The Hundred’s big-city revolution is reviving an old county-cricket tradition
百球赛的大城市变革，意外复兴了郡级板球传统
以城市俱乐部为中心的新赛事原本代表商业化与现代化，却间接给传统郡队的一日杯带来暑假档期和小球场观众。本文适合练习体育专门词、反转的因果关系，以及结尾对未来财富与当下乐趣的对照。
原文来源：The Economist
学习目标
- 区分百球赛、一日杯和较长赛制的郡冠军赛
- 解释赛程、场地与观赛体验的传导关系
- 辨认定语从句中嵌入的被动修饰
- 读懂fever、consolation prize与stepping stone的比喻
中英对照阅读
“METRO BANK fever” is sweeping English cricket. Named after the sponsor of the county One-Day Cup, symptoms include an unlikely enthusiasm for second-string cricketers and obscure provincial grounds. Demand for tickets at such “outgrounds” has been febrile. Surrey even threatened to punish members who failed to use their tickets for sold-out games at Guildford.
“Metro Bank狂热”正席卷英格兰板球界。 这股以郡级一日杯赞助商命名的热潮，其表现包括：人们出人意料地热衷于二线球员和鲜为人知的地方球场。 这类“非主要主场球场”的门票需求热得发烫。 萨里郡俱乐部甚至威胁，要惩罚那些拿着吉尔福德售罄场次门票、却没有使用的会员。
An outground revival was not part of cricket administrators’ modernising plans when they launched The Hundred in 2021. Rather than 18 counties, eight city-based franchises compete in a brash 100-ball tournament featuring fireworks and six-hitting aplenty. Manchester Super Giants won the men’s final on August 16th, and Trent Rockets won the women’s contest. The Hundred has transformed the women’s game in particular, bringing bigger audiences and salaries.
板球管理者在2021年推出百球赛时，并未打算让这些次级场地复兴。 比赛不由18支郡队参加，而是让8支以城市为基地的特许经营球队角逐；这一100球赛制的赛事声势张扬，既有烟花助兴，也有大量六分击球。 曼彻斯特超级巨人队在8月16日赢得男子决赛，特伦特火箭队则夺得女子赛事冠军。 百球赛尤其改变了女子板球，带来了更多观众和更高薪酬。
But traditionalists hate it, and counties without a host venue fear being left behind. This year investors paid more than £500m ($680m) for stakes in the eight franchises; four attracted American investors, and four went to owners of Indian Premier League teams. The Oval Invincibles were renamed MI London, part of Mumbai Indians’ global stable.
但传统派讨厌它，没有承办场馆的郡队则担心被甩在后面。 今年，投资者为这8支球队的股权支付了逾5亿英镑，约合6.8亿美元；4支吸引了美国投资者，另4支则由印度超级联赛球队老板入股。 椭圆球场无敌队更名为MI London，成为孟买印度人队全球球队组合的一部分。
The One-Day Cup is county cricket’s 50-over competition. It now runs alongside The Hundred, which nabs the best talent. But it gains a consolation prize: a prime slot during the August school holidays. Pre-Hundred, the 2019 One-Day Cup took place mostly in April and May and just 8% of group-stage matches were played at outgrounds. This year 40% were.
一日杯是郡级板球的50轮赛事。 如今它与百球赛同期举行，而百球赛抢走了最出色的人才。 不过，一日杯也获得了一个“安慰奖”：8月学校放假期间的黄金档期。 百球赛出现前，2019年的一日杯主要在4月和5月举行，小组赛只有8%安排在非主要主场球场。 今年，这个比例是40%。
The shift is sharpest among counties whose grounds host Hundred games. The Hundred team based in Yorkshire, for example, is SunRisers Leeds; Yorkshire’s One-Day Cup side plays its home games in York and Scarborough. Small grounds bring advantages. A crowd of a few thousand that looks sparse at a major ground used for international cricket feels vibrant at an outground. The dry English summer has helped, too: for the first time, bad weather has not caused a single One-Day Cup group game to be abandoned.
这一变化在主要球场承办百球赛的那些郡队中最为明显。 例如，约克郡的百球赛球队是利兹日出队；约克郡参加一日杯的队伍则把主场比赛放在约克和斯卡伯勒。 小球场有自己的优势。 几千名观众放到承办国际比赛的大球场中，显得稀稀落落；到了小球场，却会让人觉得热闹而有活力。 英格兰这个干燥的夏天也帮了忙：这是第一次，一日杯小组赛没有任何一场因坏天气而取消。
Taking cricket to the shires is an old tradition that had withered. Across England and Wales 51 outgrounds hosted (longer-form) County Championship games in 1965, but just nine did so in 2018, as schedules shrank and the demands of professional cricket grew. Many outgrounds lack modern facilities. Lancashire have responded with AO Farington, a purpose-built, 5,000-capacity second home which opened this summer.
把板球带到地方各郡，是一项曾逐渐衰落的老传统。 1965年，英格兰和威尔士共有51座这类次级球场承办赛制较长的郡冠军赛；到2018年，只剩9座，原因是赛程收缩，职业板球对场地的要求却不断提高。 许多这类球场缺少现代化设施。 兰开夏郡俱乐部的应对办法是AO Farington：一座专门建造、可容纳5,000人的第二主场，今年夏天刚刚开放。
For players, the One-Day Cup can be a stepping stone to The Hundred and riches beyond. For a lucky few, the road to winter suntans in Dubai and Durban could pass through Gosforth and Grantham. On August 11th Rocky Flintoff, the 18-year-old son of a former England star, Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, smashed a 65-ball century for Lancashire against Somerset. He will surely be upgraded to The Hundred next year, and from there, who knows. But county fans aren’t chasing a glittering future, just a sunny afternoon in a cosy ground watching cricket as they know it.
对球员而言，一日杯可以成为通向百球赛、进而赚取更多财富的踏脚石。 对少数幸运者来说，通向迪拜和德班冬日阳光的道路，可能途经戈斯福斯和格兰瑟姆。 8月11日，前英格兰球星Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff的18岁儿子Rocky Flintoff，代表兰开夏郡对阵萨默塞特时，仅用65球便拿到100分。 他明年想必会升入百球赛，之后还能走多远，谁知道呢。 但郡队球迷追逐的并不是闪耀的未来，而是在阳光明媚的午后，坐在舒适亲切的小球场，观看他们熟悉的板球。