The Hundred: Southern Brave’s Sophia Dunkley says tournament exceeded all expectations

The inaugural season of The Hundred promised to be revolutionary for women’s cricket, but for Sophia Dunkley –– the success of the competition surpassed any of her wildest dreams. 

Dunkley finished with the third-most runs in the tournament (244 from nine innings) and made the final at Lord’s as part of a mightily impressive Southern Brave side. 

Now, the 23-year-old is already eagerly anticipating going one step further, having been retained by the Brave for this summer. 

“I’m extremely excited for next year,” she told GiveMeSport Women. “I think last year was an amazing competition. What a start for the women’s game to gain a [new] platform and try and get bigger. So I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to get going next year. I think we’re already speaking about it now and saying how excited we are, so I’m sure it will be a good one.”

In the build-up to last year’s tournament, organisers promised to give the women’s competition equal treatment to the men’s edition and help attract a new generation of cricket fans. The Hundred duly delivered in this sense, with 267,000 spectators for the women’s fixtures –– making it the highest ever recorded attendance for a women’s cricket event globally. 

Given the competition was delayed for a season and had to contend with a number of logistical problems owing to the pandemic, this remarkable first-year success was “bigger and better” than Dunkley had ever thought possible. 

“For me, it probably exceeded all my expectations. I never expected the crowds that we got, which were incredible. The atmosphere and all the media attention it got, I never expected that [either]. So, it was kind of bigger and better and I can’t believe how huge a competition it was and how good it was.” 

Awa