THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

I'm not a fan of cricket (Scottish you see, don't understand it), but I've watched the last two nights of The Hundred and found myself enjoying it immensely. Last evening was brilliant. Last minute drama. I could do without the DJ's, interviews and associated nonsense, but I guess that's part and parcel of this format.

Now... I'm aware that this snacks sponsored circus isn't for everyone, but as someone who normally wouldn't watch cricket under any circumstances, surely this is a great way to entice folk like me to get interested in the game.

_________________
When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.

I have struggled to "get" cricket for so long, despite wishing I was interested and "got it" because it seems a great sport to "get." The Hindred over the past few years has been great at helping understand it more. Like taking a 6 year old to a women's football match to help them understand football

_________________
#DonYourWhite

Turn Stadium MK WHITE In The Playoffs

https://donsaction.co.uk/

GET THIS SEASONS HOME SHIRT FOR £16.50 ↓↓↓
https://shop.mkdons.co.uk/collections/23-24-home-kit

This is exactly the purpose of The Hundred. It gets people interested that had no prior interest in cricket. Even my Mum came with me to Lord's last year and she didn't know anything about cricket!

Also btw Gers, if you're fed up of the interviews and DJ's then I'd recommend switching over to sky. They're showing every game (I believe they also stream them free on YouTube) and I think they focus on the cricket a bit more.

I hate it.

There are pros and cons to the Hundred - I've watched quite a bit of it over the last couple of days. I've quite enjoyed it although it doesn't really feel like it matters like the Ashes did.

PROS
- It's getting people who don't normally like or watch cricket to give it a go
- Attendances at the grounds look pretty good
- Kids seem to love it (partly thanks to the whizzy graphics and bright colours)
- It's got live cricket back on free-to-air telly
- It's given women's cricket (which is ten times better than women's football will ever be) a fantastic boost
- Even in the third season, saying you're watching Skips v Pom-Bear is still funny

CONS
- It's not achieving anything that couldn't have been done by promoting T20 cricket properly
- The T20 Blast competition has been marginalised, which really hits the smaller counties hard financially (even though they've all been given a massive compensatory bung by the ECB because of the Hundred)
- The actual team names - i.e. not the crisp ones - are silly and contrived
- It was supposed to be aimed firmly at children and the only shirt sponsor the ECB could get was a collection of KP Snacks brands, which is entertaining but not a good look
- It's compromised the already-congested cricket calendar, which makes it harder to develop future England Test players because they only really get to play Championship games at crappy times of the year like April and September

TL;DR: the Hundred is great for bringing new people into the sport, but has caused so many issues in so many other areas that I'm not convinced it's worth it.

Nevertheless, I'm sure I will still end up watching Popchips v Butterkist this evening.

_________________
"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

It's actually quite good to have the choice, I think.

If you want more serious analysis of play and in-depth coverage, watch Sky.

If you want things in more layman's terms, and you like reporters calling female players Barbie to their face on-air, watch the Beeb.

_________________
"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

Don't forget Jason Roy swearing about making porridge!

Ooh, I missed that one. Then again, if you miss the first few balls you miss Jason Roy a lot these days.

_________________
"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

Here it is in all its glory:

https://twitter.com/RichardKosmala/stat ... XgFdw&s=19

Didn't know it was on Sky. I'll give that a go tonight.

_________________
When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.