Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, former England international Mark Butcher said he thought the nature of the pitches in the Hundred were primarily responsible for the low-scoring nature of the tournament.
After the three previous editions of the men's Hundred saw run rates hovering around the mark of 1.5 runs per ball, this year has seen a significant drop off to around 1.35. There have been complaints from players about the logo on the balls this year causing it to swing more.
Last week, Birmingham Phoenix captain Moeen Ali called for the balls in this year's competition to be changed as the extra lacquer and larger seams appeared to be tilting the balance of the game too far in favour of the bowlers.
Butcher: Look at what's happening on the ground
Butcher, who is currently on commentary duty for the tournament, spoke about The Hundred on this week's episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, acknowledging that fact that its low-scoring nature could possibly be turning younger fans off from the game. He did not agree, though, that the batch of balls being used was the issue.
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"I've seen games where 160 has played 160," he said. "So the surfaces were good. Of course you get a little bit of movement. The ball itself looks as though the seam is a little bit more 'proud' than it might be on the old white Kookaburra, but as far as the rest of it is concerned it's pretty much the same. The issue, I think, for the pitches where the ball has really dominated, has been an almost carpet layer of what looks like sort of dead grass sitting on top of the hard surface of the pitch, which is kind of absorbing the the impact of the ball.
Mark Butcher has backed Brendon McCullum to take over as England's white-ball coach while continuing his role with the Test side. 🤔
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 14, 2024
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"The seam is gripping on it and you've got swing, which is absolutely fine and great, and it should happen for a short period of time in the white-ball game. But you've also got that the fact that the ball then doesn't get old because what it's hitting on the surface is this sort of carpety layer of thick almost like dead grass on top. It's cushioning the ball, so it doesn't get old.
"So what you would expect for maybe 30 balls or something in a white-ball game continues right the way through and it's made it very, very difficult for batting on those surfaces. But again, I've seen games at Headingley and Manchester where the pitches have been excellent and you've had exciting cricket.
"The ball has still done a little bit for the bowlers at the beginning but sort of scores of 150-160 [with] lots of fours and sixes and that's being played with the same ball so as I always say look at what's happening on the ground before you sort of come up with wild conspiracy theories about H's on balls making them go all over the place."
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