The Hundred 2022 started yesterday with a match between defending champions Southern Brave and Welsh Fire. Six more teams, namely Birmingham Phoenix, Northern Super Chargers, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets are a part of the competition.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) launched this tournament in 2020 as their top franchise competition. To ensure that they can earn the attention of new audiences, ECB tweaked some rules for the matches in this tournament. Here’s a list of five rules of The Hundred which are different from normal cricket games.
1. There are no overs in The Hundred
Focus is on number of balls in the matches instead of number of overs. A bowler needs to bowl five balls before a captain can introduce another bowler. In normal cricket, a bowler needs to bowl six deliveries in an over.
2. A bowler can even bowl 10 consecutive balls in The Hundred
If the captain needs, he can give even 10 balls to a bowler in these matches. If his first five balls are great, the spell can be extended to 10 consecutive deliveries as well.
3. Change of ends is after 10 balls in The Hundred
In normal cricket matches, the ends of bowling and batting change after every over. However, in England’s 100-ball tournament, the ends change after 10 balls.
4. Each bowler can bowl only 20 balls in a match
In a T20 match which is the shortest format of normal cricket, a bowler can bowl a maximum of four overs, which equals to 24 balls. However, in England’s tournament, the maximum limit is 20 balls.
5. Powerplay lasts 25 balls
The mandatory powerplay makes sure that the teams bowling can keep only a maximum of two fielders outside the 30 yard circle. In England’s tournament, it is for 25 balls, while in T20s, it is for six overs, i.e. 36 balls.
