The fifth edition of the Hundred will kick start on August 5, with London Spirit taking on their city rivals, Oval Invincibles at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. Both women’s and men’s competition games will run simultaneously, making each day have two matches at least. As per the schedule, the competition will run until August 31, avoiding clash with US-based franchise tournament, Major League Cricket, which is likely to be played from mid-June to mid-July. However, the 100-ball tournament will clash with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which will be held from August 14 to September 21.
34 double-headers will be played across the 27 days reserved for the tournament. There will be two knockout stage games including the eliminator set to played at the Oval followed by the final at the Lord’s.
Oval Invincibles is the tournament’s most successful team, having won all editions of the men’s Hundred and first two of the women’s. The team’s captain, Sam Billings, hopes that the side will be able to keep the trophy in their trove this year too.
“It will be great to kick off The Hundred with a sold-out derby at Lord’s. From our point of view, we’re looking to start strongly as we have done the last couple of years to set the tone for another positive year. No doubt it will be a brilliant atmosphere at Lord’s.
It was another fantastic tournament last year, we’ve worked hard at the Invincibles to build a really strong core and there’s no reason why we can’t have another great year. The Kia Oval is undoubtedly one of the best places in world cricket to play, our home support is special. We all hope we can build on the last couple of years and keep the trophy in South London.”
In what will be a first for the tournament, both men’s and women’s team this year have been allowed to rope in players through direct signings. Southern Brave and Manchester Originals are the first teams to have drafted players in this way, having signed Laura Wolvaardt and Amelia Kerr, respectively, for their women’s teams. Teams have until February 24 to rope in one new foreign player each. This directly signed player will be counted as one of the ten allowed retentions and three allotted overseas slots. The draft for the upcoming edition is likely to take place before the start of the IPL, probably by the middle of March.
Charlie Dean, one of the title defenders London Spirits’ retentions, said,
“August is fast becoming one of the best months of the summer. The Hundred has developed into an excellent competition, we play in front of fantastic crowds and even from the middle you get a sense of how the crowd is so full of families and young people.
The cricket itself is high quality, the format is accessible and quick, and we’re all really looking forward to getting back to it and hopefully defending our title.”
Other retained players include Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Marizanne Kapp, Tymal Mills, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews.
