Nasser Hussain, Kevin Pietersen, Alice Capsey and more reflect on the second season in The Hundred; KP explains how tournaments like this are crucial for domestic players while Nasser wants Welsh Fire to follow Trent Rockets' lead by having a local flavour in their playing squad
Monday 5 September 2022 06:16, UK
The Hundred's second season is now complete with Oval Invincibles retaining the women's title and Trent Rockets claiming the men's after two edgy, low-scoring finals at Lord's.
The tournament is not without its detractors but it is hard to argue that it has not had a profound impact on the growth of the women's game.
Record attendances for women's fixtures were seen at each of the eight venues, with a new high for a domestic women's match in the UK set in the final at Lord's on Saturday as 20,840 watched Invincibles beat Brave and lift the trophy.
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain said: "The women's tournament was exceptional - it goes from strength to strength.
"The atmosphere in the grounds has also been exceptional. This is no spin. If you go around the ground, it is a real family atmosphere and I have loved every minute of that."
According to ECB figures, over 500,000 people attended games during The Hundred in 2022 - 271,000 of those at women's matches - with more women (28 per cent) and children (22 per cent) in the stadiums than in year one.
The women's competition, which was truncated and started a week later due to cricket's involvement in the Commonwealth Games, was full of close finishes - unlike the men's, which was also blighted by player withdrawals due to international commitments.
Brave's women's side came through a tight affair in the Eliminator at The Ageas Bowl, pipping Trent Rockets by two runs after Nat Sciver's three consecutive sixes in the final set had threatened to alter the result.
They were then on the wrong side of a close game at Lord's on Saturday, as Invincibles edged to their target of 102 with six balls to spare after a wobble with the bat.
Invincibles all-rounder Alice Capsey, 18, said: "I think it's been amazing for the women's game.
"I think from last year it exceeded all our expectations. Going to this year it's almost had to one-up it and I think it's absolutely done that.
"We've seen some amazing games of cricket, we've seen some new records. We've seen new records for crowd attendance.
"I think the general standard of the game has gone up and it's been incredible to play in, to be a part of that and to see it."
Rockets and England seamer Katherine Brunt told Sky Sports last week that the pressure of playing in The Hundred is a good indicator of whether players are ready for international cricket.
Capsey says the tournament has certainly helped her make the jump to representing England, with the teenager making her T20 international bow earlier this summer.
She added: "It gives players a platform to show what they're about. I think looking back, for me The Hundred was amazing because it did set me up for playing international cricket.
"Obviously when you make your debut you've got the nerves of making your debut. If I hadn't have played in The Hundred I would have been so nervous to play in front of that crowd as well whereas coming into the Hundred last year it wasn't daunting, I loved it.
"I love playing in front of crowds, I love the energy that it gives me so for me, the Hundred really set me up for being able to play international cricket."
Capsey took two wickets and chipped in with 25 off 17 balls in Invincibles' win over Brave in the women's final, while in the men's final Trent Rockets seamer Sam Cook bagged 4-18 as his side beat Manchester Originals.
Kevin Pietersen told Sky Sports: "These tournaments are so important for domestic players.
"When the IPL started, I was at RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and we had Virat Kohli in our side.
"He was a little guy and he sat next to (Jacques) Kallis, (Anil) Kumble, (Rahul) Dravid, all these amazing players. I said it was an academy for learning.
"No matter how many Test matches I played, no matter how many one-day internationals, it was an academy for all of us to learn.
"This will grow the domestic structure, make the domestic players better and that will produce better England players. This is going to become a very big trophy to lift."
Looking at some of the negatives, Hussain noted the performances of Welsh Fire, with the men's team losing all eight of their matches and the women's side five out of six.
Hussain added: "We have to be honest and say there has been a bit of second-season syndrome in the men's competition with not many close games.
"Welsh Fire have also been a huge disappointment. There has not been much Welsh or much fire, to be honest.
"What I liked about Trent Rockets was the affiliation they have with [Trent Bridge]. Alex Hales plays at Nottinghamshire, so do Samit Patel, Matt Carter, Luke Fletcher, Tom Moores.
"There is an affiliation between the players and the fans."
Joe Root was only able to play two games for Rockets due to his England commitments, while Ben Stokes (Northern Superchargers) and Jonny Bairstow (Welsh Fire) withdrew ahead of the tournament in order to manage their workloads.
There could be more of a sprinkling of stardust next term with The Hundred not clashing with any England matches - the Ashes will be done and dusted by the end of July.
There is no guarantee that Stokes et all will play a major part in the tournament after a potentially gruelling five Tests against Australia but one thing is for certain - The Hundred is not going anywhere.
It is on the calendar until at least 2028, with England's managing director of men's cricket Rob Key recently telling Sky Sports that the competition will "secure the future of our game".
But what tweaks could occur to the tournament?
Manchester Originals men's head coach Simon Katich suggested organisers could perhaps increase the 24-hour gap between the Eliminator and the final.
Originals defeated London Spirit in Southampton on Friday night and were then back in action the next day, in a losing effort against Rockets.
He said: "Credit to Trent Rockets, they were the standout team in the competition, but it looked like we were a bit tired in our decision-making which was totally understandable given our great win the night before.
"I don't think there's any other competition in the world (that does this). You get in at 1am, 1.30am and it's tough to get to sleep because the adrenaline is buzzing, then you have to back up again.
"It's something that probably has to be looked at."
