ECB

Ecclestone was speaking at Wythenshawe Cricket Club in Manchester as part of the ECB's Get Set Weekend, where more than 1,700 clubs across the country - record number for the project - get prepared for the new season with the help of 37,000 volunteers.

She has done that with so much success, and Mumbai Indians' second Women's Premier League win just a couple of weeks ago felt poetic, like the cricket world was serving the ECB with a timely reminder of what and who was waiting for them.

Delays have centred on the participation agreement, the key legal document between the ECB and the Hundred franchise investors which includes how television rights for the tournament are sold in the future.

The ECB is retaining control of The Hundred competition, but sold stakes in the teams to provide a cash injection to the game in this country.

Little change is expected to The Hundred for the forthcoming season, which is seen by both the ECB and the new investors as a transitional year.