“You may have wanted it to fail, but it didn’t” - Michael Vaughan takes a swipe at critics of The Hundred
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has taken a dig at critics of The Hundred, claiming the tournament was a huge success. He also proclaimed that the 100-ball event could be a ‘game changer’ for women’s cricket.
The Hundred concluded on Saturday with Southern Brave defeating Birmingham Phoenix by 32 runs in the men’s final at Lord’s. In the women’s summit clash, Oval Invincibles got the better of Southern Brave by 48 runs.
Taking to his Twitter account on Sunday, Vaughan hailed The Hundred and wrote:
“You may have wanted it to fai,l but it didn’t .. The 100 was a huge success, & will only get bigger & better .. The platform it has given the women’s game is a game changer!!!”
The Hundred elicited mixed reactions from the cricketing fraternity. While former India captain Sunil Gavaskar described the quality of cricket in the event as ‘insipid’, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backed The Hundred, saying that innovation in the game should be encouraged.
Meanwhile, the tactical time-out of 150 seconds for the bowling teams in The Hundred impressed Vaughan. He suggested that like The Hundred and, obviously, the IPL, tactical time-outs could be introduced in Test matches. Vaughan wrote on his Facebook page:
“International coaches might not have the advantage of having a tactical time-out like we see in the Hundred - an innovation which I would actually welcome in the Test game - but there are still ways of intervening.”
Aakash Chopra questions silence over The Hundred being held between India-England Test series.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra has questioned the silence of the cricketing fraternity over the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) move to host The Hundred between the India-England Test series.
The final stage of The Hundred has coincided with the marquee Test series. Players contracted to franchises that reached the final stage of The Hundred were released from the England squad to play in the tournament.
Taking to Twitter, Chopra wondered about the backlash had BCCI created a similar window for the IPL between a Test series. He wrote:
“Imagine BCCI creating a window for the final stage of the IPL to be held between a Test series. Whole world would’ve been up in arms about how commercial Indian cricket has become blah blah.”
“Imagine India 0-1 after Two Tests in a home series and the Indian players involved in the Test series participating in a franchise-based limited-overs league between the two Tests. What furore it would’ve created!!!” Chopra added.
Moeen Ali and Craig Overton were released from the England squad to play for Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave, respectively. They will return to the Test fold for the third match against India in Headingley.