"They put it up against Olympics": Michael Vaughan blames ECB for failure of The Hundred 2024

Former England captain and commentator, Michael Vaughan, has lashed out at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the poor scheduling of the recently concluded The Hundred 2024.

Vaughan also blamed the ECB for the failure of The Hundred 2024. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has set a gold standard for franchise cricket, and its extraordinary success has influenced other cricket boards worldwide to stage their own leagues.

Michael Vaughan slams ECB for scheduling blunder that overshadowed The Hundred 2024

While the BCCI has masterfully run the IPL for seventeen years, other boards are trying hard to replicate the IPL's magic. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had also launched 'The Hundred' a couple of years ago, creating a new format to boot the cricket fans.

The 100-ball tournament also received impressive success earlier, but this year, the tournament struggled to attract fans. Now, Vaughan stressed that the tournament's failure this year was largely due to poor scheduling.

The cricket pundit has insisted that the ECB's decision to schedule The Hundred 2024 alongside the Paris Olympics 2024 severely impacted its viewership and demand among the fans. Furthermore, Vaughan believes that the ECB made a critical gaffe by not considering the clash with the recent Olympics, which badly overshadowed The Hundred 2024.

ECB have got to make it very, very kind of brutal call: Vaughan

The former Englishman further suggested that the ECB must reconsider its approach and make tough decisions regarding future scheduling to avoid such conflicts and losing its fans, as The Hundred is still new to the fans.

Michael Vaughan was quoted as saying by The Telegraph Cricket: “I'll be honest about this year's Hundred. I think the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) screwed up. I think they put it up against the Olympics. I just think that the scheduling of this year's Hundred was poor. When you think, you are trying to sell it fora lot of money. I think the ECB have got to make it very, very kind of brutal call. I don't think there should be bilateral one day series anymore.”

'I think the ECB screwed up'

🎙️ @MichaelVaughan gives his thoughts on the Hundred vs the Olympics#TelegraphCricket

— Telegraph Cricket (@TeleCricket) August 21, 2024

Notably, the final of The Hundred 2024 was played between the Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave at Lord’s on August 18. In the thrilling final, Oval Invincibles crushed Southern Brave by 17 runs to retain the title at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Sam Billings aims for third title in The Hundred 2025

Player of the Match was Saqib Mahmood, who finished with three wickets to play a key role in his team’s title triumph over the Southern Brave at Lord’s. Oval Invincibles captain Sam Billings had stated: “Happy it ended the right way. We spoke at one of the first team meetings this year, it's a squad that wins not the 11 players and it again comes back to the environment and other subjective things.

Tom Lammonby is an example, he played the team role, me and TC said to him yesterday in the practice session, you are going to be the difference. He has not had the impact but they are the kind of team performers you want to see.”