Broken Cricket Dreams Logo

The Comedy of Overs: Shakespearean Parody Starring English Cricket, The Hundred, And County Cricket

Welcome to The Comedy of Overs, a parody play symbolizing the internal conflict of English cricket.

DISCLAIMER

Puns definitely intended. Sarcasm galore.

The writer hopes to merely present the various views surrounding The Hundred—the good, bad, and the ugly in a playful fashion.

*Note: This play is more fun when you read it out loud*

Table of Contents

  1. CAST
  2. SETTING
  3. ACT I: England Have Their Own League?
  4. ACT II: Who Is Even Playing?
  5. ACT III: The Rules
  6. Intermission
  7. ACT IV: The SOLILOQUY – Something Is Rotten In the State of England
  8. ACT V: The FINALE
  9. Inspiration
  10. The Hundred

CAST

  • JoyOverly optimistic English cricket fan. Cheerful.
  • CuriosityWhat is life? Why are we here? Always asks questions, glass half-full kind of person. Philosophical.
  • SuspicionWhy does anything even matter? Always ask questions, glass half-empty kind of person.
  • DisappointmentWe are all doomed from the start individual.
  • Satisfaction – (cameo role)
  • The HundredThe new couple on the block.
  • English CricketThought he had everything figured out on 14th July, 2019, but is currently going through a mid-life crisis. Wants to be friends with the Hundred without offending County Cricket.
  • County Cricket – Father figure of English cricket. Abode of wisdom.
  • Moeen Ali & Chris Woakes (cameo role) – as Moeen Ali & Chris Woakes
  • Bartender – (cameo)

SETTING

  • Some bar in London

Curiosity and Joy were strolling down the street in London looking for County cricket but collided with a couple—The Hundred. They decide to go to a bar and started introducing themselves, but little did they know that the conversation was about to go south really quick.

ACT I: England Have Their Own League?

The Hundred: “Hi, mind if we join you? We are The Hundred. English cricket is launching us!”

Joy: Yay! England are branding their own league!”

The Hundred: “Yes super excited! Will be great for English cricket and women’s cricket. After years of delay, we will finally get our time at glory.”

Joy: “BUT….England’s cricket is already pretty great…Anyway I will miss the T20 Blast.”

The Hundred: “Well…The T20 Blast is not going anywhere…In fact, the quarter finals resume on August 24th.”

Curiosity: “Huh? How about County Cricket?”

The Hundred: “Still There.”

Joy: “Maybe they reduced a home England series from 5 matches to 3 to accommodate you.”

The Hundred: “Nope.”

Curiosity: “What??? How will English players survive with continuous cricket?”

The Hundred: : “Simple. Rest and Rotate. Specifically for series like India and New Zealand so England are all ready to go for the high pressure Sri Lanka series.”

Chris Woakes & Moeen Ali overhear this from the next table.

Chris Woakes & Moeen Ali (together): We have built beautiful careers out of this Rest-And-Rotate strategy.”

English Cricket: “Yep! Never a dull moment with the me.”

*Chris Woakes walks out the door. England’s team management subsequently rests Woakes till the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

ACT II: Who Is Even Playing?

Suspicion and disappointment walked into the bar.

Curiosity: “So, how is the Hundred different from the T20 Blast?”

The Hundred: “Just 8 franchise teams instead of 18 counties. International talent of high standard. The same franchise for both women & men play on the same day. 100 balls. Graphics. Free-to-air cricket. Fireworks. DJ. Ice cream.”

Curiosity: “OOh international talent…you mean like the Pollards and Russells and the David Warners, right?

The Hundred: “Well…except those players. They withdrew due to injuries, COVID, and international duties.”

Suspicion: “Alright spill the beans. You promised us this great international talent. Who all we missing?”

The Hundred: “Shaheen Shah Afridi & Shadab Khan won’t be there…for starters.”

Suspicion: “Starters?”

The Hundred: “And Zampa, Maxwell, Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Finch, Rabada, Pooran said bye-bye as well. And sounds like Lamichanne, who is already in England quarantining, had some visa issues, so he is gone too.”

Joy: “At least there is Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, and Alyssa Healy for the Women’s Hundred.”

The Hundred: “About that…Perry, Healy, Devine, Amelia Kerra, Rachael Haynes, Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning, Ashleigh Gardner and a few more withdrew due to personal reasons as well. On a positive note, India did send Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, and Harmanpreet Kaur. Stefanie Taylor-Deandre Dottin-Lizelle Lee-Shabnaim Ismail-Dane van Niekerk-Laura Woolvaardt are some of the other talent on show.

Joy: “All hope lies on our great World Cup winning English golden generation. Glad they are still participating!”

The Hundred: “Yes, yes they are. Except Harry Gurney retired, Olly Stone is injured,…”

*under their breath, avoiding eye contact*

“Speaking of which, Mark Wood is preparing for the India Test series, and all the English Test players will only get 2 matches (Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, AND Jonny Bairstow.)

Disappointment: “I am going home. Australians, West Indies, Pakistanis missing? No Indian players either. Most of our home team is not completely available either. What fun are you? Sounds like nobody is playing.”

The Hundred: “Friends, Cheer up! The Kiwis, South Africans, and Afghans are still by us. Colin de Grandhomme replaced Russell. The great Devon Conway & Quinton de Kock were signed as replacements as well.”

Joy: “I am listening.”

The Hundred: “Destructive batters like Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, Colin Munro, Colin Ingram, Chris Lynn, D’arcy Short. Bowlers of the calibre of Adam Milne, Mohammad Amir, Lockie Ferguson, Sunil Narine, and Mujeeb-Qais-Nabi-Rashid Khan.”

Joy: “Okay that sounds a bit better.”

The Hundred: WAIT! There’s more. There is someone else. I am forgetting his name….Car…Carl,…?

Curiosity: “Carlos Brathwaite!!!!”

The Hundred: “But truly, English talent is on show as well. World’s best keeper Sarah Taylor & Liam Plunkett will be seen after a long time. At least for a few games, England’s A, B, C teams against each other! From the Heather Knights & Joe Roots to the Eoin Morgans & Alex Hales…”

Curiosity exits: Just as things were looking positive for this new group of friends, the police office barged it and took Curiosity away with the allegation that…Curiosity killed the cat.

ACT III: The Rules

County Cricket and English Cricket enter.

Suspicion: “You mentioned 100-balls. I mean, why? What is even the point?”

The Hundred: “Shorter game. Less time. More prime-time television. We are even penalizing the fielding time. If fielding team goes over time, they will have to sacrifice a fielder into the inner circle.”

Disappointment: “100 balls, T10 cricket, Ninety-Ninety. Cricket is dying. Timeless Tests—those were the days.”

Joy: “Yay, a 16.4 over contest! Love it!”

Suspicion: “So, just a reduced 20-over contest?”

The Hundred: “But there is more! Change of end every 10 balls. So you can bowl 2 overs of 5 balls each consecutively. Did I say over? What’s in an over? From today—no more overs! Only balls. “

County Cricket: “Frankly my dear, we don’t give a damn about your balls. Why would you steal our glory for the sake of 20 balls?”

English Cricket: “English Cricket needs to be at the edge of scientific revolution with the Hundred.”

The Hundred: “You see, there is a method in our madness. We are ahead of our times. Innovation and entertainment are our middle names.”

Suspicion: “Ah innovation—So no more soft signals?”

The Hundred: “Well not that kind of innovation. More like toss on a stage, fireworks, fancy helmets, white cards, ultra-speed DRS, a new DLS algorithm, original team names. Did I mention the graphics?”

Joy: “Yay! Hot pink, bright green, & black. Love the combination. It is so colorful!”

Disappointment: “NO! Hot pink, bright green, & black. Hate the combination. It is so colorful!”

Disappointment: “This is total garbage. You are taking my precious time away from the Leicestershire Vs Yorkshire 50-over Royal London One Day Cup. “

Suspicion:Yeah why? I mean the T20 blast had full stadiums last week. Why not re-market the T20 Blast with strict over-rate rules, ‘innovation’, and free-to-air TV? The England-Pakistan T20I series was loved by everybody. Liam Livingstone was hitting the ball across the English channel!”

Disappointment: “County Championship, T20 Vitality Blast, The Hundred, One Day Cup, Tokyo Olympics…all at the same time.”

County Cricket: “By trying to do everything at once, you are not getting anything done. And hurting the sentiments of the traditional fans. It is hurting us financially, socially, psychologically. Where has your support gone? I have been waiting, waiting, waiting….”

English Cricket: “If The Hundred captures the imagination of the fans, I will re-distribute all the wealth to all four of you.”

County Cricket: “Not buying it. Let us settle this. What do you think about cricket?

Bartender: “Cricket. What cricket? Who cricket? I don’t know of any cricket.”

Intermission

English cricket is on the verge of going crazy. *Thinking to himself*

The Hundred. Cricket. County Cricket. Fans. Kia Super League. Women’s Cricket. Wickets. Outs. Overs. Balls. Tradition. Evolution. T20. IPL. Money. England. It’s coming home. Phil Foden. Jason Roy. Sam Curran. Need to make things happen. Money. Test cricket. Dom Sibley. Axar. Embuldeniya. Sri Lanka. Super League. World Cup. Barest of Margins. More World Cups. T20 World Cups.

ACT IV: The SOLILOQUY – Something Is Rotten In the State of England

English cricket is now reflecting and talking out loud.

“To play or not to play, that is the question

Whether it is County Cricket, T20 Blast, Kia Super League, or the Hundred, it is England cricket that suffers,

Marketing, Media rights, & ticket sales of outrageous fortune,

Support traditional cricket fans & counties Or take arms against T20 cricket & the IPL

And by opposing, end English cricket. To die, to sleep

No more! And by sleep, to say we end the heart-ache and the 20 extra balls that T20 is heir to.

Free-to-air cricket—The BBC—aye there’s the rub!”

ACT V: The FINALE

Enter Satisfaction: Right as Curiosity was about to spend the night at jail, Satisfaction entered and bailed her out. She had found the lost cat and brought it back..”

Scene: Eoin Morgan is having that conversation with Alex Hales at a distance. Things finally begin to settle a bit.

County Cricket: “I have eighteen children and am concerned about their well-being. That’s all.”

The Hundred: “We are concerned about the existence of cricket in England in general. That’s all.”

Joy & Curiosity (Together): “Can we not be friends with both of you?”

Suspicion & Disappointment (Together): “It’s complicated.”

English Cricket: “Well, the Hundred is not going anywhere…but neither is the County Championship…or the T20 Blast. I know I am not perfect, but can you just give me one chance? If it doesn’t work out with the Hundred for the couple of seasons, we can move on.”

At the end of the day, the heavens opened up. The ‘Lord’s’ opened it is door and Joy, Curiosity, Suspicion, & Disappointment walked hand-in-hand with County Cricket and the Hundred to proceed and watch the game.

Alls Well that Ends Well.

Inspiration

Special thanks to George Dobell’s article The Hundred 2021 – With friends like these? A Hundred reasons why the ECB has failed the game for inspiration.

Cultural references to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Comedy of Errors, Romeo & Juliet, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

Also Read: Joe Denly and Joe Biden: The Importance of Being Joe, Why The World Needs Sam Curran: Calm, Charismatic, Courageous

The Hundred

If you are interested, check this out and participate in our Hundreds Prediction League.

Also Read: The Hundred 2021: Everything You Need To Know Quickly – Rules, Teams, Expected XIs, Fixtures, Predictions

Thanks for checking out this content on English cricket.

Copyright @Nitesh Mathur, Broken Cricket Dreams, bcd@brokencricketdreams.com – 07/23/2021

The Hundred 2021: Everything You Need To Know Quickly – Rules, Teams, Expected XIs, Fixtures, Predictions

The Hundred 2021 is finally upon us after a couple years delay.

Change is life’s only constant. You may love this new idea or might completely detest it. It may disrupt County Cricket as a whole and alienate cricket fans for the sake of ‘new modern audience.’ Increased visibility for women’s cricket will definitely be a big plus although cancellation of the Kia Super League was questionable. George Dobell dissects the Hundred to perfection.

Gone are the days of the calm claps and on to the days of DJ and party-mood in English cricket.

Whatever happens, it will be different. It could be another IPL and change cricket forever or it may be become the template of how not to administer cricket tournaments. No middle ground.

Let us give it a shot and try it out. Here is everything you need to know about the Hundred 2021.

Quick Summary

  • Matches: 34 (8 teams, 8 matches each, four home/away, 32 league matches, 1 Knockout (#2 vs #3), 1 Final)
  • Editions: Both Women’s & Men’s Tournament held simultaneously
  • Teams: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets, Welsh Fire
  • Dates: 21st July-21st August
  • Venues: Old Trafford (Manchester), Headingly (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Trent Bridge (Nottingham), Sophia Gardens (Cardiff), Lord’s (London), The Oval (London), Rose/Ageas Bowl (Hampshire)
  • Broadcasting: SKY Sports, BBC (Free to Air – some matches), YouTube (all women’s games, some men)

The Rules and Jargon

  1. Length: 100 balls per innings
  2. Toss: Will not be done in the middle of the pitch; it will be on the presentation ‘stage’ where the DJ will be
  3. No More ‘Overs’, balls will the unit of measurement
  4. 20 balls maximum per bowler
  5. A bowler can bowl either 5 or 10 balls consecutively (Change of ends will occur after the 10 balls)
  6. 25-ball Powerplay
  7. Over-Rate: 65 minutes per innings; penalties will most likely include risking fielders in the inner circle

The Hundred: Teams & Expected Playing XI

Unfortunately, due to the England-India Test series and bio-bubble rules, England’s test players will be involved only for 2 Hundred matches.

*Teams highlighted in their respective jersey colors

Birmingham Phoenix (Men)

  • England Internationals: Chris Woakes (C), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Dom Sibley
  • England Domestic: Tom Abell, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Pat Brown, Chris Cooke (WK), Miles Hammond, Tom Helm, Adam Hose, Benny Howell, Dillon Pennington, Will Smeed
  • Foreign Recruits: Finn Allen (New Zealand), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Adam Milne (New Zealand)

Coach: Daniel Vettori

Birmingham Phoenix Expected XI:

  1. Finn Allen, 2. Dom Sibley, 3. Moeen Ali, 4. Liam Livingstone, 5. Tom Abell, 6. Daniel Bell-Drummond, 7. Chris Cooke (WK), 8. Chris Woakes*, 9. Daniel Bell-Drummond, 10. Adam Milne, 10. Imran Tahir

Birmingham Phoenix (Women)

  • England Internationals: Amy Jones (WK), Georgia Elwiss, Kirstie Gordon
  • England Domestic: Emily Arlott, Thea Brookes, Gwenan Davies, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin, Evelyn Jones, Marie Kelly, Issy Wong
  • Foreign Recruits: Erin Burns, Katie Mack (Australia), Abtaha Maqsood (Scotland), Shafali Verma (India)

*Withdrawn: Ellyse Perry (Australia)

Coach: Ben Sawyer

Birmingham Phoenix Expected XI:

  1. Shafali Verma, 2. Katie Mack, 3. Georgia Elwiss, 4. Amy Jones (WK), 5. Erin Burns, 6. Thea Brookes, Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Kirstie Gordon, Abtaha Maqsood

London Spirit (Men)

  • England Internationals: Zak Crawley (C), Eoin Morgan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bopara, Mason Crane, Joe Denly, Jade Dernbach, Dan Lawrence
  • England Domestic: Blake Cullen, Josh Inglis (WK), Luis Reece, Adam Rossington (WK), Chris Wood
  • Foreign Recruits: Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Roelef van der Merwe (Netherlands)

Coach: Lisa Keightley

London Spirit Expected XI:

  1. Zak Crawley, 2. Joe Denly, 3. Dan Lawrence, 4. Eoin Morgan, 5. Ravi Bopara, 6. Mohammad Nabi, 7. Josh Inglis (WK), 8. Roelef van der Merwe, 8. Mark Wood, 9. Jade Dernbach, 10. Mohammad Amir, 11. Mason Crane

London Spirit (Women)

  • England Internationals: Heather Knight (C), Tammy Beaumont (WK), Freya Davies, Susie Rowe, Grace Scrivens
  • England Domestic: Amara Carr, Aylish Cranstone, Naomi Dattani, Charlotte Dean, Danielle Gibson, Alice Monaghan, Sophie Munro
  • Foreign Recruits: Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Deepti Sharma (India), Chloe Tyron (South Africa)

Coach: Shane Warne

London Spirit Expected XI:

  1. Tammy Beaumont, 2. Heather Knight, 3. Deandre Dottin, 4. Susie Rowe, 5. Deepti Sharma, 6. Chloe Tyron, 7. Naomi Dattani, 8. Charlie Dean, 9. Freya Davies, 10. Grace Scrivens, 11. Sophie Munro

Manchester Originals (Men)

  • England Internationals: Jos Buttler (C), Steven Finn, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt
  • England Domestic: Joe Clarke, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Sam Hain, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby
  • Foreign Recruits: Colin Ackermann, Fred Klaasen (Netherlands – domestic), Lockie Ferguson, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies)

Coach: Simon Katich

Manchester Originals Expected XI:

  1. Jos Buttler (C/WK), 2. Colin Munro, 3. Phil Salt, 4. Joe Clarke, 5. Sam Hain, 6. Carlos Brathwaite, 7. Ollie Robinson, 8. Matt Parkinson, 9. Jamie Overton, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Steven Finn

Manchester Originals (Women)

  • England Internationals: Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Alex Hartley
  • England Domestic: Georgie Boyce, Natalie Brown, Danielle Collins, Alice Dyson, Cordelia Griffith, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Eleanor Threlkeld (WK)
  • Foreign Recruits: Mignon du Preez (South Africa), Harmanpreet Kaur (India), Lizelle Lee (South Africa)

Coach: Paul Shaw

Manchester Originals Expected XI:

  1. Lizelle Lee, 2. Emma Lamb, 3. Georgia Boyce, 4. Harmanpreet Kaur, 5. Mignon du Preez, 6. Sophie Ecclestone, 7. Kate Cross (C), 8. Cordelia Griffith, 9. Ellie Threlkeld (WK), 10. Laura Jackson, 11. Alex Hartley

Oval Invincibles (Men)

  • England Internationals: Sam Curran (C), Tom Curran, Jason Roy, Sam Billings (WK), Rory Burns, Saqib Mahmood, Reece Topley
  • England Domestic: Alex Blake, Jordan Blake, Jordan Cox, Laurie Evans, Brandon Glover, Will Jacks, Nathan Sowter
  • Foreign Recruits: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Sunil Narine (West Indies)

Coach: Tom Moody

Oval Invincibles Expected XI:

  1. Colin Ingram, 2. Jason Roy, 3. Rory Burns, 4. Jordan Cox, 5. Sunil Narine, 6. Sam Billings, 8. Sam Curran (C), 9. Tom Curran, 10. Saqib Mahmood, 11. Reece Topley

Oval Invincibles (Women)

  • England Internationals: Sarah Bryce (WK), Tash Farrant, Mady Villiers, Fan Wilson
  • England Domestic: Georgia Adams, Megan Belt, Alice Capsey, Joanne Gardner, Grace Gibbs, Eva Gray, Danielle Gregory
  • Foreign Recruits: Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk (South Africa)

Coach: Lydia Greenway

Oval Invincibles Expected XI:

  1. Georgia Adams, 2. Alice Capsey, 3. Fran Wilson, 4. Dane van Niekerk (C), 5. Marizanne Kapp, 6. Sarah Bryce (WK), 7. Tash Farrant, 8. Mady Villiers, 9. Grace Gibbs, 10. Shabnim Ismail, 11. Dani Gregory

Northern Superchargers (Men)

  • England Internationals: Ben Stokes (C), Adil Rashid, David Wiley, Brydon Carse, Adam Lyth, John Simpson (WK)
  • England Domestic: Harry Brook, Matthew Fisher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Matty Potts, Ben Raine, Jordan Thompson
  • Foreign Recruits: Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Chris Lynn (Australia), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)

Coach: Darren Lehmann

Northern Superchargers Expected XI:

  1. Faf du Plessis, 2. Chris Lynn, 3. Ben Stokes (C), 4. Adam Lyth, 5. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 6. John Simpson (WK), 7. Brydon Carse, 8. David Wiley, 9. Adil Rashid, 10. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11. Matty Potts

Northern Superchargers (Women)

  • England Internationals: Lauren Winfield-Hill, Alice Davidson-Richards, Beth Langston, Linsey Smith
  • England Domestic: Hollie Armitage, Ami Campbell, Helen Fenby, Phoebe Graham, Katie Levick, Kalea Moore, Bess Heath (WK)
  • Foreign Recruits: Laura Kimmince (Australia), Sterre Kalis (Netherlands), Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)

Coach: Danielle Hazell

Northern Superchargers Expected XI:

  1. Lauren Winfield-Hill, 2. Laura Wolvaardt, 3. Jemimah Rodrigues, 4. Laura Kimmince, 5. Alice Davidson-Richards, 6. Beth Langston, 7. Bess Heath (WK), 8. Phoebe Graham, 9. Linsey Smith, 10. Katie Levick, 11. Helen Fanby

Southern Brave (Men)

  • England Internationals: Jofra Archer (C), James Vince, Danny Briggs, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton
  • England Domestic: Alex Davies (WK), George Garton, Jake Lintott, Max Waller, Ross Whitely
  • Foreign Recruits Devon Conway (New Zealand), Quinton de Kock (WK), Delray Rawlins (Bermuda – domestic)

*Withdrawn: Andre Russell (West Indies)

Coach: Mahela Jayawardene

Southern Brave Expected XI:

  1. Devon Conway, 2. Quinton de Kock (C), 3. James Vince, 4. Alex Davies (WK), 5. , 6. George Garton, 7. Jofra Archer (C), 9. Liam Dawson, 10. Chris Jordan, 11. Tymal Mills

Southern Brave (Women)

  • England Internationals: Sophia Dunkley, Sonia Odedra, Anya Shrubsole, Danni Wyatt
  • England Domestic: Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Ella McCaughan, Fi Morris, Tara Norris, Carla Rudd (WK), Paige Scholfield, Charlotte Taylor
  • Foreign Recruits: Smriti Mandhana (India), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia)

Coach: Charlotte Edwards

Southern Brave Expected XI:

  1. Smriti Mandhana, 2. Danni Wyatt, 3. Stefanie Taylor, 4. Sophia Dunkley, 5. Maia Bouchier, 6. Paige Scholfield, 7. Carla Rudd (WK), 8. Amanda-Jade Wellington, 9. Anya Shrubsole, 10. Sonia Odedra, 11. Lauren Bell

Trent Rockets (Men)

  • England Internationals: Joe Root (C), Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Dawid Malan, Samit Patel, Luke Wright
  • England Domestic: Matthew Carter, Sam Cook, Ben Cox (WK), Tom Moores (WK), Steven Mullaney, Luke Wood
  • Foreign Recruits: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), D’Arcy Short (Australia), Timm van der Gugten (Netherlands – domestic), Wahab Riaz (Pakistan), Marchant de Lange (South Africa)

Coach: Andy Flower

I am looking forward to

Trent Rockets Expected XI:

  1. D’Arcy Short, 2. Alex Hales, 3. Joe Root, 4. Dawid Malan, 5. Luke Wright, 6. Samit Patel, 7. Ben Cox (WK), 8. Timm van der Gugten, 9. Rashid Khan, 10. Lewis Gregory, 11. Wahab Riaz

Trent Rockets (Women)

  • England Internationals: Katherine Brunt, Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Glenn, Nat Sciver
  • England Domestic: Ella Claridge, Abigail Freeborn, Teresa Graves, Nancy Harman, Lucy Higham, Alicia Presland, Emily Windsor
  • Foreign Recruits: Heather Graham, Sammy-Jo Johnson (Australia), Michaele Kirk (South Africa – domestic), Rachel Priest (WK – New Zealand)

Coach: Salliann Briggs

I am looking forward to

Trent Rockets Expected XI:

  1. Kathryn Bryce, 2. Heather Graham, 3. Nat Sciver (C), 4. Rachiel Priest (WK), 5. Emily Windsor, 6. Sammy Jo-Johnson, 8. Katherine Brunt, 9. Sarah Glenn, 10. Kathryn Bryce, 11. Lucy Higham

Welsh Fire (Men)

  • England Internationals: Ollie Pope (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Liam Plunkett, Jake Ball, Tom Banton, Ben Duckett
  • England Domestic: Josh Cobb, Ian Cockbain, Matt Critchley, Ryan Higgins, David Lloyd, David Payne
  • Foreign Recruits: Jacobus Leus du Plooy (South Africa – domestic), James Neesham (New Zealand), Glenn Phillips (WK), Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan)
  • Withdrawn: Kieron Pollard

Coach: Gary Kirsten

Welsh Fire Expected XI:

  1. Jonny Bairstow (WK), 2. Tom Banton, 3. Ben Duckett, 4. Ollie Pope (C), 5. Glenn Phillips, 6. James Neesham, 8. Qais Ahmed, 9. Liam Plunkett, 10. Jake Ball, 11. David Payne

Welsh Fire (Women)

  • England Internationals: Sarah Taylor (WK), Katie George, Bryony Smith
  • England Domestic: Sophie Luff, Bethan Ellis, Georgia Hennessy, Alice Macleod, Nat Wraith (WK), Alex Griffiths, Amy Gordon, Nicole Harvey, Lauren Flier
  • Foreign Recruits: Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Piepa Cleary, Georgia Redmayne (WK – Australia)

Coach: Mark O’Leary

Welsh Fire Expected XI:

  1. Georgia Redmayne, 2. Hayley Matthews, 3. Sophie Luff, 4. Bethan Ellis, 5. Sarah Taylor (WK), 6. Georgia Hennessy, 7. Piepa Cleary, 9. Alice Macleod, 10. Alex Griffiths, 11. Nicole Harvey

The Hundred 2021 Prediction League

Before you get started, you have to do a quick registration (takes 30 seconds).

  1. Register for predictions here https://brokencricketdreams.com/register/
  2. After logging in, navigate to the menu and find The Hundred Prediction Sheet. https://brokencricketdreams.com/pool/

At this point, you should see something like this (if you are on Desktop):

Fixtures & Schedule

You can find the Hundred 2021 fixtures (UTC time zone) here.

Key Match Ups To Watch Out For

  1. Women’s Cricket – This is the boost women’s cricket needs. Yes, the financial pay is not nearly equal to the men’s edition, but at least women’s cricket is made a priority. This could be the template for other leagues to follow (hint, hint, nudge, nudge the IPL) to have simultaneous men/women’s tournament and have foreign talent on show. With Free-to-air matches and all matches free on YouTube, I am hoping women’s cricket expands to the next level.
  2. Joe Root & Dawid Malan – Malan, the #1 ranked T20I batter has a question mark on his place in the XI, especially after youngsters like Liam Livingstone standing up. Joe Root, England’s catalyst in the 2016 T20 World Cup campaign, is back into contention. Both will represent the Trent Rockets. Is this a direct audition for the World Cup spot?
  3. Sarah Taylor & Liam Plunkett – World’s best keeper and England’s most important bowler in the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Retired and left behind, they are both back.
  4. English Team Depth – The quickly put together “second-string” England emerged on the top against Pakistan and currently India’s new look squad is bossing Sri Lanka around. Will talents like Tom Banton and Phil Salt shine and make England’s case even stronger?

The Hundred 2021 Predictions

Finally here are my predictions.

My prediction for the team to lift the #Hundred 2021 trophy for both men & women trophy with… London Spirits with the Top 3 of Trent Rockets & Southern Brave (men) and Northern Superchargers & Southern Brave (women)

  • Most Runs: Liam Livingstone (M), Tammy Beaumont (W)
  • Most Wickets: Rashid Khan (M), Sophie Ecclestone (W)
  • Player of the Tournament: Sam Curran (M), Shafali Verma (W)
  • Emerging Player: Phil Salt (M), Sophia Dunkley (W)
  • Surprise Package: London Spirit (M), London Spirit (M)
  • Broken Cricket Dream: Will County Cricket die? Will the ardent cricket fans leave for the sake of attracting new audience?

Here were my Predictions for The Hundred 2021. What did you think? What are YOUR predictions? Comment Below!

Copyright 7/21/2021 @NiteshMathur – Broken Cricket Dreams, bcd@brokencricketdreams.com

Image Courtesy: Facebook