What is The Hundred?

The Hundred is an annual cricket competition that will be held in the UK for the first time in 2020.

The tournament will feature eight teams based in cities around the country.

How does The Hundred work?

The Hundred competition is named after its unique format, invented, in theory, to make cricket easier to understand for the new supporters it hopes to attract.

Whereas in a T20 match each team’s innings lasts 20 overs, in this competition each team will bat for 100 balls – the equivalent of 16.4 overs.

Bowlers can deliver either five or 10 consecutive deliveries, with that decision made after the first five. A bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 deliveries in an innings.

There is a change of end after each 10 deliveries.

Each bowling side can use a strategic timeout of up to two-and-a-half minutes at any point in the innings.

Overall, the competition will run for 38 days, deliberately placed in the middle of the summer holidays.

Each team will play each other once, plus one extra match. Each team will play four home matches and four away matches.

Once the league campaign is completed, the top three teams will progress to finals day.

On that day, the second and third teams will meet in a semi-final, before the winner takes on the top team in the final.

The women’s finals day will take place at Hove on Friday 14 August, while the men’s finals day will be at Lord’s on Saturday 15 August.

What teams are in The Hundred?

The eight teams involved in the Hundred are: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.

Where is The Hundred going to be played?

The home grounds and cities for the men’s competition are:

• Birmingham Phoenix – Edgbaston, Birmingham
• London Spirit – Lord’s, London
• Manchester Originals – Old Trafford, Manchester
• Northern Superchargers – Headingley, Leeds
• Oval Invincibles – The Oval, London
• Southern Brave – Ageas Bowl, Southampton
• Trent Rockets – Trent Bridge, Nottingham
• Welsh Fire – Sophia Gardens, Cardifg

The home grounds for the women’s competition are:

• Birmingham Phoenix – New Road, Worcester
• London Spirit – The County Ground, Chelmsford and The County Ground, Northampton
• Manchester Originals – TBC
• Northern Superchargers – Clifton Park, York and Roseworth Terrace, Newcastle
• Oval Invincibles – The County Ground, Beckenham
• Southern Brave – The County Ground, Hove
• Trent Rockets – The County Ground, Derby and Grace Road, Leicester
• Welsh Fire – The County Ground, Bristol and The County Ground, Taunton

How are the teams selected?

For the men’s competition, each team selected one centrally-contracted England player plus two local icons – players who play for the counties closest to the cities.

The bulk of each team’s squad was then selected during British sports’ first ever player draft in October 2019, and each team will be allowed one further wildcard selection in the weeks before the tournament begins.

There is no draft for the women’s competition, with the head coaches of each team selecting the squads. They will include a maximum of six ‘marquee’ players – either centrally contracted England players or overseas stars.

Will The Hundred go ahead?

As it stands, The Hundred is due to take place as scheduled this summer.

However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, that is sure to be under review.

When is it?

The men’s competition begins when Oval Invincibles play Welsh Fire at The Oval on Friday July 17, and runs through to finals day on Saturday August 15.

The women’s competition begins when Birmingham Phoenix take on Manchester Originals at New Road, Worcester on Wednesday July 22.

How can I watch The Hundred?

All matches will be televised by Sky Sports, with 10 men’s matches and eight women’s matches also to be broadcast live on the BBC.

Other than the 2019 World Cup final, this will be the first live cricket broadcast by a free-to-air channel in the UK since 2005.

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