edi- From the looks of it, ECB
almost all games of The Hun- sions of kids, last over thrillers, tions respectively, and quality of has almost made up its mind
dred and have enjoyed them Lizelle Lee-Jemimah Rodrigues cricket equally enthralling. about the Hundred at least for
a couple of seasons. So why not
too. While County Cricket fans specials, find of Chris Benjamin, try to find a solution that bene-
are trying to fight for their side, Alex Hales-Ben Stokes drama, can county cricket, t20 fits all parties involved instead
they might have actually helped and Bairstow being Bairstow. blast, and the hundred
publicize the Hundred. All good. of opposing it?
There is always room for im- coexist—yay or nay? I will leave you with Michael
Atherton’s warning on com-
the good, bad, and Ugly provement, however. Graphics One argument has been why mentary today. Fans are drawn

So has The Hundred lived are all over the place, crowds not just re-market the T20 Blast towards a new format because it
up to the hype? are not sell-outs, and even um- instead of creating a new for- is exciting and different. Admin-
First impressions—the pos- pire Nigel Llong had to ask the mat? istrators get greedy and keep
DJ to dial it down a notch.
sibility that a bowler can bowl If we all agree that County expanding like the IPL and Big
10 consecutive balls has add- disparity in Score Cricket, T20 Blast, and the Hun- Bash. A few years later, the for-
ed an extra dimension. Rashid dred are to coexist, the question mat becomes diluted and ‘loses
Khan went as far as to say it’s decreases then becomes of scheduling. its pizzazz.’
now possible to take three hat- The simultaneous match- • County Championship: 18 Lincoln was right. Now En-
tricks! Imagine the flexibility es with the Women’s Hun- Teams, 3 Groups, 90 matches, gland must choose—an internal
with swing bowlers and death dred is turning out to be a ga- April-July divisive cricket Civil War or a
specialists. When a Joe Root-es- mechanger. • T20 Vitality Blast: 18 Teams, mutual partnership?

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