Eoin Morgan: The Hundred has survived its biggest test

Former England captain Eoin Morgan believes The Hundred has survived its biggest test as the tournament embarks on its second year, writes Sportsbeat's Milly McEvoy.

The 100-ball format has split opinions despite being a success with crowds and families last year and the 35-year-old is relishing pulling on the blue of London Spirit again.

Morgan skippered the Spirit last season, with the Lord’s-based side propping up the men’s table, although that did not taint his experiences.

“Last year was the ultimate test,” the World Cup winner said. “People hated it like you couldn't believe, so we're past that.

“Progression is like three years down the road. It's not the first year, second year seeing the different challenges, it's beyond that.

“I'm just going to try and enjoy myself. I’m enjoying training, which is a start because I don't normally enjoy training.

“Whenever I get to the stage where I am not enjoying it, I'll finish. But I want to enjoy it and I loved it last year and we were crap. That's a good sign, so I'm looking forward to it.”

The Middlesex player was speaking at the launch of KP Snacks’ summer cricket roadshow at The Black Prince Trust in Oval. KP Snacks are the Official Team Partner of The Hundred and are on a mission to inspire more families to get active through cricket by bringing a pop-up experience on a nationwide tour of the country.

Morgan’s Spirit get their campaign underway away in a local derby against Oval Invincibles on 4 August before playing their first home game four days later squaring up against Manchester Originals.

The former England white-ball captain called time on his international career in June of this year after a miserable run of form and will combine his cricket with working as a commentator for Sky Sports.

Last year London Spirit’s men’s side were coached by the late Shane Warne and the Australian legend’s passing has provided Morgan with the opportunity to reunite with Trevor Bayliss, the coach who helped him to lift the World Cup trophy in 2019.

He added: “Trevor Bayliss and I know each other inside out. We know our strengths, our strategies, our plans.

“The difficult thing is obviously what every team goes through and that is trying to integrate that within the space of four weeks.

“But there's certainly a lot of simple improvements that we can make on last year, we've made some brilliant signings, so hopefully we can get the best out of them.”

During his time as England captain, Morgan was known for celebrating the diversity in his team, famously saying ‘Allah was with us’ after their World Cup triumph.

And for Morgan, The Hundred’s greatest success last year was the improvements it made for women in cricket.

He said: “I think we saw a huge amount of evidence last year when it came to the power of what a tournament like this can do for the sport.

“The biggest positive of last year was the growth in the women's game and the level of attention that it attracted was extraordinary.

“The crowds that turned up reached far and wide, there were stories about parents having girls that never watched cricket turn up.

“There were girls who didn't realise that they were allowed to play cricket. So that was the biggest benefit of the tournament.”

KP Snacks, Official Team Partner of The Hundred, are touring the country this summer to offer more opportunities for people to play cricket as part of their ‘Everyone In’ campaign. Visit everyonein.co.uk/about