100 SPECULATIONS

ECB quash speculation about 12-man side in The Hundred

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Trent Bridge will host some men's trial games of The Hundred © Getty

The England and Wales Cricket Board have clarified that they haven't reached any decision regarding The Hundred - the proposed 100-ball per innings eight-team domestic tournament. Several speculations have been doing rounds with The Telegraph reporting that a total of 12 players in the team will be allowed to play. Contrasting reports were published in The Times with the England daily suggesting 15 players will be allowed in a game.

ECB has been under tremendous scrutiny since the time they announced the idea in April this year. The new tournament has been billed as a new T20 competition since it was first mooted with the ambition of rivalling other franchise leagues around the world.

"No final decisions have been made on the playing conditions for the new competition, which will start in the summer of 2020," the ECB said in a statement on Tuesday (July 24). "To develop the competition, there are a number of ongoing discussions, including within a high-performance group who are planning a series of pilot matches in September.

"Conversations with players, host venues and stakeholders across the game are vital to the development and inevitably lead to speculation on a range of matters. Ultimately, it is the board of the ECB which makes the final decisions on the format and playing conditions for the new competition and that is expected later this year."

Earlier this month, ECB appointed Trent Woodhill as the consultant for the tournament. The first set of trial matches will be played in September where domestic women cricketers will have a series of matches in Loughborough with the men playing over three days the following week at Trent Bridge.

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