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The chairman of Lancashire thinks it would “make
absolute sense” for the Hundred to switch to a Twenty20 format starting in
2025. This is in light of the fact that English cricket is still debating the
tournament’s future after high-level talks about potentially allowing corporate
funding.
The ECB has been holding meetings with counties this
month to talk about the future of the Hundred, which achieved record attendance
and ticket sales during its third season of competition. The ECB owns the eight
teams, which are managed by boards made up of independent and county
representatives. However, private investors may soon be able to purchase a
stake in the teams.
Since The Hundred is a major component of the ECB’s TV
rights agreement with Sky Sports, which extends until the end of the 2028
season, its survival is guaranteed for at least five more seasons. However, a
new model would be in place before the 2025 edition according to the ECB’s
roadmap for possible modifications to the ownership structures of the
competition.
The ECB may offer host counties equity shares in their
teams, according to a story published in The Daily Telegraph last week. They
may also think about adding two more clubs, most likely from the north-east and
the south-west, to increase the teams’ geographic distribution.
“It would make absolute sense,” Anson told
LancsTV, Lancashire’s in-house channel. “I think the format was an
unnecessary creation. It was there to create a difference between the Blast and
the Hundred… I think we are past that now. You won’t even need to change the
branding of it: it could still be called the Hundred.
“I think it should be T20, just to fall in line
with this game that is brilliant. It is the best format of cricket from a
global audience perspective. It does generate huge amounts of interest around
the world…. I would just fall in line with it, and I do feel, in the meetings
I’m in, that there is a sympathy for that attitude and for that change to
happen.”