World-class Cricket Will Make The Hundred Sustainable

As the fifth and final Test of the 2019 Specsavers Ashes begins at the Oval, and the curtains begin to close on the enthralling, and ultimately era-defining, summer of cricket, The Hundred’s Sanjay Patel joined the sport industry for breakfast, where he emphasised that the summer’s success “cannot be a long-term strategy,” in itself, but rather must be treated as “a catalyst to take advantage of.”

Speaking at the penultimate Sport Industry Breakfast Club of the year, Patel spoke candidly about the future of cricket, and what it must do to continue engaging the public consciousness, building on the success of a famous summer.

“Cricket, on the whole, attracts a 40-plus, male audience – and there is nothing wrong with that,” he said. “However, to get sustainable growth in any sport, you need new audiences. We did a lot of research into the fans and, ultimately, they all felt cricket was too long and difficult to understand – The Hundred solves that. By simplifying, we can make it more entertaining.”

Speaking to James Pearce at the BT Centre in Central London, Patel claimed that The Hundred wouldn’t overtake existing formats, but will instead be complimentary, encouraging new fans while still creating a top-class sporting event cricket fans can get excited about.

“It’s not a circus, it’s world-class cricket,” Patel said. “It’s so important to look after your sport and the world class cricket will ultimately make this sustainable.

“We just want more entertainment and this delivers it in spades. All other cricket is still there and we’re of course continuing to work to ensure they are as healthy as possible. The Cricket World Cup final and Headingley this summer prove how strong they are, but The Hundred is devised to serve a specific purpose of bringing in new and existing fans to the game.”

Much has been made of the format’s desire to attract a more diverse, family audience to the sport, and Patel claims that inclusivity will be at the heart of the competition, with the women’s tournament marketed on an even billing to the men’s. 

“The family audience in the ground will dictate the atmosphere, so it’s key that we talk to families in the right way,” he said. “We’ve been able to put the men’s and women’s teams on an even platform together right from the start. We’ve announced the coaches of the men’s and women’s teams together, and when we start the marketing campaigns, we’ll be putting forward men’s and women’s players together.”

The Hundred will formally kick-off in October with a Player Draft, a first for UK sport, and Patel says that the team working on the new format have drawn inspiration from US sports and the production they deliver.

“In the US, the draft is a huge moment. We looked at what we could do and thought we had an idea, but we showed it to the NFL and they immediately told us to simplify. By opening up a dialogue with them – something that I think cricket traditionally would’ve been scared to do – we’ve now got a fantastic show coming up.”

Patel likened the picks to being in the playground at school and picking teams among classmates, but emphasised that the draft itself would see coaches strategise their picks carefully in order to build the best team.

With still almost a year to go until the tournament hits stadiums and TV screens, The Hundred has already managed to announce KP Snacks as an Official Partner, and Patel was particularly pleased that the new format has been able to attract an FMCG brand straight away – one who “know families better than we ever could, because that’s who they talk to every day.

“The fact that we landed KP Snacks a year out shows the interest and the strength in the concept. We were a little bit nervous going out to market, but we’ve been happy with the response.”

Meanwhile, Patel says that new format’s success or failure won’t be derived solely on what happens in year one, with the ECB taking a longer-term, ten-year view of the tournament, meaning The Hundred is very much here to stay. 

Ultimately, whether or not it has succeeded will be down to how the public feels about it over the next decade and whether the goal of attracting a new and younger audience to the sport has been met.

“Success is an intangible thing – you just know if you’ve captured the imagination,” he said. “Is it in people’s conversations, are they inspired? If we can see kids picking up cricket bats and balls, then we’ve succeeded.”