Yes, We Know You ‘Don’t Care’

A year later than planned, The Hundred begins on Wednesday, when Oval Invincibles Women take on Manchester Originals Women at the Kia Oval; their male counterparts then kick off the men’s tournament 24-hours later. For some, it is an eagerly anticipated event. For others, the equivalent of a demon being born before our very eyes – albeit they won’t be watching, something they’ll be quick to remind you of.

It was inevitable that promotion of The Hundred would be cranked up immediately prior to the tournaments actually getting underway; sadly it feels equally inevitable this additional promotion has been accompanied by a deluge of ‘don’t care’ style replies, from those opposed to the new tournament.

There are plenty of question marks relating to The Hundred’s creation, it’s place in the English cricket landscape, and how it will shape the future of the sport here – I’ve asked, and continue to ask, many of those questions myself – but dismissing every Hundred related article is not the opposition some seem to think it is; nor is bombarding social media accounts with endless variations of ‘don’t care’. The idea that ‘if you stop fighting, they win’ somewhat pales when the ‘fight’ in question is posting a meaningless hashtag on Twitter, in response to a post about a competition which is very definitely happening. Bluntly, the time for ‘we don’t want this’ has long since past.

Even so, it’s still perfectly legitimate to worry about The Hundred’s impact on the County Championship, and to be frustrated by the lack of marketing support the Blast and KSL seemed to received in the past compared to the new kid on the block; heck you might even hold those feelings, but also be intrigued by what The Hundred has to offer. It’s a perfectly acceptable position to have, especially when the on-field action is likely to be good, given those taking part. The format tweaks might not be to everyone’s tastes, their reason for being sometimes hard to understand, but it’s still limited overs cricket ultimately – something which entertains millions around the world on a regular basis.

Endlessly griping about it, posting silly responses about how little you care, or that you won’t be watching, won’t change anything. Frankly, it’s bizarre to go out of your way to tell the Trent Rockets’ social media manager that you ‘don’t care’ – you care enough to reply after all…it’s just that you don’t like the idea of The Hundred. We get it. Again, that’s fine; but there’s a time and a place to register your opposition, and these tiny acts of rebellion – most of which would make a teenager cringe – are hardly it. A silly response on Facebook will change nothing.

What makes these silly comments all the more tedious and annoying is that they risk delegitimizing the genuine concerns held by fans, as those opposed to The Hundred are painted as a bunch of cranks and online trolls, making wider arguments about the tournament more easily dismissed, in turn risking the game so many profess to love. There’s a risk that the noble intentions people set out with are now becoming warped to the point of madness; a sporting version of the ‘FBPE’ trend on Twitter, which initially saw well meaning Remain voters looking to pull together, only for the movement to eventually warp to the point of derision. At this point, the sight of an ‘FBPE’ in a username or bio is a red flag, a reason to avoid. Things like ‘Oppose The Hundred’ risk the same, no matter their original, good intentions.

The most frustrating part of all is that even some of the biggest proponents of The Hundred will agree with the question marks surrounding it, will accept it’s creation was anything but smooth, and it’s future something of a gamble for the ECB. But still the divide has appeared, cricket’s own culture war. And where common ground might have been found, battle lines were drawn. Where legitimate concerns might have been heard, walls have gone up.

The Hundred has always been a divisive issue – even dating back to its early days as a ‘new T20 competition’ – but it seems some would prefer to continue to pour fuel on the fire, to stoke the divisions, and widen the gap between those willing to give the competition a chance, and those that will undoubtedly vote with their wallets and eyeballs. A sport divided. And a sport divided is one with a precarious future by any measure.

Doubtless some will say that the blame lies squarely at the door of the ECB; that their actions created this divide – and the early handling of The Hundred was absolutely a shambles, which contributed to a lot of frustration and fallout – but the tournament is here, it begins this week, and no amount of making a social media managers job harder will change that.

If you want to watch, watch. Enjoy! If you don’t, don’t. There’s plenty of other options out there. But The Hundred is here, it is going ahead, and no amount of online childishness will change that now.