A second ramble through the undergrowth of a unique competition
51 The eight head coaches are:
Jon Batty (Oval Invincibles); Danni Hazell (Northern Superchargers); Charlotte Edwards (Southern Brave); Jon Lewis (Trent Rockets) – not the England head coach, though he applied for the post; Stephen Parry (Manchester Originals); Ashley Noffke (London Spirit); Ben Sawyer (Birmingham Phoenix); Gareth Breese (Welsh Fire).
52 So that means just two women in charge, about par for women’s team sports.
53 A quiz question to offer your friends who reckon they know everything. Who did X play for in The 100 in 2024, 2023 and 2022? Reel off the names hidden behnd the X to your heart’s content.
54 When you see the non-striker look behind her before she answers her partner’s call, you’ll know she’s not doing her job properly. She must check the field behind the bowler’s umpire before every ball. Then she can concentrate on the tricky calls square of the batter’s wicket.
55 The tight schedule offsets the advantage of playing at the top grounds. Groundstaff had to produce more pitches over a shorter period. Some suffered.
56 Amusing to see the huddle continues as a vital pre-innings prologue. Every time the captain leads her team out, she has to think of a variation on “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!”
57 Several younger players have been making their mark. A deciding factor for Jon Lewis will be: how many skills has she mastered?
58 Will the authorities come up with any changes to the tournament next year? Possibilities include (not in order of importance):
59 A reduction in the number of overseas players per franchise. Is it a case of keeping up with the Jones’s (overseas leagues)? It’s still unproven that it benefits the English game more their opponents.
60 A different typeface. The current one is chunky and clunky, far from the spirit of forward-looking adventure. It appears everywhere, even on the players’ backs. YEAH!
61 A different type of PA. Gone the specialist needs of a world heavyweight bout: “In the blue corner…” I don’t have enough space to wait for him to complete the boxer’s name, even if it’s Ada Sim.
62 No penalty points for a below-par track?
63 The same fielding restrictions for women as for the men. Why are the bowlers handicapped (yet again) with only four players allowed outside the circle?
64 Size of playing area: an ancient problem, but it would be a help if grounds were permitted less variation. The usual counter runs “It’s the same for both teams”. But they rarely have the same types of bowler on show, so all is not equal.
65 Reduction in the number of unnecessary interruptions. They are there merely for commercials. They mitigate against the supposed aim of The Hundred, to speed things up.
66 The Hundred’s stats show where its interest lies. They offer six different lists of batting achievements, just two for bowling (wickets and best bowling figures). Of course, bowlers are only on the field to provide cannon fodder for batters. How about adding “maiden fives’? I hunt for an acceptable term.
67 Has the 100 got a future? It was seen as the great saviour, bringing spectators back into the game by the thousand. But (almost exclusively male) voices propose dropping it altogether.
68 The three Fantasy “Must Haves”, in The Hundred’s own judgement, were Georgia Adams, Ellyse Perry and Sophie Ecclestone. Few signs of crystal-ball gazing there.
69 In the event, others performed far better. Form is a fickle friend.
70 In so tight a schedule rain was bound to play its roguish part. Northern Superchargers’ loss to London Spirit at Headingley meant they could no longer qualify for the final stages. Their results included a tie and a rained-off game. They could do nothing about the latter.
71 There’s a strange disconnect between teams’ positions in the table and their Net Run-Rate. Superchargers, their chances now gone, gained by far the best NRR of all.
72 We’ll know that women’s cricket has really come of age when commentators no longer feel the need to downplay errors. It happens all too often. “Just a little bit”; “slightly”.
The complete opposite is equally undesirable; an extended close-up of a catch-dropper; the quacking duck waddling off with tears in its eyes; a return to that miscreant to see if she’s exhibiting any emotion yet.
73 It would be pleasant if we could learn more about the umpires. They too have a demanding schedule to complete. Every decision they make is checked by magical devices that reveal their errors.
74 If… if the USA could find ten other players of the quality of Tara Norris, and the Netherlands ten other players of the quality of Sterre Kalis, a whole new world of competition could open up.
75 “Catch it!” This phrase is the sacred property of the wicket-keeper. Which of the eight-plus keepers have shouted it most often? My guess: Georgia Redmayne. Take it a step further and ask: which of them has shouted the most pointlessly?
76 The straight drive is a prolific source of runs, but it can lead to drama. The bowler may pull off a dazzling catch-and-bowl; or deflect the ball on to the stumps, running the non-striker out. Most dramatic of all, the umpire is in direct line of fire. How does she defend herself? Are helmets the answer?
77 “Too straight!” – another phrase that is hard to understand for many. It’s a short-hand for “hittable to the leg-side”. But if the ball is straight, it may well rearrange the stumps.
78 “Going down” – another oddity. It sounds like the lift operator in an old-fashioned store, but it means simply missing the stumps on the leg-side. I offer you “Going up!” for ball passing the other side of the wicket. It’ll never catch on.
79 What a contrast for Heather Knight. In 2013 she scored 157 in just under seven hours against Australia. This year at Headingley she hit a six to complete the win over Superchargers (43*/35).
80 On the penultimate day of the regular season the bottom team played the leaders. The oddity: it was Southern Brave hosting Welsh Fire, not the other way round.
81 Normally playing a big game at the Oval or Lord’s would be an unforgettable moment for many players. Probably it still is, but The Hundred uses all the test grounds as a matter of course.
82 After Trent Rockets’ innings of 84 v the Invincibles (54 dots!), the question arises: can a franchise be deducted points for a poor pitch? A search through The Hundred’s regulations direct us straight to the ECB’s basic rulings. So the answer is no? It was the away team that won.
83 A pleasant variation: Invincibles believe in 10 deliveries straight off. At Trent Bridge they set a new record of five of them.
84 Another weakness of the 100: a squad of 15, but too few games available for the head coach to offer everyone a chance. Then an injury happens, in comes a new face (always English?) and she fails through lack of match practice.
85 Identity: a central issue in the world of franchise cricket. Players are bought and sold each year. Any team spirit built during one brief season is dissipated by the next set of drafts. Fans have to adjust their support. See No. 53
86 Rain, rain, go away! This summer the clerk to the weather was generous; only one game was abandoned.
87 Catches. There have been plenty of outstanding examples, not least the two in the final Rockets-Invincibles game, snaffled by Mady Villiers and Ryanna Macdonald-Gay (or “Macdonald- Gray,” if you’re willing to believe Eoin Morgan, who’s less than familiar with so many of the players.
Of course, both happened well away from the wicket. Close catches remain a rarity, so fielding coaches concentrate on the other sort.
88 It appears Villiers turned down the offer of an interview with Stuart Broad post-match. How are the mighty fallen! Perhaps he couldn’t afford her asking fee.
89 Southern Brave v Welsh Fire at Southampton. We had to admire the tactical nous behind Fire’s early successes. The choice of bowlers and the placement of fielders to the leading batters. Danni Wyatt, Smriti Mandanha and Maia Bouchier all removed for a combined total of 13 runs. Despite Chloe Tryon’s defiant 55/38, the damage was done, and the former champions remained disconsolate in eighth place.
90 Each women’s squad has the following salary structure: £50,000 (two players), £40,000 (two), £30,000 (two), £17,500 (two), £14,000 (two), £11,000 (two), £8,000 (three). I’m the only person left in the world of cricket who finds this apportioning of wealth within a team distasteful.
91 It’s in the nature of cricket that a player has ups and downs. For the overseas stars failure can be embarrassing. For the younger British players success means a lot. At Nottingham Rachel Slater’s 2-15 off her 20 was another heartening performance for Scottish cricket. She bowled Nat Sciver-Brunt with a ball that was scared of heights. Then Sophia Smale (Wales) took 2-10 off 15, and Mady Villiers (Essex) 1-17 off 20.
92 The tricky Trent Bridge pitch saw the ball behave erratically. Alana King produced another unplayable delivery to bowl Alice Capsey. It pitched a distance outside leg stump but hit the top of off. Villiers had less luck. One ball pitched outside off, then leapt sideways to pass bat, wicket and keeper on its way to short-fine.
93 Inevitably the early batters had problems. The ball often kept very low to beat an attempted sweep or pull. Too many matches on too few available strips? But Athapaththu’s dismissal was different. She stroked three glorious fours along the floor, then suddenly lofted a catch to mid-on that was dropped. Next ball, another lofted stroke, caught at long-off. What was she thinking?
94 The Toss: the tradition is for the winner of the toss to field first. Tammy Beaumont followed suit, and her side waltzed to a 9-wicket win. She and Hayley Matthews added an undefeated 72. Beaumont’s 59* was a calling card left on Jon Lewis’ doormat. She spent most of the game smiling.
95 But don’t worry. The cameras took their chance to linger on Jofra Archer’s bag for a second time. The women’s game could take a back seat for a few miles.
96 As we try to look at the competition through Jon Lewis’ eyes, I sense that some players have lost ground. One example is 19-year-old Freya Kemp. While she was recovering from a nasty back injury, she seemed capable of finding a place in the T20 side as a fine striker of the ball. But The Hundred set her back, and her bowling has not recovered sufficiently to reinforce her claims; one wicket in five games.
97 Lewis, his assistants and analysts will go much deeper into the stats, but the number of players boarding the flight to the T20 World Cup remains limited.
98 Let’s hope a good time was had by all. Next year the franchises will change dramatically again.
99 The top of the table looks like this:
1 Welsh Fire 11 points
2 Oval Invincibles 11 points
3 London Spirit 9 points
Combined, they won 14 and lost 7. The unpredictability of the 100!
100 Final Games:
Eliminator: 17 August, Invincibles v Spirit (Oval, 14.15 BST)
Final: 18 August, Welsh Fire v ? (Lord’s, 14.15 BST)
