The Hundred, the new England Cricket Board (ECB) competition, is well underway.

The new format gives each team one hundred bowls to take ten wickets, compared to slightly longer T20 matches, and uses a draft system to build teams.

The launch of the competition was delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a considerable setback. There have been a few other bumps in the road – including a row of sexism over refunds and criticism of ‘unreadable’ on-screen graphics – while reviews have been mixed so far.

Matches are available live on TV on a number of channels and the competition concludes on August 21, where finalists from both the men’s and women’s tournaments will play at Home of Cricket, Lord’s.

As the competition continues, here’s all the info you need to know.

What are the match rules?

The blurb on the Hundred website sums up the goals of making the game simple to the desired audience: “Seven cities, eight teams, 100 balls. The Hundred will be played over five weeks during the school holidays and will be a great way for families to enjoy cricket.

The ECB’s market research showed that two and a half times as many respondents identify with a city rather than a county; 75 percent of families said they prefer short games that end at 9 p.m. and 19 percent of respondents who did not follow cricket said the complicated nature of the sport’s terminology is the biggest barrier to playing games . These responses informed the design of the tournament.

Broadcasters will try to make it easier to identify the winning team. Thus, for the team that strikes first, the scoreboard will display the points scored from the balls faced (57 passes from 25 balls), for the team that strikes second, it will be the necessary passes and the balls remaining (75 required from 51 balls) with Sky using the winviz equation as well (which shows the percentage chance of each side of winning updated ball for ball).

Each team’s innings will be 100 balls long (no more balls or wide) with ten sets of ten balls at each end. The captains will choose whether a bowler throws five balls in a row or stays to play ten. Bowlers can throw a maximum of 20 balls per inning and can throw two to five balls in a row from the same end or an alternate end.

The decision review system using Hawkeye will be available for the first time in national cricket in England, along with a ‘smart replay’ system that will not automatically call any balls (which will result in a free kick).

One of the main reasons for the Hundred is to complete matches in two and a half hours ending at 9 p.m. to attract young families. The teams will be timed throughout. There will be 50 seconds for the end change for broadcasters.

The defensive team can request a two-minute time-out when the head coach can enter the field and talk to the players about tactics. This is not mandatory and can only be called after 25 legitimate boules have been played in a round.

There will be a 25-ball power play when only two defensive players are allowed outside the inner circle and the referees will call “five” at the end of a plus instead of “plus” as is traditionally the case. . They will also hold a white card to signify the end of the first five legitimate balls from one end.

Do you have it all?

What are the arrangements?

Here is the latest schedule:

• July 21: Oval Invincibles v Manchester Originals (Women), Kia Oval – Oval Invicibles won by 5 wickets
• 22nd of July : Oval Invincibles v Manchester Originals (men), Kia Oval – Oval Invicibles won by 9 runs
• July 23: Birmingham Phoenix v London Spirit, Edgbaston – Women: London Spirit wins by three wickets; Men: Birmingham Phoenix wins by three wickets
• July 24: Trent Rockets v Southern Brave, Trent Bridge – Women: Southern Brave won by 23 runs; Men: Trent Rockets won by nine wickets
• July 24: Northern Superchargers vs. Welsh Fire, Emerald Headingley – Women: Northern Superchargers won by six wickets; Men: Welsh Fire won by five points
• July 25: London Spirit v Oval Invincibles, Lord’s – Women: Oval Invincibles won by 15 descents; Men: Match abandoned without boule played
• July 25: Manchester Originals v Birmingham Phoenix, Emirates Old Trafford – Women: Birmingham Phoenix won by 20 points; Men: Manchester Originals won by six wickets
• July 26: Trent Rockets v Northern Superchargers, Trent Bridge – Women: Northern Superchargers won by 27 runs; Men: Trent Rockets won by two wickets
• July 27: Welsh Fire v Southern Brave, Sophia Gardens – Women: Southern Brave won by eight wickets; Men: Welsh Fire won by 18 runs
• July 28: Manchester Originals v Northern Superchargers, Emirates Old Trafford – Torrential rains resulted in the postponement of both games, with each team in the women and men taking a point
• July 29: London Spirit vs. Trent Rockets, Lord’s – Women: Trent Rockets won by 18 runs; Men: Trent Rockets won by 7 runs
• July 30: Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix, Ageas Bowl – Women: Southern Brave won by 8 wickets; Men: Southern Brave won by 4 wickets
• July 31 : Welsh Fire v Manchester Originals, Sophia Gardens – Women: Welsh Fire won by 9 wickets; Men: Manchester Original won by 7 wickets
• July 31 : Northern Superchargers vs. Oval Invincibles, Emerald Headingley – Women: Northern Superchargers won by 4 runs; Men: Northern Superchargers won by 6 wickets
• August 01: Birmingham Phoenix vs. Trent Rockets, Edgbaston – Women: Trent Rockets won by 11 runs; Men: Birmingham Phoenix won by 6 wickets
• August 01: London Spirit v Southern Brave, Lord’s – Women: Southern Brave won by 7 wickets; Men: Southern Brave won by 4 descents
• August 02: Oval Invincibles vs. Welsh Fire, Kia Oval – Women: Welsh Fire won by 12 downhills; Men: Invincible ovals won by 6 wickets
• August 03: London Spirit v Northern Superchargers, Lord’s – Women: London Spirit won by 7 wickets; Men: Northern Superchargers won by 63 runs
• 04 August: Birmingham Phoenix v Oval Invincibles, Edgbaston – Women: Invincible ovals won by 8 wickets; Men: Birmingham Phoenix won by 6 wickets
• August 05: Manchester Originals v Southern Brave, Emirates Old Trafford – Women: Manchester Originals won by 17 races; Men: no results.
• August 06: Welsh Fire v Trent Rockets, Sophia Gardens – Women: Trent Rockets won by 4 wickets; Men: Trent Rockets won by 6 wickets
• August 07: Southern Brave v Northern Superchargers, Ageas Bowl – Women: Southern Brave won by 7 wickets; Men: Southern Brave won by 5 wickets
• August 08: Oval Invincibles vs. Trent Rockets, Kia Oval – Women: match abandoned without boule played; Men: Oval Invincibles won by 9 descents
• August 09: Birmingham Phoenix v Welsh Fire, Edgbaston – Women: Birmingham Phoenix won by 10 wickets; Men: Birmingham Phoenix won by 93 points
• August 10: Manchester Originals v London Spirit, Emirates Old Trafford – Women: London Spirit won by 5 wickets; Men: London Spirit won by 6 descents
• August 11: Southern Brave vs. Welsh Fire, Ageas Bowl – Women: Southern Brave won by 39 races; Men: Southern Brave won by 8 wickets
• August 12: North Superchargers vs. Manchester Originals, Emerald Headingley – Women: Manchester Originals won by 8 wickets; Men: Northern Superchargers won by 69 runs
• August 13: Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix, Trent Bridge – Women: Birmingham Phoenix won by 3 wickets; Men: Birmingham Phoenix won by 16 points
• August 14: Oval Invincibles vs. London Spirit, Kia Oval – Women: Invincible ovals won by 8 wickets; Men: Ovak Invincibles won by 2 wickets
• August 15th : Trent Rockets v Manchester Originals, Trent Bridge – Women: Manchester Originals won by 9 wickets, Men: Trent Rockets won by 7 wickets
• August 16: Southern Brave v Oval Invincibles, Ageas Bowl – Women: Southern Brave won by 30 races, Men: Southern Brave won by 6 wickets
• August 17: North Superchargers v Birmingham Phoenix, Emerald Headingley – Women: Birmingham Phoenix won by 14 races, Men: Birmingham Phoenix Brave won by 8 wickets
• August 18: Welsh Fire v London Spirit, Sophia Gardens – Women: London Spirit won by 7 wickets, Men: Welsh Fire won by 7 wickets
• 20 August : Eliminator for women and men, Kia Oval
• 21st of August : Men’s and Women’s Finals, Lord’s

How can I watch on TV?

The broadcasters – Sky and the BBC – will play a key role in the success of the tournament. They will be tasked with explaining the game to new audiences, but will need to balance that without alienating existing fans by bringing them down.

Sky Cricket Channel will be renamed the Hundred Channel with Andrew Flintoff leading their coverage alongside Darren Sammy, Dinesh Kartik, Stuart Broad and regular Sky Cricket lineup.

BBC coverage is presented by Isa Guha and features Michael Vaughan, Carlos Brathwaite and James Anderson. The BBC will broadcast ten men’s matches, including the final live on BBC Two and three women’s matches.