The Hundred: Plans for a new competition in Africa 'chopped' in favour of T10
- Published
The England and Wales Cricket board launched the Hundred format in 2021
Organisers of a proposed new pan-continental limited-overs competition in Africa have decided against adopting The Hundred format, opting for T10 instead.
The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) told BBC Sport Africa last year that an unnamed sponsor had approached them to stage a Hundred, in what would have been only the second of its kind in the world.
Devised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) with the aspiration of reaching a younger and more diverse audience, The Hundred sees each team bat for 100 balls, external, as opposed to a set number of overs.
But Abu Dhabi based T Ten Sports Management, the firm that owns the rights for the T10 format, now appears to have won the race for the contract in Africa.
"I believe they (T Ten Sports) have been engaging with the ECB but something (happened)," ACA chief executive Cassim Suliman told BBC Sport Africa.
"I haven't got the clear picture, but we all resolved to go to T10.
"We won't want to trample on anybody's toes that have the rights. We want good relationships with all the member countries and not to have any problems.
"So we are chopping off The Hundred and just using T10."
After a controversial launch, The Hundred has run for two editions in England and Wales, with the rights held by the ECB, who also launched the hugely successful T20 format but did not patent it.
Suliman warned last year that if rights-associated costs were due for The Hundred then the ACA would look at different options - despite the request from a sponsor to chose the format used in the UK.
"The T10 will be fine. We're quite happy, quite satisfied. It's played all over," added Suliman, who confirmed the ACA is now working closely with the owner of the established Abu Dhabi T10 competition, Shaji Ul Mulk.
"When you look at the Abu Dhabi T10, it's going to be similar to that."
A cricketing vision for Africa
The hope is that the new T10 competition will be an opportunity for domestic African players to experience high-level limited-overs cricket - but there are also plans for a more lucrative T20 Africa Premier League franchise competition, which it is hoped will start in 2024 and attract global cricket's star names.
However, this year's T10 launch could end up being postponed while the ACA and T Ten Sports Management find a window within the busy schedule controlled by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"Availability is one aspect. Secondly, there's a lot of ICC events that goes with it as well," Suliman said.
"So we are waiting for the final draft (of the schedule) from the ICC. Once we get that, then we will know when and where we can have it staged."
Suliman also told Sport Africa that the women's edition of the Africa Cricket Association Cup, a T20 tournament for non Test-playing nations, will launch in 2024.
The inaugural men's competition, which began in 2022, was won by Uganda after an eight-wicket win against Senegal.