In 2024, The Hundred will participate in its inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) match.
Late in July, the two divisions will engage in direct competition for the world’s best men’s athletes, following a narrow avoidance of overlap the previous year.
MLC, which debuted the previous year and is funded by American and Indian investors, revealed last month that the dates and schedule for its second season, which will commence on July 4, will be finalized “in early August.” Tuesday marked the release of the Hundred’s schedule by the ECB; the inaugural men’s and women’s matches will be held at The Oval on July 23.
In 2024, The Hundred will also face an England men’s international, following a dedicated window the previous year. The commencement of England’s third Test against the West Indies on July 26 will preclude all participants from attending for a minimum of the initial week of the Hundred. On July 17, England women conclude a T20I series against New Zealand without encountering a conflict.
According to CricAdvisor, a confrontation between the Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League in 2024 is improbable. The men’s and women’s finals will once more take place at Lord’s on August 18. Although the dates for the CPL have not been determined, a source has indicated that it is improbable that it will commence until the last week of August at this time.
The conflict with MLC, however, will present a significant obstacle in terms of availability. The inaugural MLC final was held the year before the Hundred began, and it featured 19 players who had at least one appearance in both leagues. This underscores the similarity in the player pool utilized by both leagues. Notable names in the roster included Tim David, Heinrich Klaasen, and Sunil Narine.
Amid apprehension regarding the potential advent of a financially rewarding franchise league in the northern hemisphere during the summer season, the ECB notified centrally contracted players that they would not be granted No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the MLC. Jason Roy, the only Englishman to play for the Los Angeles Knight Riders during the previous summer, is expected to remain for a minimum of a portion of the 2024 season.
At present, MLC exceeds the international cap of four foreign players per team in franchise leagues, which was established by the ICC one year ago; nevertheless, this restriction is specific to new leagues. In an interview with the Sunday Times this week, Richard Thompson, chairman of the European Central Bank, characterized championships like the MLC as “essentially international tournaments masquerading as domestic competitions.”
MLC paid its highest-paid athletes an estimated $175k (£137,500) in its inaugural season in exchange for their participation in a minimum of five games. Males who achieved the highest payouts in the Hundred completed a minimum of eight rounds and were awarded £125,000 (approximately $1599 000 USD). Salary adjustments for the Men’s Hundred have been put on hold for the 2024 season, pending the European Central Bank’s assessment of the feasibility of allowing private investors to partake in the competition starting in 2025.
