Covid, white cards, DRS, five and a staged toss: How The Hundred will be different

NICK HOWSON: As Covid threatens the competition and participation of England players, the playing conditions for the 100-ball tournament have been fully unveiled

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The Hundred teams will live under strict regulations to avoid Covid-19 ruining the inaugural edition of the tournament which starts next week.

The ECB have been in discussions over how to mitigate the spread of the virus since the entire England one-day international squad was put into isolation last week following an outbreak.

Kent and Derbyshire have since seen whole teams forced to isolate after positive results saw several players identified as close contacts by the NHS.

Limited squads, a small playing window and the obligation to satisfy broadcasters means cancellations would be a last resort.

While the regulations allow for player replacements, it would require dipping further into county squads during their One-Day Cup campaigns. Finding available overseas players would be even more problematic. 

The ECB have ruled out a complete change to squads and backroom staff, similar to what England did last week, but what this means in terms of the completion of the tournament is not yet clear. A decision over the participation of England's Test players is yet to be taken, with the India series on the horizon.

Therefore, rules around the movement for players will be tightened and protocols strengthened - in line with those which govern England players during international series. Reports have suggested players could be tested every day of the competition too.

That will mean an uptick in controls around county players, who have signed up to a code of conduct but are only under national restrictions.

If Covid does force the cancellation of one or more matches then the table will automatically revert to a points-per-game system, similar to the World Test Championship.

The playing conditions for The Hundred have been ratified, with few additions to the draft rules revealed in May.

^{The toss will be moved to a stage at each ground}

Central to the competition's presentation will be an onus on runs and ball. Wickets and overs will figure but the way the state of play is addressed and the terminology used during coverage of games will change.

Having exhausted all umpire signals, a white card will be used to indicate the halfway point of the two five-ball overs from the same end.

Indeed, the concept of an over is being removed from the terminology around The Hundred. Umpires will call "five" rather than "over" and a super five will decide tied matches rather than super overs.

To help new fans understand complicated aspects of the game, explainer videos will be played to fans using big screens at grounds and by the broadcasters during their match coverage.

One of the biggest material changes will come before the game, with the toss not taking place on the field of play. Instead, it will move to a staged area from which Hundred matches will be presented.

^{DRS will be used in non-international cricket in England for the first time}

Amid the dialogue about over-rates and the length of matches, a strict 50 seconds will come at the change of ends. Innings are set to be 65 minutes long and over-rate breaches will be punished by a fielder being moved into the inner circle, as per the T20 Blast, and will be announced to spectators when an offence occurs.

As previously announced, fielding captains can deploy a two-minute time out at any point from 25 balls, which also covers the powerplay, onwards.

The target to complete an innings in just over an hour will be complicated by the use of the Decision Review System for the first time in non-international cricket in England. The SMART Replay system, operated by the third umpire, will rule on no balls.

Bar the opening two matches, all games are being played as double-headers but have their own window meaning time for the first game cannot be borrowed from the second.