ECB likely to postpone 'The Hundred' till 2021 over coronavirus: Report

The 100-ball tournament, which ECB expects can match global popularity of the IPL and the Big Bash League, could add to the long list of tournaments being put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic

The England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) plan to host the inaugural edition of The Hundred tournament this year is likely to suffer a big setback. According to media reports, it is likely to be postponed for at least a year. The inaugural edition was set to be played from July 17 to August 15 across different venues in England.
 
The 100-ball tournament, which the ECB expects can match the global popularity of the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League, could add to the long list of tournaments being put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 

What is The Hundred tournament?
 
The Hundred is franchise based 100-ball cricket tournament to be played in England and Wales and administered by the ECB. The league will consist of eight city-based franchise teams, each of which will field both a men's and women's team.

"With budgets tight, the availability of overseas players likely to be limited and the opportunity for ticket sales reduced, the ECB have decided now is not the time to attempt to launch a new competition that would place further demands on their finances," the cricket website ESPNCricinfo report stated.
 
The outbreak of coronavirus has shredded the entire sporting calendar of the world, in an year where several multi-national events were scheduled to take place.

 
Big events like Olympics 2020 and Euro 2020 have been pushed back to 2021 while cricket has also suffered the brunt of the pandemic. All bilateral series have been either called off or postponed with national T20 leagues such as the IPL also being hit as it has been postponed.
 
The Hundred becomes the latest high-profile cricket tournament whose future has been put into jeopardy by the deadly virus which has spread all over the globe. 

Format of The Hundred tournament

The 100-ball tournament has a very unique format which would excite the fans as they will see for first time five or 10 balls over.

Following the rules and regulations in The Hundred:

• The match will have a total of 200 legal deliveries with 100 balls per innings.
• One over will consist of 10 balls.
• One bowler can bowl a minimum of five and maximum of 10 consecutive balls.
• One bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls in a game.

Powerplay

• Powerplay will be of 25 balls.
• Only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle during powerplay.

Timeout

• There is one strategic time-out of two-and-a-half minutes per innings for the bowling side.
• The coach can walk out to the middle of the ground and discuss tactics with their players mid game.

Duration of 100-ball tournament

• A match of The Hundred will last two and a half hours.

Here is the list of major sports tournaments that have been cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus pandemic:
  

Major sports events affected by Coronavirus pandemic
Sports event	Status
Tokyo Olympics	Postponed to 2021
Cricket
India vs South Africa ODI series	Cancelled
Australia vs New Zealand (2nd and 3rd ODI)	Cancelled
Pakistan Super League	Suspended
England vs Sri Lanka Test series	Cancelled
Australia vs Bangladesh Test series	Postponed
Archery
World Cup in Shanghai	Cancelled
Badminton
China masters	Postponed
German Open	Cancelled
Asian Championships	Suspended
India Open	Suspended
Swiss Open	Suspended
Malaysian Open	Suspended
Singapore Open	Suspended
Thomas and Uber Cup finals	Postponed from May to Auguts 2020
Tennis
All AITA tournaments	Cancelled
BNP Paribas Open	Cancelled
Miami Open	Cancelled
Monte Carlo Masters	Cancelled
French Open	Postponed to Sept 20-OCt 4
Wimbledon 2020	Cancelled
Athletics
World Indoor Championships Nanjing	Postponed to March 2021
Field Hockey
India's tour of Japan (Jr Women's Asia Cup)	Postponed
FIH Pro League	Suspended till June
Basketball
NBA	Suspended
Shooting
New Delhi World Cup	postponed to May 5-12 and June 2-9
Boxing
World Cup in Germany	Cancelled
Formula one
Australian GP	Cancelled
Bahrain GP	Postponed
Vietnamese GP	Postponed
Chinese GP	Postponed
Monaco GP	Cancelled
Azerbaijan GP	Postponed
Football
Champions League	Suspended till further notice
Europa League	Suspended till further notice
EPL and FA Cup	Postponed till April 30
Euro 2020	Postponed to 2021
Copa America	postponed to 2021
Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup	Postponed