The ECB staged closed trial matches for the new competition at Trent Bridge last week.GETTY IMAGES
Wides will be "punished by free hits" and matches "could be as short as 20 balls" in the new Hundred competition, which "moved a big step closer to reality last week," according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. The latest proposals will be tested in the last pilot match involving England women at Loughborough on Thursday before final playing regulations are presented for approval to the exec board of the England & Wales Cricket Board in November. There is "still a lot of work to be done on the business side of the competition" but the ECB is "confident it has settled on what the cricket will look like after months of doubt and ridicule of the proposed new format." The ECB is planning further trial matches next year, which will be played in front of live audiences. Matches last week were played behind closed doors at Trent Bridge and Loughborough University, with the media invited "only for one day" (TELEGRAPH, 9/22).
