Another casuality off COVID-19 pandemic

The ECB had intended its new eight-team,
100-ball competition to be the showpiece event in
the domestic cricketing calendar and to attract a
"new audience" to the sport, with the tournament
due to launch on July 17.

The first season of the 'Hundred' has been pushed back to 2021 following an ECB board meeting on Wednesday - April 29th, 2020.

What is the "Hundred"?

"The Hundred" is an innovative and minute version of T20 and T10 events currently going on, in order to attract newer audience like Baseball players etc. towards the game of cricket, which was supposed to be starting in July 2020.

It is the newest causality off COVID-19 pandemic!

This is the the reality, because I personally feel that it'd be unfair while not allowing the spectators into the grounds, who beautify the ambiance of the cricket game along with the cricketing coverage all around the world.

The last series before this pandemic

Australia v New Zealand at Sydney before the series called off because of lack of availability of flights as Australia had blocked its borders for international flights because it wanted to contain the pandemic.

The last game

The last ODI game was played in closed doors, even while stroking ball for a four or a six, players themselves were going to the stands for retrieving the ball, hearing the ball-hitting-the-bat sound so clearly which in normal circumstances was difficult to listen to this much of the clarity.

Even the PSL 5 games under closed door circumstances

I still remember, the last game in full house at PSL was Karachi v Lahore game at Karachi, which was the same day the World Health Organization i.e. WHO informed the world that the subjected disease has been confirmed as a Pandemic, therefore the next game played at National Stadium of Karachi looked like test match being played in coloured kits in Pakistan, as the same crowd structure was experienced in test match cricket.

Even foreign players were finding it easy to talk via microphone while playing the game

This is another of the aspect I noted while watching last few games of the PSL, that National Stadium of Karachi was as quiet at the game was being played at a graveyard, there was a graveyard-silence at National Stadium Karachi, even at times while watching the coverage, I could hear the generator hiss sound occasionally, and furthermore when commentators used to talk with a player fielding on the ground, they were finding it easy to talk and hear them, which otherwise was not an easy task to during a game played normally at National Stadium Karachi amid previously played games compared.

What I personally feel

There is a low chance that cricket might step up anywhere during the end of 2020, which both looks so far but if we take account of this pandemic and the way it is progressing in the matters of hours, I don't think the way we enjoyed the first part of the PSL, would take almost 2020 before the world will resume its life pre-PSL time.

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