The Hundred is on the books to take place in 2021, with the brand new, high-octane tournament earmarked as the commencement of a rebuild for cricket globally and domestically in Great Britain. For domestic cricket and women’s cricket, especially, it’s pivotal that the ground-breaking and hopefully very entertaining. The Hundred takes place next year.
The Hundred’s importance for women’s cricket.
There are thrilling domestic women’s cricket tournaments taking place around the world. Still, The Hundred has been specifically designed to have both men’s and women’s competitions played alongside one another for equal prize money. As shown by theguardian.com, both tournaments will award £150,000 to the winners, £75,000 to the runners-up, and see £75,000 split for player awards.
While there is still a gulf in the difference between salaries, with men’s ranging from £30,000 to £125,000 and women’s from £3,600 to £15,000, there has been growth in that area. As explained by Isa Guha and reported by givemesport.com, it’s a better wage structure than a cursory glance would suggest, with it being greater pro-rata than players in the Women’s Big Bash League, with Australia seen as world leaders in this regard.
Completely closing the gap in an instant simply isn’t possible in a sports world run by business. However, bumping up the pay and having a tournament take place at level-pegging with the men’s tournament represents real progress. Given how much weight is being placed on The Hundred, it shows that the higher-ups are willing to press forward even with their risky new plans.
A lot of exciting cricket on the way
With eight teams spanning eight counties for men’s and women’s cricket, the even shorter form of cricket has attracted top-class stars from around the world. The favorites down both sides likely still stand as the Southern Brave.
For the women, Cricket World Cup superstar Anya Shrubsole headlines a well-balanced team that features two of the best batters in T20I rankings, Stefanie Taylor and Suzie Bates, as well as all-rounder Danni Wyatt. The men’s side is just as well stacked, with the likes of Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Ollie Pope, and Andre Russell sporting the green of the Brave next summer.
Set to be a top competitor for the Brave for the men and women is the Trent Rockets. Both teams look set to be heavily reliant on star personalities, but that doesn’t always yield results. Joe Root was dropped from the T20I side, returned in smashing form for Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast, and yet the most trustworthy and highest-rated sites, per the experts at sportsbettingmarkets.com, see the Rockets as 5.00 underdogs to win Group North in the tournament.
It may be a similar story for the women of Trent, being led by all-rounder Natalie Sciver, who’s ranked tenth in T20i batting and third in T20i all-rounder rankings. As captain, she’ll be able to draw on a wealth of experience from England’s greatest ever fast bowler, Katherine Brunt, but the impetus will be on the Tokyo-born Sciver to step-up, put up runs, take wickets, and command the team as one of the best complete cricketers in the world right now.
Regardless of who the favorites are this far out from the inaugural contest, The Hundred needs to take place in 2021 to usher in
more progression for women’s cricket and allow the stars to showcase exactly why it’s so exciting.
Loves all things female cricket