ECB likely to reduce the number of venues for The Hundred : Reports

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could reduce the number of venues of The Hundred as part of a cost-cutting proposal that’s being worked on in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic induced losses, as per a report by Daily Mail.

When inaugural ‘The Hundred’ was announced, the plan was to host women’s standalone matches at smaller county grounds with the one in Hove marked as the venue for the final. The ECB had to postpone the tournament by a year on April 30 because of the restrictions that were in place owing to the pandemic.

As per the report the plan to stage games in 18 first-class counties could be scrapped and the matches could be relocated to main centres like the Oval, Old Trafford, Trend Bridge and Edgbaston and also proposals have been made to include more double-headers with the men’s sides to reduce the cost of hosting matches.

When the competition was announced, the ECB’s plan was to take the games with eight city-based clubs – Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and two in London (Lord’s and the Oval) - to different parts of the country and stage them as family events to engage a broader audience to grow the game and inspire new generation to take up the sport.