England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Richard Thompson has said that the scheduling issues caused by The Hundred are “a price worth paying”.
“You’ve got bowlers bowling here on a Sunday night who are travelling up to Headingley for a Test match on Wednesday. The short turnaround between The Hundred and international cricket leaves England players with very little time to regroup and, at times, adjust to the different formats. The scheduling has come under scrutiny from former cricketers; however, the ECB chair looks at the positives the board gets from making those sacrifices. “If we can take all of the debt out of the game, which we have, make a generation (of counties) which can reinvent themselves, that is a price worth paying. Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain also called out the scheduling. “You’ve got an opening bat trying to tee off on a Sunday evening who could open the batting in a Test match on a Wednesday. The ECB chair took note of the criticism.
The Hundred 2026 ended on August 16, just three days before the start of the first Test match against Pakistan on August 19.
“Sacrifices have got to be made,” he told Sky Sports. England fast bowler Josh Tongue called the turnaround “crazy scheduling”. “The schedule for the England players has repercussions,” Hussain said, as quoted by Sky Sports. “We were criticised that The Hundred finished and two days later we were playing a Test match at Headingley,” Thompson said. “Imagine if that becomes one day – that can’t happen.”
Last year, the ECB sold stakes in the eight franchises, which saw them raise £500m, as the ECB used the funds for the professional and domestic game.
