The Hundred Explained: Cricket's 100-Ball Format and Its Controversies
The rules and structure of The Hundred (England's 100-ball city franchise competition launched in 2021) — the 10-ball over system, the change-of-ends rule, powerplay lengths, how it differs from T20, who plays in it, the controversy over its impact on county cricket, and whether it has grown the cricket audience.
The Basic Rules of The Hundred
The Hundred is a 100-delivery-per-innings cricket format played by 8 city-based franchises (teams representing London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds/Sheffield, Cardiff, Nottingham, and two London-area teams). The key rule difference from T20: instead of 6-ball overs, a bowler can bowl either 5 consecutive deliveries or 10 consecutive deliveries before a change of bowler is made. This replaces the concept of 'overs' entirely — an innings consists of 100 balls divided into sets of 5 or 10 deliveries.
The change-of-ends rule: after every 10 deliveries, the teams swap which end is batting from (the batting team's end rotates, but the batsmen do not — it is the fielding/bowling end that switches). This means the bowler who bowled 10 consecutive deliveries is replaced, and the new bowler starts from the opposite end. Each bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 deliveries (20% of the innings) in total. The powerplay covers the first 25 deliveries of each innings: only 2 fielders may be outside the 30-yard circle.
Why The Hundred Was Created
The ECB's stated purpose in creating The Hundred was to attract a new audience to cricket — specifically families, young children, and non-cricket fans who found T20 still too long or too complicated. The 100-ball format was positioned as a 2.5-hour entertainment product comparable to attending a football match or cinema. City branding (rather than county names) was designed to give the competition a broader urban identity that resonated beyond the existing cricket fanbase.
The competition has attracted significant female audiences — Women's Hundred matches are played as double-headers with Men's Hundred matches at the same venue on the same day, giving women's cricket equal billing. ECB data suggests the female proportion of The Hundred's attendees was approximately 40% in the first two seasons, higher than any other major cricket competition. Whether this represents genuinely new cricket fans or a redistribution of existing ones is debated.
The Controversies
The Hundred has generated sustained controversy within English cricket. The primary objections: county cricket players are contracted away from county duty during The Hundred window (mid-July to mid-August), disrupting the County Championship's most important summer period; the competition replaces the ECB's existing domestic T20 competition (the Vitality Blast, which many counties depend on for revenue) in prime scheduling slots; and the 100-ball format is confusing for international audiences unfamiliar with cricket's traditional structure, potentially limiting global broadcast reach.
Frequently asked questions
How is the 10-delivery format displayed in scorecards?
The Hundred's scorecards use a simplified format: deliveries bowled (not overs), runs scored, and wickets taken are the primary display metrics. Ball counts are tracked in sets of 5 or 10 deliveries. Broadcast coverage typically shows a delivery counter (e.g., '25 remaining') rather than traditional over numbers. For fans used to T20 scorecards, the transition requires adjustment; for newcomers, the delivery count is designed to be more intuitive than the over-and-ball notation used in all other cricket formats.
Are The Hundred results equivalent to T20 results statistically?
No — The Hundred's 100-ball innings is not directly comparable to a T20's 120-ball innings. Average scores in The Hundred are lower (typically 130-170 runs per innings vs 160-190 in high-quality T20I cricket) partly because of the format's compressed delivery count and partly because strategic differences (the 5 or 10 delivery set creates different powerplay and endgame dynamics). Records set in The Hundred — highest score, best bowling, etc. — are tracked separately from T20 records.
Which overseas players play in The Hundred?
The Hundred attracts high-profile international players during the late July-August window when most other major T20 leagues have finished their seasons. Recent participating players have included Pat Cummins, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, and other established international names. The ECB's tiered contract system (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver) places top overseas players on Diamond contracts (maximum salary for the competition's duration), making it financially competitive for short-window participation.