Not a 'hoax': Root backs The Hundred

It's been labelled a "hoax" and a "load of bollocks" by county cricketers, but Test captain Joe Root has thrown his support behind a radical proposal for a completely new format for England's overhauled domestic competition.

Root believes the England and Wales Cricket Board's concept of an abridged limited-overs competition - dubbed 'The Hundred' - that would see teams face 15 six-ball overs and 10 extra deliveries could help bring new fans to Test cricket.

The precise rules of the new format are still being determined, but a report in the UK Telegraph that suggested a final 10-ball over could be bowled by multiple bowlers to add an "extra tactical dimension" has drawn strong responses from domestic cricketers.

Veteran Durham paceman Chris Rushworth labelled the new format "a load of bollocks" before adding: "Can't see many bowlers lining up to bowl a 10 ball over!" 

"Just machine getting hit for 4/5 sixes in an over, then still having 5/6 balls to go. (H)ard enough as it is!! Any danger of giving something to the bowlers??? #stickwith20"

Middlesex off-spinner Ollie Rayner tweeted "Ok, great hoax... @ECB_cricket you got us", suggesting the possibility of the 10-ball over being bowled my more than bowler is a sign the changes have "gone too far".

Northamptonshire bowler Ben Sanderson simply tweeted: "shambles".

England's director of cricket Andrew Strauss has explained the proposed format, to be implemented in a new eight-team competition from 2020, has been designed to attract a "more casual audience" made up of non-traditional cricket fans.

Root echoed those comments, telling the i newspaper: "It's going to appeal to a completely new audience and I think that's great.

"The more people and kids we can get into sport, the better. We've got to be very careful we don't measure it against the other formats. 

"It's something to gather a new audience and gain interest, not a threat to other formats. 

"As players, working with the ICC, we've got to make sure the other formats don't suffer but it has a place in the game and, hopefully, we'll see that over time."

Extending an over to include 10 balls and introducing the potential for multiple bowlers to deliver it would require tinkering with the Laws of Cricket.

Law 17 currently states that an over must consist of six balls and that a bowler must finish their over "unless incapacitated or suspended under any of the (other) Laws".

Strauss has also emphasised the importance of finishing matches sooner while the ECB has said the format will be beneficial to women's cricket, with the existing Super League sides to be aligned with the eight city-based teams for the new competition.

"There will be people that compare it to Twenty20 and worry it might take away interest from Test cricket, but it's important to remember it will bring new people to the game," Root continued.

"It might be someone who didn't know much about the game before and then goes on to watch a Test match and gets immersed in that. That's the way I'd like to look at it."