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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASAWith crowds at venues up and down the country dwindling from previous seasons, The Hundred has come under fresh scrutiny as the height of summer passes without any international cricket
15:22, 30 Jul 2026Updated 10:48, 01 Aug 2026
After playing a match-winning innings for the Trent Rockets against the Welsh Fire on Wednesday, Ben Duckett was left bemused.
The England opener cracked an unbeaten half century for his Hundred franchise in Cardiff, but only 7,400 people were there to see it. It follows a trend of reduced numbers of people in attendance across the 2026 edition of the competition, its sixth season.
"You look at every side, and it's just world-class opponents," Duckett told Cricinfo. "I'm so surprised that the crowds have been what they have, because I'd be desperate to watch some of these guys play cricket.
"They've not been great. Just looking around the grounds, there must be a reason for it."
Let me enlighten you, Ben. Crowds are down because the powers that be have taken an already divisive competition and made it indisputably worse.
Duckett is right; the star talent on show up and down the country is unquestionable. So why are fans staying away?
Sporting fanaticism in the UK is built upon pillars of culture and identity. This is the antithesis of The Hundred.
When the ECB gave counties a 51% stake in their franchises allowing them to be subsequently sold on, they made a rod for their own back. Four of the eight sides are now at least part-owned by IPL teams.
The suits will tell you the money brought in from these sales has propped up a sport that was in dire need of a cash injection. But at what cost?
The height of summer is now ring-fenced for a tournament that the general public are turning away from, while international cricket is shoehorned either side of it.
It would be remiss not to mention the positive impact The Hundred has had on the women's game. But could this have been achieved by investing in the already existing domestic T20 competition?
Upon its inception, The Hundred was meant to bring new audiences to cricket, introducing a format that was supposedly easier for the casual fan to follow.
Taking the Headingley franchise as an example, then known as the Northern Superchargers, they hoped to attract families from across Yorkshire and the North East to enjoy some crash, bang, wallop with an array of stars on show.
The Superchargers had a dashing purple kit, were led by popular northerner Ben Stokes and had a smattering of representation from the White Rose county.
Now known as Sunrisers Leeds, after being taken over by the Sun Group who own Sunrisers Hyderabad, they play in orange and have just two Yorkshire players on their books.
Many of those who had paid to watch the Superchargers over the last five years were from various parts of Yorkshire.
Simply put, the vast majority of people from Sheffield, Barnsley, Huddersfield, Bradford and other surrounding areas will not support a team called Leeds. It's not surprising crowds have dwindled, despite the offer of a free shirt with every pair of tickets.
Naively, the social media bods at Sunrisers Leeds even posted a video of their players awkwardly mumbling through their own version of 'Marching On Together', Leeds United's anthem, reading the words from a sheet in the dressing room after a win.
It went down like the proverbial lead balloon and was subsequently removed.
Contrastingly, Yorkshire have put up the 'SOLD OUT' signs for back-to-back Metro Bank Cup games at York while Headingley is being used for The Hundred.
Granted, the venue can only house around 4,500 spectators. But it was bursting at the seams on Wednesday as the White Rose beat Worcestershire and will be so again on Friday as Stokes and Durham make the short journey down the A1.
There is a certain irony that Stokes, the biggest name in English cricket, is playing in this competition rather than the ECB's flagship tournament just a few weeks on from relinquishing the Test captaincy.
The 50-over competition is enjoying something of a resurgence as counties packed with local youngsters do battle in a more traditional format of the game at smaller venues.
Of the 11 Yorkshire cricketers that took to the field against Worcestershire, seven came through the club's academy system. Fans want to watch players they can identify with playing for clubs they care about.
They do not want random teams with random names playing in random kits.