Sage Becomes Official Partner Of The Hundred, Xplora Also Joins

Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, has today become the Official Insights Partner of The Hundred and, from 2023 onwards, The Hundred Draft will be powered by Sage.

The Hundred launched last summer to packed out crowds across England and Wales, exciting cricket fans new and old with its innovative mix of high energy sporting action and epic entertainment.

The partnership is a key symbol of change as part of Sage’s new brand refresh, aligning with The Hundred’s aims to engage new audiences and put gender parity at its heart. The competition sees men and women playing side-by-side on the same stage, with equal prize money on offer.

Through the activation, Sage will bring fans closer to The Hundred’s big decisions, powering the Decision Review System (DRS) in broadcast and big screens inside the grounds, together with branding appearing on the umpires’ kit during the tournament.

Sage will also be Presenting Partner for The Hundred Draft, highlighting the importance of using in-depth analysis to drive effective player selection. To support this, the partnership will launch a content series this summer, focusing on the use of data and insight behind cricket’s newest competition. The content will feature the key decision makers from this year’s draft, reviewing the big signings and demonstrating how insights determined the teams’ key selections.

The inaugural year of The Hundred saw more than 510,000 people attend games, with a TV audience of over 16 million, and record-breaking crowds for the women’s competition.

Rob Calder, Commercial Director, The Hundred said: “As a global leader in supporting small and mid-sized businesses with data-driven decision making, Sage is the perfect partner to power our Decision Review System this summer, and The Draft from next year. We look forward to working with Sage as we get ready for another huge summer for The Hundred.”

Cath Keers, CMO, Sage, said: “The Hundred is a tournament with rich data at the heart of its decision-making, from drafting players to in-game analysis. Fast accurate decision making powered by deep insights is how we help business flow for our customers. The partnership is an exciting opportunity to share the power of data with a global audience of cricket fans and communities around the UK.

“We’ll bring this partnership to life over the coming months and years making sure our colleagues, customers and communities all benefit with access to tickets and experiences, content and promotional opportunities.”

Europe’s leading smartwatch company for kids is teaming up with The Hundred to get children active this summer.

Xplora today announce a multi-year deal to become the Official Children’s Smartwatch Supplier of The Hundred.

The technology company was founded in 2017 to help children enter safely into the digital world and having a better balance between screen time with physical activity.

The Xplora watches are ideal as a first phone allowing children to make and receive calls to a list of approved contacts, send messages and emojis and even take photos. The innovative Goplay platform encourages children to be more active by rewarding steps taken with Xplora coins (every 1,000 steps is equal to 1 Xplora coin) which can be redeemed on the platform for physical prizes and also can take part in competitions.

Xplora will launch a new The Hundred themed Goplay campaign in the lead-up to the tournament, throughout which kids across the UK can compete both individually and as part of a favourite team.

The Hundred launched last summer to packed crowds across England and Wales, exciting cricket fans new and old with its innovative mix of high energy sporting action and epic entertainment.

In addition, The Hundred and Xplora will give away 100s of Xplora smartwatches to children across England and Wales through competitions and promotions this summer.

Inspiring more children to pick up a bat and ball is a key objective of cricket’s newest competition. Over 105,000 children played All Stars and Dynamos Cricket in 2021 during a record-breaking summer of participation. Dynamos Cricket, linked directly to The Hundred, introduced kids to the game and gave participants experiences such as a coaching session on Lord’s Nursery Ground.

The Hundred is committed to opening cricket’s doors to all those that want to play the sport, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, background or ability and last summer’s All Stars and Dynamos programmes saw 27,000 girls, 13,000 children from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and over 3,000 disabled children pick up a bat and ball.

James Brown, Senior Commercial Manager of The Hundred said: “Xplora and The Hundred are perfectly placed to help children across the country to get active this summer.

“Last year saw more kids playing the game than ever before, and we look forward to working with Xplora to build on this momentum, using The Hundred to inspire even more young people to pick up a bat and ball in 2022.”

Sten Kirkbak, Founder and CEO of Xplora: “We are proud to partner with a competition that promotes healthier lifestyles and social engagement among children. Our mission drives us to keep finding new ways to keep kids active and create healthy habits in this changing, digital world. Establishing a partnership with such a great tournament such as The Hundred is an important step towards our vision of enabling children to experience how their everyday activities can make a positive change in the world.“