Phoenix have replaced Henry Brookes - with Somerset's Will Smeed - a batsman ! Strange, but then the 100 is strange ?!

In fact Phoenix have had 4 replacements - in addition to Brookes going, Shaheen Afridi has been replaced by Adam Milne, Kane Williamson by Finn Allen and Adam Zampa by old Bear, Imran Tahir. With the exception of Tahir, I think that is a serious downgrading of the team. But what do I care, it's only the stupid 100 !

My thoughts exactly - Adam who? Finn who? Will who?
And Imran Tahir is a bit long in the tooth at 42 to be playing childish games.

very strong article on cricinfo today
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/the-hundred-2021-with-friends-like-these-a-hundred-reasons-why-the-ecb-has-failed-the-game-1269911

It's good that there is one professional media outlet standing up for the county game.

Highveld wrote:

very strong article on cricinfo today
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/the-hundred-2021-with-friends-like-these-a-hundred-reasons-why-the-ecb-has-failed-the-game-1269911

It's good that there is one professional media outlet standing up for the county game.

Yes, George is someone who has the county game very much at heart and is not afraid to speak out.

The only people who seem to be speaking up for The Hundred as we near its launch date are those who are either paid by the ECB or paid by one of the broadcasting organisations to promote it as the next big thing in cricket. Just about everyone else, including existing cricket fans, want nothing to do with it.
So you could say that opinion is divided.
It reminds me of the conversation between Edmund Blackadder and Captain Rum when their ship is drifting aimlessly:
Edmund: I was under the impression that it was common maritime practice
for a ship to have a crew.
Rum: Opinion is divided on the subject.
Edmund: Oh, really?
Rum: Yes. All the other captains say it is; I say it isn’t.
Edmund: Oh, God; Mad as a brush.

Chris Benjamin repaces an injured Hose (foot - I don't know how bad - he might be OK for the latter stages of the RLC) in the Phoenix team. Talk about a rapid rise for CB, he didn't even have a County contract 4 weeks ago ! Probably also good Phoenix have a backup keeper - they only had Cooke in the squad before.

And Ian Bell has been added to the Phoenix Coaching team.

Anybody watch the first women's Hundred match last night? I'd certainly turned my face against the whole business but tuned in out of curiosity. I thought it was great; good, fast cricket, players smiling and enjoying themselves, a young and excited crowd. The musical entertainment was all part of it but it didn't detract from the game itself. If that was a taste of things to come then it will be a success I think.

My main impression, after a brief viewing, is that it's still cricket, so if it can enthuse a new audience, so much the better.
My objections remain.
Firstly, it is seeking to create new loyalties outside the county game and I am at heart very much a Warwickshire supporter. I can just about cope with the Birmingham Bears because they are basically Warwickshire under another name whereas the Phoenix are a whole different squad with no real links to the Warwickshire side other than sharing a home ground.
My second objection is that we already had an overcrowded fixture list with the Championship, the 50 over competition and T20, so adding in The Hundred has meant squeezing the Championship, the premier county competition, into the edges of the season and relegating the 50 over competition, where England are World Champions, into little better than a second team contest.

Only 1 Bear in the team for our first 'Home' game (Benjamin) - and he's only been a Bear for 4 weeks! Not a Birmingham team at all (though the Captain is a Brummie) ?!

Bald_Reynard wrote:

Only 1 Bear in the team for our first 'Home' game (Benjamin) - and he's only been a Bear for 4 weeks! Not a Birmingham team at all (though the Captain is a Brummie) ?!

Technically, Imran Tahir is a Bear. Once a Bear, always a Bear!

'We' (I use the term loosely!), won the toss and chose to bowl.

Chris Benjamin, the star of the match - again! All the commentators can't believe this was only his third professional game. We've really unearthed a gem - by luck or judgement I don't know.

From what the BBC said, he's found shots that nobody has seen before. He could be a reason for me to tune into the 100 - I couldn't face that prospect a week ago. I saw the Oval v Manchester game yesterday - and quite enjoyed it. Phoenix are not my beloved Warwickshire, but might be worth following?!

I attended tonight and it was quite an unusual feeling. Having no empathy for either team and watching without really caring who won was a tad unsettling.

As a match for the neutrals, of which I guess I was one, it was quite good fun to watch. Seeing Amir bowl consecutive no balls was quite funny but I was disappointed I didn’t get to see Tahir and his wicket celebrations.

I was very pleased to see Benjamin score and play a decisive part, also to hear some locals calling out ‘you bears’. I dont suppose the majority of those there would have noticed but the Warwickshire flag was flying throughout which was pleasing.

Overall the ECB and the broadcasters will have been pleased with tonight.

I however don’t think I saw anything I wouldn’t have seen in a T20 blast match, the ‘big names’ did not stand out as being on another level in my view. The music and fanfare is not my cup of tea, but we have it in T20 so it’s not really a big deal and I just accept it for what it is.

Tonight did nothing to dissuade me from thinking this competition is totally unnecessary and that a few tweaks to the T20 Blast could have saved quite a few million pounds and not alienated the existing fan base .

Properly advertised, supported by the ECB with England contracted players made available (it was a shame not to see Chris Woakes again who I believe is injured) and big name oversees players featured the ECB had a ready made competition ripe for development. But that’s an argument which has been made many times and is now obsolete.

Sorry for the long post.

George takes aim again:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/want-the-truth-about-the-hundred-it-s-smoke-mirrors-and-gimmickry-1270805
I seem to recall pointing out the inappropriate nature of choosing the name Phoenix for a Birmingham based team way back when it was first announced but I think George is the only other person that has picked up on that, so maybe its not big deal to most people.

Inspired by The Hundred, Kevin Pietersen sets out his views on the way forward for first class cricket in the UK:
https://wisden.com/stories/news-stories/kevin-pietersen-proposes-radical-franchise-restructure-of-english-first-class-system
The big hope must be that, with Pietersen backing the idea, there is no chance of the ECB backing it. If only Michael Vaughan can be persuaded to support Pietersen's idea, the safety of the 18 counties will be guaranteed.

You may not want to listen to the whole of this interview with the Pears' Chairman - he seems a little too pleased with himself for my liking. But I did find interesting his views on The Hundred (from about 21 minutes and 30 seconds in) - in simple terms, he says that if you throw enough money and marketing at a tournament, it will succeed; and he wishes that the ECB would properly promote all forms of cricket rather than putting nearly all their eggs in one basket:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42B6NNvtADQ

Great article on the 100, from George D, in this months Cricketer. He points out (as lucidly as ever), how clever it was of the ECB, to spend £50m on promoting the competition, to get £40m back in from it!

Hi, I know that the Hundred is not everybody's cup of tea, but we have just received our notification for priority access. Has anyone else tried to get tickets for the Tom Dollery. The first option for gold tickets at £27 (3 times more than last year) is in the Skyline, again some people like it up there, we don't. Does anyone know if the ECB (presumably in collaboration with WCCC) have taken the Tom Dollery stand for hospitality, not sure why else we can't get tickets?

There one small section of Tom Dollery block 234 in the presale but its pretty limited compared to 2021. I suspect lots more will be available tomorrow in the general presale

Well, this is all a little embarrassing!
https://www.cityam.com/english-cricket-board-and-kp-under-fire-over-the-hundred-adverts/

Is anyone really surprised? Nothing about The Hundred is attractive to me and the sooner it meets its demise the better. 20 over and 50 over is enough white ball cricket