The Hundred could be postponed until 2021 if season is squeezed into two months, says Durham CEO

Tim Bostock has been part of discussions between the ECB and the 18 first-class counties, drawing up prospective schedules of different lengths, depending on when – or if – it is possible to get underway

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The launch of The Hundred could be postponed until 2021 if the cricket season has to be squeezed into two months as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, according to Durham chief executive Tim Bostock.

The new competition is due to begin on July 17, but it has already been announced that the domestic campaign will not begin before May 28 at the earliest, having initially been due to commence on April 12 with a round of County Championship fixtures.

Bostock has been part of discussions between the ECB and the 18 first-class counties, drawing up prospective schedules of different lengths, depending on when – or if – it is possible to get underway.

He warned that should the campaign be condensed into just August and September, “a view will be taken about if this is really the right time to launch The Hundred”.

Cricket season delayed until at least May 28 as ECB consider options for 2020 campaign

He said: “From my perspective, the ECB and Tom Harrison have been really pragmatic about this. I certainly get the impression that if we end up with a two-month season, I think the pragmatic view would be: you know what, what’s the point in launching this competition now? Let’s launch it properly next year.”

He added that international cricket, the T20 Blast and The Hundred had to take priority because “that’s where the revenue is” and “there’s an absolute financial imperative for that”. However, he also maintained his commitment to red-ball cricket, citing schedules he has seen.

“In a four-month and a three-month schedule, there’s plenty of county cricket, and enough county cricket to have a meaningful County Championship, which I think would be great news for our members,” he explained.

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