Moeen Ali, the England off-spinner, called for a year's delay to the start of the inaugural 'Hundred' competition, scheduled to kickstart this summer in UK. 

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has kept on insisting how the new 100 ball-per-innings tournament, played by eight franchise-based teams, not the traditional 18 county clubs, is important to attract the newer audiences to the sport.

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However, with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing everything to a standstill and forcing suspension on the professional game in England and Wales till at least July 1, it seems highly unlikely at this stage that the event will be happening on time. 

"It is better for it to be delayed," Moeen, appointed captain of the Birmingham Phoenix team in the Hundred, was quoted as saying by AFP via conference call on Wednesday (April 29). 

"As players we want the Hundred played with all the best players around the world available to come and play so it makes more sense that way. It is probably going to be too much to squeeze in the last couple of months of the season."

"It would be hard work to squeeze in the Hundred as well. It is such a big deal for us in this country and we want it to be played when everything is right and there are no problems around the world."

The ECB wanted to use the last year's World Cup as a springboard to further popularise the sport in the country this season. 

So on being asked whether the Hundred will have the expected level of impact on the audiences if postponed to 2021, Moeen said: "I’m not sure. The mood and wave cricket was on in England last year made it an amazing opportunity this year to play the Hundred, but obviously with what has happened around the world that is going to be harder now."

"If we can get other international players who were not available this year to make the Hundred even stronger for next year through a mini-draft then we can attract a new audience to come and watch cricket," added the 32-year-old.

(Inputs from AFP)