The Hundred ban on Sweet Caroline. Haven’t they heard of the Techno mix?
For those who watched the first game in the new cricket competition The Hundred on Wednesday night it may have been quite difficult to spot any significant changes from other limited over contests.
One was the addition of DJs and music though they couldn’t’ really be picked up on the broadcast. There was an interview with one of the official DJs who said it was all ‘amazing’. No doubt but what was the specific connection to cricket?
One difference however was the there was no singing of Sweet Caroline despite occasional mutterings from BBC commentators Tufnell and Vaughan that there should be.
Anyone who has attended an big cricket match in recent times will be familiar with the singing of the Neil Diamond song Sweet Caroline by many in the crowd. This year it was also taken up by England football fans at the European Cup. It is certainly better than some of the alternative songs. Some like David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd complained but the song isn’t the property of any particular group of fans.
According to a report in the always reliable Daily Telegraph, The Hundred has cancelled the song. The Hundred is as much about DJs and live music as it is about cricket, and the DJs won’t be playing Sweet Caroline.
Apparently the cricket authorities think the song is associated with raucous and indeed not sober fans and this is not the family image The Hundred wants.
It suggests perhaps to few people’s surprise how out of touch the ECB is. There are dance, techno and dubnbase mixes and remixes of Sweet Caroline which would surely fit well with the DJ aspect of the Hundred.
However so far the song remains cancelled. Cue an intervention by Culture and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden and heated ‘discussions’ on GB News.
There is of course nothing that can really be done if fans just sing it anyway
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