Last year was ultimate test, people hated it but we are past that: Eoin Morgan on The Hundred

Former England captain Eoin Morgan said that The Hundred is past the litmus test with its success in the inaugural edition in 2021.

Morgan, who retired from international cricket in June this year, has reunited with Trevor Bayliss, England’s 2019 World Cup-winning coach, at London Spirit for the 2022 edition of the tournament. Bayliss took over the charge of London Spirit following the untimely demise of Shane Warne earlier this year.

“Last year was the ultimate test,” Morgan was quoted as saying. “People hated it. Hated it. Like you couldn’t believe. I couldn’t believe it. So, we’re past that.”

Morgan further cited Oval Invincibles’s 17-year-old Alice Capsey as the find of The Hundred to make it to England women’s senior team. Capsey, who recently made her international debut during the South Africa series, became the youngest player to record a T20I fifty for England.

On the back of Capsey’s 44 and 50 in the first two games, England stormed into the Commonwealth Games semi-finals. Calling women as “the biggest benefit” of the Hundred, Morgan said: “I think we saw a huge amount of evidence last year when it came to the power of what a tournament like this can do for the sport.

Black eye? No problem.

Alice Capsey, hard as nails, and cool as a cucumber. #BringItHome | #Birmingham2022 | @AliceCapsey pic.twitter.com/uryTUFeXvi

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 30, 2022

“It’s the sport across the board: we can be very selfish and talk about the men’s game all the time, but actually the biggest positive of last year was the growth of the women’s game, and the level of attention it attracted was extraordinary.”

The 2022 Men’s Hundred started on August 3, with Southern Brave defeating Welsh Fire in the curtain raiser. The Women’s Hundred will begin on August 11 following the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games. Oval Invincibles will take on Northern Superchargers in the first match.

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