Last Updated on 4 hours ago by Dom Harris
England’s rollercoaster of an international summer will now go on hold for the next few weeks as the Hundred returns to take centre stage for its sixth and most transformative year.
Here is all the key information ahead of the opening clash as men’s holders MI London take on SunRisers Leeds at The Kia Oval on July 21.
What is significant about the 2026 edition?
The sixth instalment of The Hundred is here and set to launch a defining new milestone of the highly-divisive franchise competition, since the ECB finalised the sale of stakes in all eight teams to private investors worth over £975 million.
Among the influx of new partners, four sides are now under control of IPL-based ownership and undergone subsequent re-branding to reflect these changes.
Manchester Originals are now called Manchester Super Giants, Northern Superchargers will be known as SunRisers Leeds and Oval Invincibles have become MI London, all updated with kits and logos reflective of their Indian counterparts.
Southern Brave opted to keep their original name, though they have adopted a new colour scheme in line with the Delhi Capitals family.
Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire have all received US-based investment, with their identities remaining largely unaltered.
Has the format changed?
Despite discussions that the Hundred could become a T20 competition as soon as this year, the 100-ball outlier format remains in place for the time being and will likely stay that way until the current TV rights cycle ends in 2028.
The structure of the tournament has also remained the same, with the eight franchises competing for the top three spots across eight league stage games – first-place progresses directly to the final at Lord’s on August 16, whilst second and third face off in an Eliminator contest at The Oval 48 hours earlier to decide their opponents.
As ever, the men’s and women’s competition will unfold side-by-side with daily double-headers.
What happened last year?
In 2025, Oval Invincibles (now MI London) defeated Trent Rockets by 24 runs in the Men’s final to secure a third consecutive title, whilst Northern Superchargers (now SunRisers Leeds) won their maiden Women’s crown with a seven-wicket victory over Southern Brave.
Batter Jordan Cox enjoyed a standout campaign with 367 runs and England quick Josh Tongue topped the wicket-taking charts with 14 scalps.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield led the way in the women’s competition with 292 runs and England seamer Lauren Bell’s 19 wickets was more than any other bowler.
A highlight of the tournament was teenager Davina Perrin announcing herself on the big stage with an astonishing record-breaking 42-ball century to help the Superchargers advance in the Eliminator on their way to the title.
Have any of England’s stars moved teams?
There has been an overhaul of the squads in a reset to mark the new beginning and also restore a competitive balance throughout the league.
Refreshed rosters were assembled through an inaugural auction back in March, with teams only able to pre-sign up to four players each – these included Harry Brook as the most expensive signing to stay in Leeds for £460,000, Jofra Archer remained with Southern Brave for £400,000 and Phil Salt moved to Welsh Fire for £450,000.
As for the auction itself, all-rounder James Coles was the most expensive buy for £390,000 to London Spirit, whilst Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney earned the biggest payday in the women’s auction at £210,000 to Welsh Fire and Trent Rockets respectively.
There has been plenty of movement to note for some of England’s biggest names who have full availability.
Joe Root and Jordan Cox will now play for Welsh Fire, Jamie Smith and Adil Rashid were signed by Southern Brave, whilst Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow will call Lord’s their temporary home with London Spirit.
Elsewhere, Liam Dawson was acquired by Manchester Super Giants, MI London secured the services of James Vince, whilst Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed moved in opposite directions between Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets, the latter now being led by Sam Billings who captained Oval Invincibles/MI London to three titles in a row.
Who are the marquee overseas names on show?
There is a strong contingent of overseas quality in the competition, predominantly from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Big-hitting Tim David was comfortably the biggest import buy for £350,000 by Trent Rockets, whilst Marco Jansen (Welsh Fire), Heinrich Klaasen (Manchester Super Giants), Donovan Ferreira (Birmingham Phoenix), Mitchell Marsh (SunRisers Leeds) and Aiden Markram (Manchester Super Giants) all fetched a minimum outlay of £200,000.
There were some bargains to be had too – Tim Seifert at £100,000 (Manchester Super Giants), Matt Henry at £75,000 (Trent Rockets) and rising star Lhuan-dre Pretorius at the base price of £31,000 (London Spirit) could prove astute pieces of business.
Spinner Abrar Ahmed is set to feature for the Leeds franchise, affiliated with SunRisers Hyderabad, despite the longstanding ban on Pakistan players from appearing in the IPL.
Finn Allen, Nicholas Pooran, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Adam Zampa and Usman Tariq are among the other high-profile signings looking to make a big impact.
