Explaining The Rules Of The Hundred Before The Eliminator

The Hundred rules explained in detail (X.com)The Hundred rules explained in detail (X.com)

In a bid to compete with top cricketing nations, the England and Wales Cricket Board introduced a unique franchise league called 'The Hundred' with a never-heard-before format back in 2021.

The Hundred scrapped the traditional 20-overs format to launch a 100-ball face off. The 8-team competition entered its fourth season in 2024 with Oval Invincibles, Birmingham Phoenix, Southern Brave and Northern Superchargers qualifying for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the eliminator is set to be played between Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave on August 17 at Kennington Oval in London. Ahead of the high-voltage knockout clash, let's revisit some of the key rules of unique format based competition.

What Is The Hundred Format?

As the name suggests, each team in The Hundred has a maximum of 100 balls to score as many runs as possible. This is significantly shorter than the traditional 20-over format of T20 cricket. The match consists of two innings, one for each team. The team batting first sets a target, and the other team tries to chase it down, which is the basic concept of cricket.

What Are 'Sets' In The Hundred?

Interestingly, The Hundred scrapped the traditional 6-ball per-over format to introduce a 5-ball set. A bowler can choose to bowl either a maximum of two consecutive sets from one end or bowl a single set of five balls and then swap with another bowler. 

Additionally, no bowler is allowed to deliver more than 20 balls, i.e., four sets in an innings. This means that a minimum of five bowlers must be used in every innings. Also, the bowling ends change after every 10 balls, i.e., two sets, thus adding a unique strategy to the game.

How Long Is Powerplay In The Hundred?

The first 25 balls of each innings constitute the powerplay, during which only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. During this period, the batters can exploit the field restrictions to put maximum runs on board and set the momentum. Meanwhile, outside the powerplay, up to five fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle, which allows the bowling team to curb the flow of runs.

What Are Tie-Breaking Rules In The Hundred?

If a match ends in a tie, a "Super Five" face-off is played, where each team gets five more balls to determine the winner. If the Super Five also ends in a tie, another Super Five is played until a winner is decided.

How Are Scores Showed In The Hundred?

The primary score shows the total number of runs scored by the batting team, followed by the number of wickets lost. Instead of overs, the number of balls remaining in the innings is prominently displayed. Since each team has 100 balls to face, this countdown gives viewers a clear idea of how much time is left in the innings.