Leading cricket trio hail The Hundred's impact in the sport ahead of new season
Cricketers Jamie Overton, Sam Cook and Naomi Dattani have spoken highly of The Hundred's impact on cricket as the competition enters its third season.
With plenty to talk about in the T20 Blast, County Championship and both Ashes series still going, The Hundred presented by Compare the Market promises to be another action-packed competition in England and Wales. Manchester Originals Overton was joined along with Trent Rockets Cook and Dattani to discuss the impact The Hundred has had in the sport since its inception two years ago.
The competition has received its fair share of critics at the start but last year saw 14.1 million TV viewers - including 5.9 million from new audiences too, as well as more than 500,000 attending the matches. And Mirror Sport spoke exclusively with the players ahead of this year's edition of The Hundred and the topic of the competition's impact in the sport came up with all of them praising the format and the platform it has given to the women's game especially.
Jamie Overton said: “I think it’s another one of the sort of probably not a franchise competition but it is bit of a franchise competition. I think it’s a case of getting your name out there a bit more and then if you do well in a competition like this then people start to recognise you and puts yourself up for other competitions elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, Sam Cook will be swapping Essex for the joys of Trent Bridge in August as he prepares for his third season for the Rockets. Cook picked up five wickets in last year's edition and spoke highly of the competition bringing in top quality players too.
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He said : “It’s an innovative format that isn’t done anywhere else around the world so I think it’s taken a bit of time to get used to but you see the calibre of players from overseas who put themselves in the draft and play in the competition. It’s a pioneering flagship competition around the world.
"It’s something you speak to other players, they all want to come over and play in it and everyone’s got aspirations to play in it. So I think it’s really taken off and think it’s going to be even bigger than the last two.”
Fellow Rocket Naomi Dattani believes the competition has been a catalyst in the growth of women's cricket in England since it started two years ago. The 29-year-old spent two years at London Spirit before the all-rounder made the move to Trent Rockets this year
Naomi Dattani said: “I think more so for the women’s game. It's put this game on a really big platform in this country and to be alongside the guys and have that kind of unity.
"It's been really good and it’s given the girl’s a lot more drive to push on and show off in that competition. There’s more franchise competition happening around the world for the women’s game so this is definitely a place to show off your skills and a great platform to get your name out there.”
Minecraft YouTubers Captain Puffy, Solidary Gaming and Smajor will be swapping the controllers for the commentary box and will each commentate on a Hundred match. (Compare The Market)The women's game has certainly grown in its support and you do not have to look further than this summer's Ashes series which has seen record-breaking attendances in the Test Match as well as the T20 and ODI matches against Australia as England narrowly missed out
Dattani added: “The Hundred has definitely been a catalyst for that with all the added marketing and everything that goes along with it. The audience gets to know who the women’s players are, get to build a fanbase for us as well and that’s naturally filtered down to the regional game which is really exciting because that’s where our professional game is.”
Elsewhere, Overton played down any sort of sibling rivalry with his twin-brother and Southern Brave's Craig Overton, who he faced in the T20 Blast Finals Day earlier this month, where the Somerset player claimed the bragging rights. Jamie insisted both of them are very much focused on the cricket rather than who they faced and joked his parents would not approve if they took it easy on one another.
He said: “I think it gets talked up more than it actually is. We are both playing for different teams but at the end of the day we are both playing cricket. Someone said to me the other day that ‘he caught you out on Finals Day, do you mind?’ and I’m like no not really because we are there to play cricket, we are not there to go easy on each other. I think if we did then our parents would probably tell us off.”
The players spoke ahead of the match at Lord's Cricket Ground which will host the final as Compare the Market announce three Minecraft YouTubers will commentate on a match each in this year's edition.
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Captain Puffy, Solidary Gaming and Smajor will each take to the commentary box at the Oval, Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford respectively next month.
Mark Vile, Chief Marketing Officer at Compare the Market, said: “The Hundred has become a much-loved fixture on the summer sporting entertainment calendar, which Compare the Market is excited to be a part of."
Children aged five or under can go for free while tickets for six to 15-year-olds are set at £5 and adult tickets start at just £10 too.
To learn more, and secure your tickets to attend, visit The Hundred's official website.
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