The countdown to the revamped Hundred competition, which begins next month, got off to an inauspicious start as one of the teams used a shoddy AI video to promote the launch of a new jersey.
The Indian Premier League’s Super Giants franchise, which owns the Lucknow team, has acquired a majority stake in the Manchester side for The Hundred. The England board received almost £1 billion through the sale of shares in eight teams.
Three of the teams under new ownership have changed names: Manchester Super Giants, Michigan State (Mumbai Indians), London and Sunrisers Leeds.
These three franchises also adopt the colors of the IPL version.
On Sunday, Manchester posted a video on social media introducing the new colors of the Hundred team. However, the video sparked widespread criticism for its inappropriate use of AI, resulting in some disconcerting visuals.
In the video, a player in a Supergiant uniform is seen on the pitch with a player in Test White, while in other instances the bowler is shown bowling away from the pitch without the ball.
Toward the end of the video, the wicketkeeper, wearing a batting helmet and pad, can be seen diving for the ball.
Meanwhile, the Hundred Competition posted a quick video on social media on Monday of players wearing the actual jerseys.
This was yet another example of why new contests can be divisive.
Former England captain Mike Atherton believes the Hundred could be forced to expand in size to recoup the huge sums of money invested, potentially eroding the share of existing tournaments.
“These are incredibly unreasonable amounts and it’s hard to imagine how they would be addressed.” [teams] We’ll get that back soon,” Atherton told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
“To get that back, they may have to think about expanding The Hundred, playing more games and increasing ticket prices. There’s obviously a lot of uncertainty in the future.”
Fellow England veteran Nasser Hussain said last year that he was concerned that some team owners would claim a greater say in important matters.
“If someone owns 49 per cent, someone owns 51 per cent, someone owns 70 per cent, someone owns 100 per cent, who is in charge?” Hussein said on the Sky Sports podcast.
“The ECB may still be in control of the tournament, but what happens if the money men make their case?”
The Hundred tournament will be held from July 21st to August 16th.
