Moeen Ali wants The Hundred to be postponed until 2021
England all-rounder Moeen Ali believes it would be the right decision to postpone The Hundred until 2021. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will meet on Wednesday and is expected to delay the new 100-ball competition because of the coronavirus pandemic. Moeen wants all foreign stars to participate and feels it's better to be delayed. Here's more.
What is The Hundred?
Eight teams based in seven cities will face-off for the new 100-ball tournament. There will be 32 league matches in total. The top team will automatically reach the final, with second versus third will vie for the other spot by playing a knock-out match. Teams will face each other once, apart from their paired 'rivals', whom they meet twice (home and away).
The tournament was supposed to start in July
The men's and women's Hundred were supposed to run from July 17 to August 16 this year. However, the coronavirus pandemic has spoiled all plans. The world is in a standstill and Moeen fears that even if the competition does get the go-ahead, health and travel restrictions may make it impossible to bring in high-profile overseas stars. Therefore, he wants it to be postponed.
It is better for it to be delayed, says Moeen
According to a report in AFP, Moeen said having all the players makes more sense. "It is better for it to be delayed. As players we want The Hundred played with all the best players around the world available to come so it makes more sense that way. It is probably going to be too much to squeeze in the last couple of months."
Moeen bats for the tournament to be held next year
"If we can get other international players who were not available this year, it can make The Hundred even stronger for next year and we can attract a new audience to come and watch cricket," added Moeen as per the BBC.
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