Counties give ECB backing for The Hundred playing conditions

The ECB has won support from 17 of the 18 first-class counties for its new competition, The Hundred, which is due to be launched next year. The counties were asked to formally approve the playing conditions endorsed by the ECB in November, with only Surrey understood to have voted against.

The new format will see 100-ball innings for each team, with a change of ends every 10 balls and bowlers allowed to deliver five or 10 consecutively out of a maximum of 20. The ECB has also confirmed the inclusion of strategic timeouts of up to two-and-a-half minutes for the bowling side, and a 25-ball Powerplay at the start of each innings.

The ECB's chief executive, Tom Harrison, last month spoke about the importance of the new competition in helping to grow a new audience for English cricket.

"This is a significant step, with overwhelming support for The Hundred," Harrison said on Thursday. "Over the last three years we have worked closely with the whole game to create an important opportunity for the whole game.

"This new competition has already helped to secure vital new partnerships and substantial broadcast revenues and it will help us to meet the ambitions of our game-wide strategy for 2020-24 - "Inspiring Generations". The Hundred will help cricket to reach more people.

"We remain totally committed to the existing, popular forms of cricket and will be committing significant funds and focus to all levels of the game, protecting and nurturing the core whilst reaching out to a wider audience."

The ECB will now move on to confirming the details of the eight new, city-based teams for The Hundred, followed by a planned player draft in the autumn. "You will now see an acceleration in the progress of The Hundred and a series of significant building blocks over the coming months," said Sanjay Patel, the competition's managing director.