Welsh Fire captain Phil Salt expressed his preference for The Hundred competition to be longer, citing its hectic schedule as a challenge for player welfare. From a player's perspective, Salt would like the tournament to last an extra week, allowing for more time in between matches to manage fatigue and injuries. This year's The Hundred group stage runs over 23 days with eight games per team, compared to other major T20 leagues such as the Indian Premier League (14 games in 56 days) or the Big Bash League (10 games in 36 days). Salt acknowledged the difficulty of finding more time in the schedule, but noted that his team, which includes international stars like Marco Jansen and Lockie Ferguson, has been severely impacted by the current scheduling.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Welsh Fire captain Phil Salt is calling for The Hundred competition to be extended by a week, citing the hectic schedule and concern for player burnout. His team has played three matches in just five days, including a win against Birmingham Phoenix on Saturday, a victory over Southern Brave in Cardiff on Monday, and a loss to Manchester Super Giants on Wednesday. Salt believes that the 23-day group stage is too condensed, with teams playing eight games in that time. This has raised concerns about the impact of the competition on player welfare, as expressed by the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA). The PCA had previously raised concerns about the packed English summer schedule, which includes The Hundred, the T20 Blast, and other competitions. In comparison, other leagues such as the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League have longer periods between matches.
Written for “England's Cricket Plans” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The text presents a neutral to slightly sympathetic view of Phil Salt's concerns about the scheduling of The Hundred. While it quotes his comments on the hectic pace and impact on player welfare, there is no apparent attempt to frame these concerns as partisan or ideologically driven.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.30 for article 561 · logged 2026-08-06
- Published
Welsh Fire captain Phil Salt would ideally like The Hundred to be a week longer after his side played three matches in five days.
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side → publish → days
His second-placed side won at Birmingham Phoenix on Saturday afternoon and defeated Southern Brave in Cardiff on Monday evening, before losing to Manchester Super Giants on Wednesday afternoon.
"It's been a little bit hectic the last few days," Salt told BBC Sport.
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Salt → place → Sport
It's a lot to be honest with you in five days and managing bodies through.
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It → manage → bodies
"From a player's point of view I'd like this competition to be probably a week longer."
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competition → like → view
The Hundred group stage takes place over 23 days with teams playing eight games in that period.
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teams → take → period
In comparison, Indian Premier League sides each play 14 group games in a 56-day period, while in last season's men's Big Bash League in Australia teams played 10 group games each in a 36-day window.
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teams → play → window
Since its introduction in 2021, The Hundred has further complicated a packed English summer schedule, with the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) continuing to raise concerns about the impact on player welfare.
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Association → complicate → welfare
In their response to the 2026 schedule, which saw the T20 Blast reduced by two matches, PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell said, external the unchanged County Championship season "does raise concerns with player burnout with mental and physical dangers attached to an overly intense end to the season following the conclusion of The Hundred".
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season → see → Hundred
Salt acknowledged the difficulties of finding more time in the schedule, while noting the impact the current scheduling had on his squad.
"
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scheduling → acknowledge → squad
We import the best stars in the game for this.
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We → import → this
We've got on our side [the 6ft 8in tall] Marco Jansen and Lockie Ferguson," he added.
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he → get → Jansen
"They've done a lot of time on the bus in the last three days!
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They → do → days
A bus that's not built for lads that size.
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that → build → lads
I'd like a bit more time in between to be honest with you, but I understand we're working with a pretty tight schedule already as it is.
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it → like → schedule
"I'm not the man for the answer on the schedule, I just like to magic another week of the year somewhere!"
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I → like → year
Welsh Fire return to action at Headingley on Sunday (14:30 BST) against Sunrisers Leeds, before playing their final group game at home to London Spirit next Wednesday.
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Fire → return → Spirit
