Kmflett's Blog

The picture is of the Leeds Sunrisers v London Spirit game at Leeds on the evening of Monday 3rd August. There is a decent crowd but certainly not a sell out. Its school holidays so Tuesday is not a school day.

The controversy over the Hundred Mk2 continues. There is no question that with the franchise system and up to 4 international players allowed in a match the quality of the cricket is better. That point is focused on the men’s game. I’m a little less sure about the women’s matches which are improving contest wise as the tournament proceeds(thoughts are welcome).

Crowds seem to be improving a bit too and there have been some decent attendances and also for some games lots of empty seats. The exception has been Sofia Gardens, Cardiff. The Sunday afternoon and evening games between Welsh Fire and Southern Brave were very nearly sold out. I’ll post further on that.

With an auction system operating none of the teams now have sides with much connection to the areas they are based in but the franchisers who operate on a global scale may not be too bothered about that.

Simon Wilde (Sunday Times 2nd August) notes that a decline in crowds of between 4-6% was factored in without ECB central promotion. And perhaps too without freebies and complimentary tickets. However social media interaction is up 75%, not surprising given the star players involved now. These are clips of six hitting or wickets. Quite probably posted by the franchisers across global platforms. Nicholas Pooran for example only plays franchise cricket around the world

TV Viewing figures are also up. We await actual figures, if they appear. The broadcast rights are up for renewal in 2029 and Wilde reports that negotiations are set to start in 2027 with a view to increasing the cost. If so the BBC won’t be able to afford it and Sky might prefer darts, football and golf.

Two of the franchises have complete control- at Hampshire and Yorkshire- and Wilde reports there is little interaction with the existing County owners. Rather the idea is to impose the global brand whether or not this works with a local audience.

The original thought was that the Hundred was designed to usurp and do away with County cricket. On the evidence so far of 2026 its a far more braver new world than that the ECB has wandered into, with English and Welsh cricket being sucked into a global franchise system wat beyond their control.

One way of looking at it is that it’s cricket but not as we know it…