IS THIS THE REAL McCOY ...OR JUST PLAIN NUTS?
Cheesy kits for the Hundred cop flak from fans
THE ECB took a step towards The Hundred coming to fruition with the selection of three players for each franchise, but the garish new kits drew criticism from fans.
The governing body’s attempts to appeal to a new audience were made clear by their choice of an east London warehouse as the venue to launch their controversial format. With the franchise names already leaked, and the identity of most of the first 24 players having been revealed by Sportsmail, one unknown ahead of the event was the kit.
And although the assembled players insisted they thought the brightly-coloured shirts, trousers and caps were ‘cool’, reaction online was mixed, with many fans criticising the choice of snack brands for a tournament aimed at families and children.
The main sponsor for the tournament — which launches next summer — are KP Snacks, who own brands like Hula Hoops, Skips and Pombears, all of whom have branding on the shirts.
The first picks highlighted the unsurprising demand for Ben Stokes, who was snapped up by the Northern Superchargers. That means Joe Root will not play in Yorkshire, something he described as a ‘little bit strange’. The England captain will instead play for Nottinghamshire-based Trent Rockets. Jonny Bairstow and Rory Burns will play for Cardiff-based Welsh Fire and the Lord’s team London Spirit respectively.
Each team has now picked three players — one contracted player and two ‘local icons’. The main draft takes place on October 20.
Chris Woakes, who will play for Birmingham Phoenix, sounded confident that The Hundred would be popular, but conceded that players’ reputations were at stake.
On the kit, he said: ‘The quirkiness of the kit kind of goes with the tournament I suppose.’
The women’s franchises each picked two centrally contracted players, with England captain Heather Knight drafted to London Spirit. All-rounder Nat Sciver will play for Trent Rockets.