Sussex chief executive Rob Andrew positive over The Hundred

HUW TURBERVILL: The counties appear to have publicly put their misgivings aside for now, their chief executives joining the boards who will run the eight teams in the competition

Sussex chief executive Rob Andrew says he is determined to put a “positive spin” on The Hundred.

The counties appear to have publicly put their misgivings aside for now, their chief executives joining the boards who will run the eight teams in the competition, scheduled to run from 2020-24. Andrew and his Hampshire counterpart David Mann will control the side based at the Ageas Bowl, with the other counties in similar alliances – although Lancashire are on their own, running the Old Trafford outfit.

“The bottom line is that The Hundred is going to happen,” said Andrew. “You can keep chipping away from the fringes and having a go at something, that is the easy thing to do, but what I have seen in the last six months is a real determination among the counties to work with the ECB to make this a success. We are all damaged if it’s not. 

“If it’s a huge success we [the counties] own it effectively. We own the benefit of it. We could find the finance of cricket gets even stronger because of this. If it’s not a success then we all have the challenge to deal with in five years. If you go into anything in life expecting it’s going to fail then it will.”

Andrew says the approach of Sussex has been consistent. “As long as there are protections for the 18 first-class counties and this is not a Trojan horse to create eight super counties for the domestic structure… we believe there are sufficient protections around the Championship, the Blast, and the 50-over competition that will allow the business of domestic county cricket to be protected and hopefully sustained and grown over the future. Clearly the new money [£1.3m per year per team] is part of that, and it is important to the majority of counties. Now the balance is making sure there is the ability to run all these competitions at the same time.”

^{Sussex in One-Day Cup action}

The ECB still face a huge task winning over sceptics, although they have appeared to have adopted a more candid approach. There are many who fear for the future of the 50-over game in this country for instance, when the Royal London Cup is scheduled at the same time as The Hundred. Gordon Hollins, the new managing director of county cricket, conceded that: “Clearly the 50-over competition is becoming a development model, no one is going to deny that. That is a price that has to be paid to fit all the different formats in.”

“The 50-over competition will be amended but we are turning that into a positive,” said Andrew. “We have quite a few white-ball specialists here, they are going to play in The Hundred; fine, we have no problem with that. We have plenty of quality cricketers left to play 50-over cricket. We have a strong academy to accelerate young players’ development. It may strengthen our links with the Sussex League, and maybe give one or two who missed the cut a second chance.”

Many fans believe their clubs should not have agreed to the creation of The Hundred; that the ECB are spending too much on it; and that it is just too big a risk. It is clear that the ECB have been trying to take the existing domestic game with them more over the last six months or so though, after a difficult birthing process this time last year. Whether The Hundred is a success – and what kind of effect it has on the county game – remains to be seen.

The ECB has proposed a six-month extension to Colin Graves’ term as chairman, from May–November 2020, so he can oversee the first summer of The Hundred. 

The recommendation will be put to the ECB membership for consideration at their annual meeting on May 7.

This article was published in the May edition of The Cricketer - the home of the best cricket analysis and commentary, covering the international, county, women's and amateur game

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