Lewis Gregory, the captain of the Trent Rockets, used his vast T20 experience—322 matches—to offer insights on this issue. An experienced all-rounder, he was rather open about what was behind the decline in batting performances that was seen in this competition. Gregory noted in his assessment that the main things impeding the continuous strokeplay that is usually expected in such intense competitions were the pitches’ characteristics and the balls’ behaviour, especially their aerodynamics.
The type of scores being produced in this current edition of The Hundred has surprised a lot of people, especially in light of the high-scoring displays that have recently occurred in other franchise events. Comparatively speaking, The Hundred 2024 has seen a considerable drop in the average first-innings score as well as a decline in the quantity of totals surpassing 170.
“In my opinion, not all of the surfaces have been really good. Compared to our standard white Kookaburras used in the Blast, these balls definitely appear to swing a little bit more. According to Gregory, as cited by India Today, “I just think that combination with some tired pitches at the end of an English season has made it quite difficult for free-flowing striking.”
Lewis Gregory also blamed the drop in high scores on England’s packed summer cricket schedule, which featured matches like The Hundred, the County Championship, and the Royal London One-Day Cup in addition to the T20 Blast. He went on to explain that the pitch conditions deteriorated due to this packed schedule, which made spin bowling more favourable. Because of the roughs and cracks that developed from the lengthy use of these pitches, aggressive batting was hindered and spinners were favoured.
“The ball is getting off straight quite frequently, which makes it challenging to hit a home run while the ball is in motion. The English summer is filled with cricket matches, and we are almost at the finish. A handful of worn-out wickets allow spinners to get an advantage, and then there are some that have really helped the seamers,” said Gregory.
We’ve played on other surfaces that have been superior to this one: Lewis Gregory
As Gregory pointed out, the 2022 winners had played on noticeably better courts since they first joined the Trent Rockets at the beginning of The Hundred.
“I’m not quite sure what the cause is, but we’ve played on some better surfaces than we have this year in the past,” Gregory said.
Also Read: Rashid Khan will miss the remaining games of The Hundred 2024 due to a hamstring issue
This season, the Trent Rockets have had a difficult stretch as they have only won once in their last five games. The captain has also experienced form issues. He has already claimed four wickets in 16.1 overs (five deliveries per set), amassing 28 runs from 19 balls faced in four innings.
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