The England and Wales Cricket Board has acknowledged the launch of The Hundred will coincide with “a key risk period” in the pandemic but remains confident the competition will not derailed by quarantines and cancellations.

The new franchise tournament begins next week, with the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals kicking off the women’s competition on July 21 and the men’s 24 hours later.

It does so against the backdrop of a reopening society, but at a time when Covid-19 cases are surging.

And while that could be good news for attendances – more than 350,000 tickets have been ...