BBC presenter and former England bowler Isa Guha has hailed The Hundred as "an amazing platform" for players to push for international honours after Will Jacks, Jordan Cox and Tom Helm were handed their first ever England call-ups off the back of some impressive displays in the tournament.
And, after teenager Alice Capsey has gone on to become a key member of the England women's team off the back of a breakout season in last year's Hundred, Guha believes the tournament is having a positive impact on English cricket.
"You have to look at players like Will Smeed and Will Jacks who are being talked about in and around the England set up and The Hundred has been an amazing platform to see them shine," Guha told Mirror Sport . "I think we're also reminded of how good some of the England players are currently.
"Alice Capsey has gone on a journey to playing for England and now she's very much a central part of that side. And in year two, she's dominating The Hundred again so she's very much been a big story.
"[17-year-old spinner] Sophia Smale didn't think she would get an opportunity this season and she's now the leading wicket taker for Oval Invincibles. What an amazing platform The Hundred is, especially for those that have dropped out of the England squad to be able to showcase what they can do. There's a story in there for everyone really.
"Lauren Winfield-Hill is trying to push her case after slipping out of the England squad. Lauren Bell, having recently made her England debut, is leading the charge with the Southern Brave and showcasing how she's developed. We've seen some amazing slower balls and she has the confidence to be able to do that in pressure situations on the biggest stage on television. I think that's a testament to how hard she's worked to get to where she has."
The Hundred has undoubtedly helped accelerate the growth of women's cricket and Guha, who made 113 appearances for England across all formats before retiring in 2012 and moving into broadcasting, has been delighted to see record crowds for women's matches at a number of grounds this year.
"I think the Commonwealth Games actually allowed that to happen because we had eyeballs on women's sport," she added. "Off the back of the women's Euros, people were tuning in for the women's cricket coverage on the BBC.
"It was amazing really to have that platform for visibility and then seeing some of the key names from there being able to play in The Hundred there was that continuation which I think was absolutely essential to keep people talking about it. I know it was a disappointing time for England's women, but to have the Australian players here and playing in The Hundred just upped the levels of competition. The players want to be playing with and against the best in the world.
"We're at a real tipping point for women's sport and I think commercial sponsors are taking notice. It's the fastest area of growth in our sport, so it's fantastic to see the attendances.
"I think probably 10 years ago, you could say there were two or three household names from the England women's team. Now I'd say that there's a real selection of female players that the general public have become accustomed to through being able to watch them domestically and also playing for England.
"There's overseas players that are coming to play in The Hundred for the first time and they're absolutely loving it. You just have to see the energy that Ellyse Perry has had as someone who is arguably the greatest player to have ever played women's cricket and she's absolutely loving the crowds, you can see it in her celebrations. To have the crowds we've had for women's domestic cricket has been exceptional.
"What I love about this tournament is the unity and how equity in sport has been at the heart of what they're trying to achieve and I'm fully supportive of what they're trying to do. Something that I have heard a bit in the last year is whether you could actually have one team across the men's and the women's so that their points are being amalgamated. I think that could be an interesting concept going forwards and it's something that's been talked about and I really liked the sound of that."
Shaping the BBC's coverage of The Hundred
As the face of the BBC's Hundred coverage, Guha has helped shape the way they have broadcast a tournament aimed at creating new cricket fans and she admits there is "a very fine line" between appealing to the masses and "not patronising the traditional cricket fan".
"Last year it was a bit of a blank canvas, certainly for ourselves at the BBC with the broadcast that we wanted to do which is something that I was really excited about," Guha explained. "I feel like this year we're a bit more settled because we know what to expect and I just love the opportunity to be able to do a different style of coverage in cricket and that's something I hope is getting across.
"I've been fortunate to have worked around the world with different broadcasters who have tried to achieve something similar, but I think the BBC has placed more focus on that. Just working out that balance of trying to get it out to the masses versus not patronising the traditional cricket fan is a very fine line but I feel like we're achieving that.
"That just takes practice and getting that experience behind you to know how to simplify the game and that comes across in our commentary and the way we present The Hundred and try to appeal to everyone. I've been around the world and seen lots of different franchise tournaments and what I love about what we do here is we are trying to target the U.K. audience.
"What we're doing with the BBC coverage is having that partnership with BBC Introducing, which you don't really see anywhere else around the world. To have music acts during our coverage, I think is something quite unique and something that I've really looked forward to every time I work on it.
"We've got Bastille tomorrow [at Finals Day], which will be really exciting. I know that Woody [Bastille's drummer Chris Wood] is a pretty big cricket fan. I've known him for a while and he loves his cricket so I think he's pretty excited about getting the opportunity to play at Lord's.
"I think it's hugely important to be able to think out of the box like that and have people feel welcome in our sport because sometimes it can maybe feel a bit closed off, so to see that it's being opened up to new audiences... I'm really proud of that. To have [former Love Island star] Chris Hughes as part of the show has been amazing, I know that he loves his cricket, and he just adds a different dimension to our coverage so that's what's great about having him along.
"And while player mics have been used around the world it's not necessarily something that's been seen by a free to air audience in the U.K. and the response has been great using them this season. Also it's been great to have the Tailenders [a podcast hosted by England legend James Anderson, BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James and former Maccabees guitarist Felix White] as part of our coverage. Some of the pieces and features that they've done has just made it really interesting.
"I love randomness when it comes to coverage, I just think it makes it fun to work on. It's something that I watched quite a bit when I was younger on kids TV shows. What I loved about watching CD:UK and The Big Breakfast was the ability to just throw it around and have fun with it and that's something I think we're achieving with our coverage.
"Sometimes we can live in a bit of a cricket bubble and we're only asking other cricket fans what they think, but actually I think it's so important to get out of that bubble and ask those that haven't necessarily been interested in cricket previously what they liked about The Hundred.
"Speaking to people at the Commonwealth Games, it was fascinating to see how other sports were envious of what had been achieved last year. They're trying to attract people to their sport and try and find different ways of making it interesting, yet
"The Hundred was able to do it in year one. I think different perspectives are really important and that's been an eye-opener for me as well."
The Hundred Finals Day
With the group stage now over, only three teams remain in with a shot of winning The Hundred. Defending champions Oval Invincibles have gone straight through to the women's final, where will face either Southern Brave or Trent Rockets who are due to clash in the Eliminator match later today.
Reflecting on how the women's tournament has gone, Guha said: "It's been a bit of a strange one, hasn't it? The Southern Brave women looked like they were running away with it and then lost their last game which opened things up for Invincibles to get through to the final. Trent Rockets will be delighted that they were able to squeeze through in the end and there are some star names in there from a Rockets perspective.
"I was surprised that the Birmingham Phoenix weren't able to push through but the nature of it being a short, condensed tournament means wins are absolutely crucial in the women's tournament [as the Commonwealth Games meant it started a week late]."
Trent Rockets have already reached the men's final and will play either Manchester Originals or London Spirit. "In the men's tournament, it's all about peaking at the right time," Guha added.
"I've worked on many IPL's where the Mumbai Indians have lost their first few games and they've gone on to win the tournament. The Originals are obviously putting something together and when you're treating every game like a knockout I think that can work in your favour because you get yourself into positions where you believe you can win from any situation and that feels like the mindset they have at the moment.
"The London Spirit have been able to turn things around [after winning just one match last year]. I think Kieron Pollard was a really good addition, as well as Glenn Maxwell at the start. They've had other players able to step up and another year of experience in the bowling department has helped to bring it all together. But yeah, I think losing someone like Kieron is is obviously a big miss.
"The Trent Rockets are in the final and, again, that continuation has really helped them. They've kept a core group of players together over the last couple of years, a lot of players that know Trent Bridge pretty well and they're all firing at a similar time. You've had contributions from most people and a bowling attack that really understands their own games, so I think that's really helped them when it comes to making the final."
- You can watch The Hundred final tomorrow on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 2.30pm for the women's game and 6pm for the men's game.
