London [UK], December 11: The final of the Men's Hundred, on August 15, will be hosted by Lords' cricket ground while women's final will be played at the 1st Central County Ground in Hove on August 14. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) plans to transform the ground with increased food and drink options and off-field entertainment to appeal to all ages. Chief Executive of MCC, Guy Lavender, said he is thrilled to be hosting the inaugural men's final of The Hundred at Lord's.
"We are thrilled to be hosting the inaugural men's final of The Hundred at Lord's and we are committed to making it a great success. The Home of Cricket is a great setting for the final of this brand new competition, which will provide MCC the opportunity to welcome many more young people and families into the ground, including the Pavilion, not only for the final but across the group stages with our team, London Spirit," Lavender said in a statement. The Hundred 2020 Dates: From Teams, Venues, Format to Players Participating, All You Need to Know About England's Revolutionary 100-Ball Cricket Tournament.
"We have been fortunate enough to host some incredible finals over the years, not least with the recent exploits of both the England men's and women's teams winning their respective World Cups in exhilarating fashion, and we know this is going to be another momentous sporting occasion - as well as another seminal moment in the rich history of Lord's," he added. Sussex Cricket Chief Executive Officer, Rob Andrew, said he is delighted to host the final of women's tournament and this will help grow the interest in girls' and women's cricket.
"We are delighted to be hosting the first women's Finals Day for The Hundred. We have a strong reputation for supporting and promoting the women's game in Sussex and this will help grow the interest in girls' and women's cricket - one of our key priorities over the coming years," Andrew said. The managing director of The Hundred, Sanjay Patel, said both the grounds have a 'great history' of staging showcase events in men's and women's cricket."We're delighted to award the first Finals of The Hundred to Lord's and Hove - two grounds with a great history of staging showcase events in men's and women's cricket," Patel said.
"The Hundred represents an incredible opportunity to broaden our audience for cricket and it's great to see our Finals venues committed to delivering great spectacles next August to close the inaugural competitions with a bang. We're looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic tournament, starting with the first men's match in The Hundred on July 17 at the Kia Oval," he added. Scheduled for 2020, the tournament will see eight new city-based teams competing over a five-week period.
The new white-ball cricket is a 100-ball per innings format. In the matches, a change of end will take place after ten balls and bowlers can deliver either five or ten consecutive balls. Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game and each bowling side gets a strategic timeout of up to two and a half minutes. Moreover, The Hundred will have a 25-ball powerplay start for each team and two fielders will be allowed outside of the initial 30-yard circle during the powerplay. These playing conditions have been recommended by ECB's Cricket Committee.
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