Quote: Saddened! "A lot of people are overreacting and declaring the Hundred a massive success. It seems to have done okay initially, but it remains to be seen what it'll do to the other forms of the game. I.e. the T20 Blast and domestic one day games. It's likely both of those will suffer as will the TV deals for other elements if it becomes the dominant form due to it's greater suitability for TV.
Cricket is also another elitist sport on the whole. Sure it's attracting a lot of drinkers, but they aren't there watching and enjoying the cricket, they're just having a night out on the razz and a lot won't even watch a single ball being bowled. That novelty will wear off after a year or two and people will find another fashionable activity to jump onto. Is the Hundred any better than T20? It's just had a lot of money thrown at it, it's been well marketed and those with FOMO are jumping on it. It's more an event than a sport, no one is going and saying 'wow, I was amazed by the cricket, the standard of bowling was off the scale, the batting so inventive'. The stories I've heard from people who've been were more 'I don't know who was playing mate, I was in the main bar with the MD of Travis Perkins and he was paying for everything, effectively free bar, I woke up at four in Piccadilly Gardens, it's amazing, you should go next time it's on'.
What people are also forgetting is that the Hundred still takes longer than a non-televised rugby league game does. It's averaging two and a half hours and given it's cricket the slightest speckle of rain and they're all sprinting for cover and it takes longer. So I don't see why people are throwing it up as a suggestion for rugby league to look at? What do you want to do with rugby league to jump on that kind of success? 8 a side games like Cas have proposed that are over in 30 minutes? If so, it then becomes too short and it's not worth driving more than 10 minutes to watch. You're not going to get people driving from Hull to St Helens for example for a game of Cas' Special Eights are you?
Magic Weekend is what they should be looking at for this. It's always been a stupid concept in terms of giving it a league fixture and league points. It's always disrupted the legitimacy of the league table, teams like Warrington have essentially been given a 2 point advantage for years because of it. That is where a reduced format would come in. Have Magic Weekend properly marketed, have it as a reduced format festival over two days and invite guest sides in. Get the Fiji 7s squad from Union, get a local side playing. get a Championship All Stars team to give them exposure etc. You can still incentivise it, have 2 league points given to the semi finalists and three to the finalists and 5 to the winners etc.'"
do they really need to watch every ball as long as the crowd are getting enjoyment from the days event whether they have turned up just to be on the lash or to enjoy the cricket ;
obviously you don't like cricket