IS THIS THE REAL McCOY ... OR JUST PLAIN NUTS?
Cheesy kits for the Hundred cop flak from fans
THE ECB took a major step towards the Hundred coming to fruition with the selection of the first three players for each franchise, but the garish new kits drew criticism among 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 the controversial format.
With the franchise names already having been 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 while the assembled players insisted they thought the brightly coloured shirts, trousers and caps were ‘cool’, the feedback online was mixed, with many fans criticising the choice of snack brands for a tournament that is being aimed at families and children.
The main sponsor for the tournament — which will launch next summer — is KP Snacks, which owns brands like Hula Hoops, Skips and Pombears, all of which have branding on the shirts.
On a playing front, the first picks highlighted the demand for Ben Stokes, who was snapped up by the Northern Superchargers. That meant Joe Root will not play in Yorkshire, something he described as a ‘little bit strange’, and the England captain will instead play for Nottinghamshirebased Trent Rockets.
Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow and Rory Burns, who were also in a ballot, will play for Cardiff-based Welsh Fire and the Lord’s team London Spirit respectively.
Each team has now picked three players, consisting of one contracted player and two ‘local icons’, with the main draft taking place at Sky’s headquarters on October 20.
Though scepticism of the Hundred certainly remains among cricket’s traditionalists, the players are convinced the format will work.
Jason Roy said: ‘I can’t see it being anything other than a success.’
Chris Woakes — who will play for Birmingham Phoenix — also sounded confident it would be popular, but admitted players’ reputations were ‘at stake’.
On the kit, he said: ‘We’ve seen it in the Big Bash, the amount of merchandise they sell, and kids wear the shirts all around the cities. Hopefully, we can have a bit of that here.’
The women’s franchises each picked two centrally contracted players, with England captain Heather Knight drafted to London Spirit.
All rounder Nat Sciver, who will play for Trent Rockets, said she hoped that playing in the same tournament as the men would help boost the profile of the women’s game.