The Analysis: Lord's embraces The Hundred in a socially distanced way

NICK HOWSON AT LORD'S: There is very little evidence this new competition is taking place on the ground, with influencers attempting to drive new fans to the grounds. Will it be enough?

Andrew Smith has been an MCC member for more than 20 years. Early starts to ensure he can obtain the best seat for matches at Lord's are second nature. If you haven't take your place on the pavement next to St John's Wood road by 5:30am on the morning of a Test then you'll be watching the day of play on the fringes of the member's seats, or stood in the Long Room (there are worse places to watch cricket, I accept).

It is arguably the second most famous queue in sport (Wimbledon takes that particular title with its own code of conduct). It signals anticipation and desperation in equal measure and is part of the sport's PR arm that requires no outlay.

Normally, doors being flung open two hours before play sparks a frenzied dart towards the Pavilion. The Olympic 100m final might be the most-watched sprint on the planet every couple of years but each English summer the dash between members clutching cool bags creates equal levels of fascination. It should at the very least be available behind the red button.

But there is no charge of the slight brigade this afternoon. Smith has his pick of the berths on the famous white benches, selecting a place on the top tier which is well-populated for this double-header. By the end of an exhilarating night, 23,892 make it through the gates.

He admits to only being at Lord's this afternoon due to neither Middlesex nor Surrey, where he is also a member, being in action in the Royal London One-Day Cup. The same also applies to this weekend's double-header against Southern Brave. This is a stop-gap, but a welcome one.

If there was an assembly of fans outside of Lord's before play, it would at least have created a feeling that something was happening. I was fortunate enough to attend the biggest professional match played at the home of cricket last summer - the Bob Willis Trophy final between Somerset and eventual winners Essex - played behind closed doors. It was a ghost town before and after play, with the biggest domestic red-ball game of the campaign purposely downplayed to deter interest amid the health crisis.

Regrettably, the promotion behind these back-to-back matches felt pandemic-esq. Unless you saw either the London Spirit or Trent Rockets team coaches (you have to wonder what value these have other than clogging up the roads) arrive you wouldn't have known major cricket matches were about to take place. You could be heading anywhere as you walked from Marylebone or St John's Wood stations.

Around the ground, bar the odd piece of merchandise on sale in one or two of the outlets, there was no visible evidence you were at a Hundred match. Granted, you've already bought your ticket and have come through the turnstiles, but Lord's doesn't feel like a Hundred venue, more like a grisly landlord waiting for an unruly tenant to move on.

Spaces which are normally devoted to the promotion of matches or series are vacant. Unless in your seat, images of players, tournament logos or franchise paraphernalia aren't to be found anywhere.

Local areas have largely felt disconnected from the cricket. Murals of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are on display in Birmingham and Bradford, but the capital is yet to fully embrace its two new sides. It seems like a curious decision, particularly given the research that went into branding each of the eight teams to ensure they accurately represented the local area and appealed to their target market.

^{No loitering (Credit: The Cricketer)}

Manchester Originals are "celebrating a global city of firsts" and Northern Superchargers are "powered by positivity and people who get stuff done". This wasn't just dreamed up, ok?

It isn't true that the ECB are not promoting The Hundred at all, it's that their efforts are going into particular areas. We saw primetime advertising exposure during the football European Championships and free-to-air viewership has been impressive during the opening week.

Much of the buzz, however, has been created digitally. Influencers, who range from artists performing at matches, presenters on the ground, to former Love Island contestant Chris Hughes who has appeared on BBC TV's coverage, are the vehicles.

They have been enlisted as tournament participants, as cherished as any player. They have ingrained themselves within the whole occasion. Their modus operandi is to create the ultimate feeling of FOMO among the silent majority for whom cricket is a tired pastime.

There is something of the Fyre Festival about the approach. Farm out the marketing to those with enough reach and watch the engagement roll in. There is no doubt there is a focus on getting the right bums on seats and eyes on the product, rather than the most.

So when considering just how the genuinely new audience are finding their way to Hundred venue, this feels like the most likely pathway.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chris Hughes (@chrishughesofficial)

It is a risky practice. That luxury event in The Bahamas was spectacularly underdelivered in every respect. The Hundred wants families to return summer holiday after the summer holiday and can ill-afford to lose trust.

Happily, there are at least some attendees who need no convincing. Rosaline Porter is a new MCC life member, has attended matches at Lord's for 30 years and hates "boring" white-ball cricket. But the opportunity to support the women's game, which will surely emerge as the undoubted positive of this inaugural edition, alongside her Test match-loving daughter was too good an opportunity to turn down.

Sometimes things are more important than whether something is of good value or exciting. It can also be right.

I spoke with families who sit comfortably within the ECB's target demographic, such as the Holyoaks, who as a group and individuals are regulars at games across the country. But they are not "new" fans just better engaged.

As colleagues and other reporters have discovered there is no deterring the beer snakes and chanting, which is most certainly a problem.

My feeling across the matches I have watched live and on TV is that the presentation will not appeal to those who have not previously emersed themselves with cricket. Those on the precipice can be turned, however. Maybe that will be enough.

And rather than being down to the talent of Rashid Khan, Eoin Morgan and Quinton de Kock; Kenzie Benali, Charlie Burley, Josh Denzel, Five Little Doves and Joe Tasker are the big-ticket items now. Cricket's future sits in the palm of their hands.