The Hundred got off the mark on 21st Oval with the women game between Invincibles and the Manchester Originals. It turned out to be a cracking tournament opener. The curtain-raiser was a nail-biting affair and every cricket fan would have enjoyed it to the fullest. Meanwhile, one thing that attracted everyone’s attention was the fireworks all around the ground when teams took the field in the match.
The Hundred tournament is being played based on the new format introduced by England Cricket Board. Everyone had their figure crossed for the curtain-raiser in ECB and wanted the tournament to get off the mark with a bang. With no hassle, The Hundred attracted everyone with the arrangement of fireworks on the sidelines. Even the skipper of Oval Invincibles and the Manchester Originals were in awe and charged up to play in such a positive environment.
Everyone wanted to see how the game will turn out based on the new format and what all new things will everyone get to watch. It is sure that ECB has managed to attract the world’s attention with their arrangements for The Hundred. Following the season opener, there were several things that worked out. But also there were areas that need improvement and also looked bizarre at one point of the game.
Let’s talk about the things that worked and that didn’t during the curtain-raiser of The Hundred:
Highlights
Separate Entrance For Batters
The batters in the opening game came out to bat through a separate entrance. Meanwhile, their name was digitally displayed on the door. It has nothing to do with the rules of the game. But, it looked impressive and batters looked like warriors going out for a battle. It is something never witnessed in any of the big leagues like IPL, BBL, CPL, and PSL ever.
A proper stage for a toss
Usually, we have witnessed tosses happening on the ground between the skippers in the presence of a sports presenter and match referee. It took in a similar fashion but on a DJ stage.
Lowlights
Use Of White-cards by umpires
During the curtain-raiser, it looked bizarre that the umpire on the field was using a white card every five balls. At one point, it looked very confusing that whether he was using the same for the bowler getting replaced or five-ball completion.
Pace of the game is still slow
ECB claimed that it is going to be one of the quickest formats ever played on the planet. But, that has not been the case. A total of 84 balls were being bowled in an hour and this was pretty much standard as compared to other formats like T20Is, & 50-over format.
Rules That Makes The Hundred Different From Others
New No-Ball Rule
It is well known that the batting side is always awarded a run if a bowler bowls a no-ball. But, ECB modified the rule for The Hundred, and the batting side gets two runs for a no-ball bowled in the game.
Free-Hit Rule Re-innovated
The free-hit rule is quite different from the one used in international cricket or other T20 leagues. Usually, the batting side gets a free-hit for whichever type of no-ball bowled by the bowler like overstepping, over the base, etc.
In The Hundred tournament batting side gets a free hit for only over-stepping but not for the height. In the curtain-raiser, Shabnim Ismail bowled no-ball of height. But, the batting side was not awarded with a free-hit for the same.
Five Balls knocked “overs” out of the picture
In The Hundred, every bowler is allowed to bowl five balls or 10 balls from the same bowling end. There is no term like over being used in the matches of The Hundred. Overall, a bowler is allowed to bowl 20 balls and it depends on the skipper how they can use their premier pacer in the best possible way.
Graphics Used In The Hundred are of premium quality
The ardent followers of cricket will be aware of many different scorecards being televised during the games. But, the scorecards that are being used in The Hundred are very different and impressive in comparision to all those that are used in international cricket.
