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The Hundred 2025

Tbh mate reading the thread I’m exactly the same as you.

Love cricket, watch every England game and any Blast, T20 or IPL on that’s ever on. (Even the smaller nations on different channels too)

I also listen to tailenders, No balls, sky sprints cricket podcast etc every week. And love woman’s cricket just as much as mens.

Never really been interested in Durham; I’d like to see them so well as that’s where I’m from, and if it’s say Durham vs Sussex on the telly, Il be cheering for Durham… but apart from that I’ve never been fussed.
Well yeah that’s it totally agree, I like to see Durham win as went to watch them when they won the one day cup final ( the Ottis Gibson game).

But I not that fussed either way love the sport more that any particular team as with football been too busy playing than watching over the years.

And when I did watch I was more passionate about my club cricket team rather than a county team again surely that fine

I think it’s fine been like that as it is been a avid passionate supporter of Durham or any team for that matter each to their own and should be respected imo.

I am like you loving cricket and in fact have just been listening to sky sports podcast on walk this morning about this subject very good listen.
 
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Well yeah that’s it totally agree, I like to see Durham win as went to watch them when they won the one day cup final ( the Ottis Gibson game).

But I not that fussed either way love the sport more that any particular team as with football been too busy playing than watching over the years.

And when I did watch I was more passionate about my club cricket team rather than a county team again surely that fine

I think it’s fine been like that as it is been a avid passionate supporter of Durham or any team for that matter each to their own and should be respected imo.

I am like you loving cricket and in fact have just been listening to sky sports podcast on walk this morning about this subject very good listen.
Absolutely mate. And tbh Kudos to the Durham fans on here that travel home and away.. hats off to them mind.

I just don’t have that level or intrested in it, it’s the oppisite with Sunderland for me, couldn’t care less about England.

I literally travel from Scotland to the home games that are weekenders. And don’t watch England at all. Unless it’s a tournament then I have abit more I guess
 
Absolutely mate. And tbh Kudos to the Durham fans on here that travel home and away.. hats off to them mind.

I just don’t have that level or intrested in it, it’s the oppisite with Sunderland for me, couldn’t care less about England.

I literally travel from Scotland to the home games that are weekenders. And don’t watch England at all. Unless it’s a tournament then I have abit more I guess
It’s a individual thing and choice mate
 
I’m not a 100 fan I’ll never go. I hate it takes up the best month of the summer and we have no county or test match red ball games because of it.

The ECB have been arrogant over it. The county 20/20 is great and has loads of games which gives lots of people a chance to see it.

The only good thing about the 100 has been the impact and financial benefit it’s had for the women’s games. A franchise could happen in some capacity for the women still I reckon with some games still taking place before men’s county 20/20 games at the bigger grounds.
 
Just listened to the guys on BBC TMS doing a podcast on a walk this morning on the sale and the possible positives and negatives of it.

Another interesting and balanced listen
 
Serious question.

Are we the only country that’s introduced a franchise tournament and seen Cricket get less popular?
 
Serious question.

Are we the only country that’s introduced a franchise tournament and seen Cricket get less popular?
give it time, these people wont let it decline, expect loads of money invested into it
It’s clear this tournament should be changed to T20 to mirror every other short form tournament in the world
didnt the TV companies want it to be 3 hours, im not sure if it will stay just to be something different
 
give it time, these people wont let it decline, expect loads of money invested into it

didnt the TV companies want it to be 3 hours, im not sure if it will stay just to be something different
I think it was the biggest mistake personally, as it was always going to be opposition to franchise and making it 100 balls instead 20 overs just give it critics even more ammunition.

20 over cricket whether traditionalists like it or not as took off worldwide and should have followed that model
 
give it time, these people wont let it decline, expect loads of money invested into it

didnt the TV companies want it to be 3 hours, im not sure if it will stay just to be something different
Viewing figures & ticket sales have declined year on year. What do you think they have planned that will change that trend?
 
Ticket sales have increased, viewing figures were down last year because of Olympics
Ticket sales were 7% down on 2023, as were viewing figures.
It’s clear this tournament should be changed to T20 to mirror every other short form tournament in the world
That would mean admitting that they lied from the outset.

After stating categorically that no TV company would touch that format, you'd wonder if even the most ardent 16.4 accolyte would catch on as to what is going on.
 
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Serious question.

Are we the only country that’s introduced a franchise tournament and seen Cricket get less popular?
What’s your definition of that? To be meaningful, you have to be saying that the franchise tournament is less popular than what preceded it. And whatever the rights and wrongs of what might have been done with the Blast instead, to deal with its declining ticket sales and the complete disinterest of sky to show anything before the quarter-final, that’s clearly not true.
 
What’s your definition of that? To be meaningful, you have to be saying that the franchise tournament is less popular than what preceded it. And whatever the rights and wrongs of what might have been done with the Blast instead, to deal with its declining ticket sales and the complete disinterest of sky to show anything before the quarter-final, that’s clearly not true.
2024 Attendances:

T20 Blast: 880,000 (up on 2023)
The 16.4: 540,000 (down on 2023)
 
What’s your definition of that? To be meaningful, you have to be saying that the franchise tournament is less popular than what preceded it. And whatever the rights and wrongs of what might have been done with the Blast instead, to deal with its declining ticket sales and the complete disinterest of sky to show anything before the quarter-final, that’s clearly not true.
Participation, viewing figures & ticket sales are all declining across the board. By across the board I mean CC, Blast, MBC, 100 & England.
 
Participation, viewing figures & ticket sales are all declining across the board. By across the board I mean CC, Blast, MBC, 100 & England.
Participation has been declining for my entire lifetime and is partly down to the disappearance of the game in schools and partly because participation in everything has crashed. Even most of the football fields in the town I grew up in that used to have games on Saturday morning Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning for nine months of the year now lie largely idle, are wastelands, or are built on.

As to the rest, that’s something you can produce objective statistical facts on. Can you? Because in the end, there is one elephant in the room statistical fact agin you. This tournament, which almost everyone on here reliably assured me (and I expected as well) would be a white elephant, has in five years one of which was cancelled due to Covid created almost £1bn of realisable value.
2024 Attendances:

T20 Blast: 880,000 (up on 2023)
The 16.4: 540,000 (down on 2023)
That’s fair enough, and as far as the personal preference in this debate is concerned, I was 7 of the 880,000 (9 if they count the finals as 3 games) and a relatively reluctant 1 of the 540,000. I just think the argument that The Hundred has failed has been lost, at least commercially. And in the end, when you are talking about the structure of a professional sport, “ commercially” does matter.

Do you want to give comparative TV viewing figures? Or an estimate of the capital value the Blast has added to each of the 18 counties after its 20+ years? Because, like I said, commercially does matter, particularly given the basketcase finances of most of the counties.
 
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That’s fair enough, and as far as the personal preference in this debate is concerned, I was 7 of the 880,000 (9 if they count the finals as 3 games) and a relatively reluctant 1 of the 540,000. I just think the argument that The Hundred has failed has been lost, at least commercially. And in the end, when you are talking about the structure of a professional sport, “ commercially” does matter.

Do you want to give comparative TV viewing figures? Or an estimate of the capital value the Blast has added to each of the 18 counties after its 20+ years? Because, like I said, commercially does matter, particularly given the basketcase finances of most of the cocounties.
The 16.4 has utterly failed commercially, literally taking the game from a profitable position to the verge of bankruptcy. The sheer volume of cash that has been thrown at it, tens of millions every year, and still more people watch the Blast.

Now we have an £800m (?) injection of funds from foreign investors who will expect a return on their cash. And to help them we've agreed to pause both domestic and international cricket while it's on.

So we've sold the peak window for our domestic cricket to foreigners. Forever. And in return, they're going to extract money OUT of the sport.

It's vomit inducing.

*TV figures I dunno, I would guess the 16.4 would be higher seeing as 1) it's actually on telly and 2) the sheer amount if marketing.
 
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