The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday postponed the inaugural edition of The Hundred to next year in the wake of the novel Coronavirus.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today confirms that the launch of The Hundred will now take place in summer 2021,” said ECB in a statement.
“The news follows a meeting dedicated to the subject, where the Board concluded it was not possible for the competition to be staged this year,” it added.
The ECB also gave a number of reasons which led them to the decision.
“Operational challenges caused by social distancing, alongside ongoing global travel restrictions, making the competition’s ambition to feature world-class players and coaches unattainable in 2020,” it said.
Even if the tournament had taken place, it would have been held with empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 scare.
ECB thinks that had the competition been held behind closed doors it would have directly contradicted the tournament’s aim to attract a broader audience through a unique event experience for viewers and spectators.
“With significant furloughing across the partnership network of 20 venues, the logistics of delivering a brand-new sporting event, without a tried-and-tested delivery plan, would be incredibly challenging,” the ECB added.