The Hundred is a new cricket competition starting in England in 2021 (after being delayed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) with a simple concept – each team has 100 balls to score as many as runs as possible. The format of the competition is:
- 100 balls per innings
- A change of ends after 10 balls
- Bowlers deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls
- Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game
- Each bowling side gets a strategic timeout of up to two and a half minutes
- A 25-ball powerplay start for each team, with only two fielders allowed outside of the 30-yard circle
Each team will play each other once, apart from the paired rivals (see below ‘Teams and Venues’ section who will play twice, home and away.
When is The Hundred?
The Hundred is scheduled to take place in the summer, across July and August. The inaugural competition was due to be held in 2020, however this has now been delayed by a year to 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic and will now be played from the 21st July to 21st August 2021.
Teams & Venues of The Hundred
There are 8 teams competing in The Hundred, from 7 cities across England and Wales. Click on each of the below for a guide to visiting the venues.
Birmingham Phoenix – Edgbaston (Birmingham)
London Spirit – Lord’s (London)
Manchester Originals – Old Trafford Cricket Ground (Manchester)
Northern Superchargers – Headingley Cricket Ground (Leeds)
Oval Invincibles – The Oval (London)
Southern Brave – Ageas Bowl (Southampton)
Trent Rockets – Trent Bridge (Nottingham)
Welsh Fire – Sophia Gardens (Cardiff)
The paired rivals (play each other twice) are: Leeds and Manchester, the two London teams, Birmingham and Nottingham and Southampton and Cardiff.
The Draft
The Draft allows teams to select up to three players for their squad. They have the option of picking at least one England red-ball contracted player, and teams with one or more England Test players in their catchment area (see above) will be able to pick their preferred player. It is not compulsory for teams to pick a player from their catchment area.
The remaining red-ball contracted players will be selected by teams without a player in their catchment area until every side has had the opportunity of selecting at least one England Test player players not selected will be automatically allocated to their local team.
The remaining places in the 15-man squads will be filled via a full draft, with picks including top international stars.
There are seven set salary bands, with up to two players to be picked at each of the following: £125,000, £100,000, £75,000, £60,000, £50,000, £40,000 and £30,000. Captains will receive a bonus of £10,000.
How to buy tickets for The Hundred
Ticket information for The Hundred is available on the official website here.