The second edition of “The Hundred” got underway on August 3, 2022, and will run through to September 3, 2022, with JustBet again offering attractive odds on the outcome of each game plus the winner of the tournament. The month-long cricket competition was launched last summer by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and has enjoyed tremendous success based on the objectives set.

The format was first proposed in 2016 and agreed on in 2017 but the original launch was delayed by a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The games attract large crowds and, as intended, are skewing to a younger generation of spectators. The colourful outfits worn by players and umpires alike along with live musical performances and music reverberating during breaks in play, create a party atmosphere which appears to appeal to the target audience.

The Hundred was invented with the expectation that each match lasts approximately two-and-a-half hours with each team playing a single innings made up of 100 balls. There are eight teams in both the men and women divisions that will play a total of 32 games. Each team plays four matches at home and four matches away, to include one match against every other side and then a second bonus match against their nearest regional rivals.

The team that ultimately finishes top of the men’s and women’s league progresses straight into the final, while the teams finishing second and third will compete in the eliminator (or semi-final), with the winner progressing into the final.

Almost all the matches take place as back-to-back double-headers at the same venue on the same day. One ticket gives access to both the men’s and women’s games but this year, the round of men’s fixtures started on Wednesday, August 3 and the women’s fixtures started on Thursday, August 11. This is because women’s cricket was featured in the Commonwealth Games for the very first time and since many of the players were engaged in same, The Hundred women’s competition got underway after the conclusion of the events in Birmingham. Therefore, from August 11, all fixtures have been double-headers.

Each squad is made up of 16 players with a maximum of four overseas members (a maximum of three can play in a match) and at least one England cricket team player is signed to each of the teams. The salary cap per team for the 2022 season is £1,000,000 and the prize money is shared evenly among the men and women.

A few male and female players from the West Indies are again featured at this year’s tournament: For the men, allrounders Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell are representing, while for the women, Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews are featured. The two females were included in the Barbados XI who were the representing side from the West Indies at the Commonwealth Games. Both players didn’t have good or consistent form coming into the tournament but have shown ‘signs-of-life’ in this 100-ball version.

The major rules of The Hundred that separates it from other cricket formats are:

• 100 balls per innings

• A change of ends after 10 balls

• Bowlers deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls – In traditional cricket, bowling is divided into six-ball stints known as overs. The Hundred removes the term “overs” to simply five-ball and 10-ball stints.

• Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game

• Each bowling side gets a strategic time-out of up to two and a half minutes – Coaches can walk out to the middle of the ground and discuss tactics with their players during the timeout.

• A 25-ball powerplay starts the innings for each team

• Two fielders are allowed outside the initial 30-yard circle during the powerplay

• The non-striker must return to their original end after a caught dismissal

• No-balls are worth two runs plus a free hit is awarded (a free hit is a delivery in which the batter cannot be dismissed by any methods other than those applicable for a no-ball, namely run out, hit the ball twice and obstructing the field)

• Slow over-rates are penalised by one fewer fielder being permitted outside the ring for the final over.

The Southern Brave, winner of the men’s tournament in 2021, after beating the Birmingham Phoenix by 32 runs, are currently struggling at the lower end of the table and appear to be out of the running. The race appears close at the top between the Trent Rockets, London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Originals leading the charge.

The Oval Invincibles won the 2021 women’s tournament, beating the Southern Brave by 48 runs, and it appears they are both favoured to get to the final this year again. However, the race is heating up among the top five — and the Birmingham Phoenix, Trent Rockets and Northern Superchargers are within reach to spoil the party.

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