Alana King believes The Hundred is continuing to grow despite a difficult campaign for Birmingham Phoenix and criticism of the competition
While it hasn’t been a successful season for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, Australian World Cup winner Alana King feels it has been a year where the competition has continued to grow.
It is not a campaign in which either of the Phoenix’s men’s or women’s teams will look back with much fondness, with both bottom of the standings going into their final fixtures.
Leg spinner King, 30 – the first woman to take a hat-trick in The Hundred – previously played in the competition for Trent Rockets, with this year her first with the Edgbaston-based franchise. It was also the first season for The Hundred after the introduction of new investment, with Knighthead Capital, the American owners of Birmingham City FC, now having part control of the Phoenix and footballer Jude Bellingham holding a 1.2 per cent stake.
King said: “I think every year that I’ve come back for The Hundred the game has grown and I think the fanfare has grown as well. I think when you have different investors coming in, you bring in different crowds as well and different eyes on the game, and I think that’s important for the game of cricket to grow.
“With Birmingham, we’ve got a big investor in Jude Bellingham, so he brings a different crowd to the cricket as well. It’s great for the game, the crowds are getting better and they’re getting louder, and to be honest I like being part of Birmingham with the Hollies Stand now on your side, rather than cheering against you!
“It’s grown and it will continue to grow with these private investors. It’s a great competition to be part of and I love coming back.”
Prior to The Hundred, King had already spent a considerable time in England as she was part of the Australia team that reclaimed the title of Women’s T20 World Cup champions by beating the hosts in the final at Lord’s.
After losing their global T20 and ODI crowns in the previous two ICC tournaments, the Aussies were women on a mission, and it showed as they won the tournament with a 100 per cent record.
King said: “Just to go about it the way we did and play the way we wanted to play, it was a big relief and it was a moment where we felt like we were back to where we should be; going deep into tournaments and hopefully lifting plenty more World Cups in the future.
“It was just a great feeling, under new captaincy. It was a first tournament as skipper for Sophie Molineux, and I couldn’t be more pumped for her. I think the whole team was just wrapped on how it all unfolded and it was an incredible five weeks.”
King was speaking in support of KP Snacks’ Everyone In Fund, which backs the ECB’s Cricket Cities programme to remove barriers and create opportunities for participation.
A community cricket session for local women and girls in Aston, Birmingham, celebrated the launch of the fund, which is a £750,000 investment over three years that will support community-led projects across England and Wales that will aim to remove barriers such as cost, access to facilities and confidence.
The goal of the programme is to create more opportunities for people in urban communities to get active through cricket.
King said: “It’s been great to meet people from different backgrounds. I’ve met women who have never played cricket before and are now giving it a crack and I’ve been teaching them to bowl.
“Then you’ve got the younger generation coming through who are enthusiastic and excited to be here – they’re trying to whack bombs and take wickets.”
KP Snacks, Official Partner of The Hundred, have launched the Everyone In Fund, in support of the ECB’s Cricket Cities programme. To find out more, visit everyonein.co.uk.