The Hundred: Veteran Australian spinner Shane Warne and former England star batsman Kevin Pietersen have made a big statement about the 'The Hundred' tournament played in England. Both believe that 'The Hundred' can be organized better and more extensively in the future.
'The Hundred' is a new format of cricket in which each team gets to play 100 balls. Its first season concluded with a final played at Lord's cricket stadium on Saturday. Oval Invincibles won the women's tournament while Southern Brave clinched the men's tournament.
Shane Warne was the head coach of the London Spirit team in this tournament. "I think this tournament went beyond expectations," Warne told Sky Sports. The kind of cricket that was played, the way the teams performed was unmatched." He added, "Wherever we went, we found the stadium packed with spectators.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday be any day, Birmingham, Manchester, London, be any place, the stadiums were packed. The audience is really liking this new format of cricket and it's fantastic. It will be much better and bigger in the coming years."
It's nice to see franchise cricket in the UK - Peterson
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen is not surprised by the immense support he received at the start of the tournament. He said, "It's nice to see franchise cricket in the UK. One thing we do know is that the British public supports sports so well."
At the same time, he said, "No matter what sports it is. The Tour de France started in this country a few years ago and the crowds gathered on the streets to see it. So a big game like cricket would get a lot of support from the people here."