Phoebe Graham reflects on a fantastic summer of cricket in the men's and women's Hundred series, as well as picking apart the tournament's best moments; Graham offers parting thoughts on how effective the competition has been in entertaining a whole new generation of fans.
Wednesday 30 August 2023 08:32, UK
Phoebe Graham absorbed every boundary and big hit of this summer's Hundred.
The action culminated in last Sunday's finals day at Lord's where Oval Invincibles beat Manchester Originals by 14 runs, and Southern Brave gave captain Anya Shrubsole a fitting send-off by defeating Northern Superchargers.
So, with that in mind, Graham offers her thoughts on a fantastic summer of cricket, and what the future might hold for the competition...
What a fantastic tournament.
Shrubsole retires with a fairy-tale ending for The Brave while the Curran brothers show their class and bounce back for the Invincibles. It is a finals day that will be remembered for many reasons.
You rarely see the two best teams of a competition go on and win on finals day. But both Brave and Invincibles finished top of the group stages and got into positive habits of absorbing pressure and winning games of crickets.
Brave women had four top run scorers in their team: Danni Wyatt, Maia Bouchier and Smriti Mandhana, alongside the leading wicket taker Georgia Adams.
Brave were known for their top order dominating, so when Superchargers had them 8-2 after nine balls, we wondered if this was enough to make them crack. Wyatt then stepped up with solid contributions from Freya Kemp and Adams to post 139.
Shrubsole led the attack with her partner in crime, Lauren Bell, containing the Superchargers on a day that mattered. One of England's greats, with contributions to the game that will live with her forever, has retired, lifting a trophy at Lords in front of a record-breaking crowd.
The Invincibles had a team where everyone contributed throughout. They had a significant turnover overseas but found a knack for opening up with raw pace and class.
The rise of Gus Atkinson bowling 90-plus mph in this tournament secured him his debut call-up for England's T20 international series against New Zealand.
The Curran brothers fired in the moments that mattered, and when their team looked dead and buried in the final 34-5, Jimmy Neesham and Tom Curran put on a match-winning 127 partnership.
After winning six out of their eight games, they found ways to bounce back and absorb pressure, and Sam Billings spoke about the sheer belief they had as a unit going into the final and deservedly lifted the trophy for his team.
This year's tournament has blown all critics out of the park. There's always so much conspiracy around The Hundred; will it continue? Is it the right thing for cricket? For me, it's been the best season yet.
We've seen so many close matches and last-ball finishes. The games have ebbed and flowed perfectly, and teams have learned how to re-stabilise themselves once losing quick wickets rather than all getting out like a set of dominos.
Some memories will last a lifetime. Tammy Beaumont scored the first women's hundred, and Harry Brook scored the fastest men's. Fielding like no one has ever seen before, Sam Hain at Lord's and Brook at Headingley.
The women's draft rebalanced the competition, and we had new finalists and trophy holders. The Welsh Fire went from being easy pickings to one of the strongest teams in both the men's and women's.
We've seen so much more affiliation to the teams, and the audience continues to grow. Thirty per cent of tickets are sold to women, 23 per cent to kids, and 41 per cent to families.
The Hundred is fun and exciting, people are still engaging, and it continues to be a platform for rising stars. It bridges the game between domestic and international cricket and helps determine who performs on the big stage.
Rehan Ahmed can do it in front of 4,000 at Leicester, but it's a different kettle of fish in front of 20,000 at The Oval in a semi-final.
We have seen Atkinson and Max Holding thrive throughout the tournament, all names that have circled the county circuit for a few years, but this tournament dictates if they can go that step further.
We've seen it in the women's game too. Marie Kelly played an excellent pinch-hitting role for the Superchargers, scoring 176 runs at a 120-strike rate; she's been selected for the CPL.
Mahika Gaur, the 17-year-old for Thunder, took the wicket of Litchfield and was the most economical bowler in the powerplay, and Bess Heath got their debutant England call-ups.
You can't say The Hundred isn't serving the players, the fans, and the game. If it gets more new people into the game and continues producing England players, we know this tournament will be a success.
There's still room for improvement, how we counter the rain?
There's always room for improvement, but for me it's been the best season in The Hundred yet.
Men's Team of the Tournament: Jos Butler, Phil Salt, Colin Munro, Harry Brook, Jamie Overton, Heinrich Klassen, Daniel Sams, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan and Gus Atkinson.
Women's Team of the Tournament: Bryony Smith, Danni Wyatt, Phoebe Litchfield, Maia Bouchier, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Georgia Wareham, Amy Jones, Sophie Eccelstone, Marizanne Kapp, Sarah Glenn and Shamnim Ishmail.
