The simple beauty of the Hundred

Time to come clean: I really like the Hundred. This is the sort of view that normally makes people look at you as if you had just professed an admiration for Gary Glitter. But come on, this is a crisp little short-form cricket tournament, played out at the height of summer to largely packed houses. What really is not to like? Cricket is one of the few sports that works in different formats, so it beats me why the Hundred arouses such venom. It has done wonders for the women’s game, it doesn’t take long and it is all televised – much of it on terrestrial TV. Crucially, it has brought new fans to the sport, especially families and youngsters.

This year’s didn’t start too well: there were too many low–scoring matches and if a team are 70-odd for six off 75 balls, there’s not much doubt about the result in a 100-ball game.