The inaugural running of the brand new The Hundred competition ended recently and what a truly tremendous month of cricket we witnessed.

With music from live DJ’s, a plethora of pyrotechnics, bright lights and entertainment options combining with the big-hitting on-field action, entertainment was high on The Hundred agenda, and it did not disappoint!

After initial scepticism and even opposition from some cricket purists, The Hundred made its debut after having been postponed from its planned launch in 2020. With women’s matches often being played before the men’s games, the launch of this new tournament was a bold move from the ECB to try and develop the game. So, let’s look at some of the key stats from the first-ever Hundred:

  • Across both the men’s and women’s tournaments, over 14,000 runs were scored

  • Over 100,000 tickets were sold in the first week alone

  • 247,000 people attended women’s matches alone with attendance records for women’s games being broken at various venues including Lord’s, where a record 13,537 attended London Spirit v Oval Invincibles

  • England star Liam Livingstone top scored in the men’s tournament with a staggering 348 runs in just 9 innings and 195 balls! On the women’s side of the tournament Dane van Niekerk was the highest run-scorer with 259 runs in 9 innings and 245 balls.

  • The first game broadcast live on the BBC achieved a stunning 1.95m viewers which rose to 8.54m in the first week of the tournament alone. In total, the ECB has announced that 16.1m people tuned in across the whole tournament.

  • 57% of these 16.1m people had not watched any live cricket of any format in the year previous

  • At Old Trafford, revenue in the club shop for the first Manchester Originals game totalled £40,000 in merchandise sales alone. On a standard England international match day their revenue is approximately £30,000.

Next year’s tournament should be even more thrilling too as more of the world’s best players are able to travel without the restrictions and quarantine implications of this summer. Many of the world’s best players including Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Kagiso Rabada, David Warner and Kane Williamson were not able to join the party this year and given the success of the tournament, they’ll want to be part of the action next year!

So, what does this new tournament mean for hospitality and why is it a great experience? Well, there are several reasons why The Hundred is a great way to enjoy VIP hospitality. As players try and score heavily and quickly this means plenty of action, so loads of big-hitting, runs being scored as well as wickets falling.

Given the short length of time required for a game, only 2.5hours approximately, you don’t need as much time to enjoy the experience. A game of The Hundred fits nicely into an evening and makes a great way to enjoy a summer’s night! Live music, lights and pyrotechnics add to the live spectacle and given these additional entertainment elements, The Hundred is totally appropriate for friends, families, and business clients alike.

Last but by no means least, the price point for VIP hospitality is lower than for the highly sought-after England internationals matches, making it more affordable for those with budget constraints. You will of course still see top-class cricket, enjoy delicious food and drinks plus some of the best players around.