The Hundred: Players express concern at expansion proposals

Southern Brave won the 2023 Women's Hundred

Players have expressed concern at proposals to expand The Hundred in a meeting with the England and Wales Cricket Board.

One of the plans for the future of the tournament involves all 18 first-class counties hosting a team, with promotion and relegation between two divisions.

Representatives from the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) met with the ECB in London this week.

Their concerns included scheduling and the impact on the women's competition.

Some 23 players, mainly made up of the PCA's players' committee, met for a two-day summit to discuss issues affecting the game in England and Wales.

They also met with four representatives from the ECB, including chief executive Richard Gould and director of women's professional cricket Beth Barrett-Wild.

Newspaper reports last month detailed five options for the future of The Hundred, which completed its third season in August.

The 100-ball competition has proved divisive, with some claiming it marginalises the 18 counties.

The plans, one of which is keeping the status quo of an eight-team Hundred for men and women, are aimed at removing the division in the game, while also potentially opening up an avenue for private investment.

Discussions have taken place with stakeholders, players and broadcast partners.

One option is to expand from eight to 10 teams, which did not meet with great opposition from the players.

However, an 18-team competition was thought to be "impossible".

One objection would be over the pressure a vastly expanded Hundred would place on an already packed schedule.

The other would be around the knock-on effect to the women's game, with the women's competition currently mirroring the men's.

Firstly, an expansion to 18 teams in the women's game is unlikely to be possible in the near future because of a shallow talent pool, albeit one that is growing.

Secondly, a great strength of The Hundred has been the double-headed fixtures acting as a showcase for the women's game.

If promotion and relegation is introduced, it leads to the possibility of men's and women's teams from the same franchise playing in different leagues, thus making double headers difficult to schedule.

Any changes to The Hundred would have to be approved by at least two-thirds of the counties and would not be introduced until 2025 at the earliest.

The ECB's broadcast deal with Sky expires in 2028, while the agreement to show matches free-to-air on the BBC ends after the 2024 season.