The Hundred cricket series in the UK this summer could be considered a success story as over half a million tickets were sold and 55% of those purchases were made by buyers new to the game.
The tournament witnessed men and women’s competitions celebrated in equal measure, with a record attendance for a women’s cricket event globally. The Hundred also saw children make up 19% of the audience – one of the aims of the tournament was to make the game accessible to kids.
The Hundred was held across a number of cricketing venues in the UK, including Lord’s and the Kia Oval in London, Edgbaston in Birmingham and Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales.
With such a focus on enticing new and young fans to the game, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approached SecuTix to help with this initiative.
Commercial director of The Hundred for the ECB Rob Calder said: “From the start The Hundred aimed to take a digital first approach to cricket. We felt back in 2020 that SecuTix recognised what we were aiming to achieve, both at the time and in years to come.”
Still maintaining this digital-first approach, SecuTix worked alongside other technology partners, including InCrowd which developed The Hundred app and Pulse which designed and developed The Hundred website. Two Circles was also involved as the ECB’s data and insight partner.
While SecuTix was appointed as the ticketing technology partner for the inaugural Hundred tournament in 2020, the company had to wait to implement its platform due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The tournament was postponed and fans had to wait until the summer of 2021 to witness the cricketing action, which also included live performances from the likes of singers Becky Hill, Jake Bugg and DJ Jax Jones during the match intervals.
In 2021 SecuTix facilitated the management of ticketing and hospitality requirements all in one solution, meaning The Hundred could easily run the competition across eight venues while meeting the requirements from individual teams.
Due to the solution being cloud-based it can be adapted as The Hundred grows and evolves over a number of years.
Calder added: “The relationship with SecuTix is important to us. They have felt like part of extended team and we are already getting excited about where we can take things beyond this first season.”
The Oval Invincibles side was victorious in the women’s competition while Southern Brave celebrated victory in the men’s tournament.
David Hornby, managing director of SecuTix UK, said: “SecuTix was a natural partner for The Hundred in terms of a shared vision, but also given our existing experience in cricket. The teams at Lancashire, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire already use our platform to ticket their domestic and international fixtures.
“Somerset and Ken have more recently come on board, and it’s great to see our platform delivering on both a local and tournament level.
“We’re very proud to have nee a part of The Hundred. SecuTix is so much more than a white-label solution and we are delighted to have been able to integrate what The Hundred is trying to achieve as a brand with its ambitions around ticketing.”
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