What is The Hundred

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) introduced The Hundred, a professional franchise-based cricket competition, in 2020, created to appeal to a younger generation and draw in a larger audience.

Eight men's teams and eight women's teams, each of which represents a different English or Welsh city, are competing in the tournament. The teams are made up of both home grown and foreign players and are based on geographic regions. The Hundred's cricket matches last around two and a half hours, and they are meant to be thrilling and fast-paced.

The teams that compete in this competition are called; Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets, Welsh Fire. The Hundred has many highly rated cricketers that play for England such as the England captain Jos Buttler, all-rounders Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali and fast paced bowlers like Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. These are just some of many. Overseas stars include Rashid Khan, Devon Conway and Shaheen Afridi to name a few.

The main characteristic of The Hundred is that each side gets to bat for 100 balls in their innings, hence the name. Teams bat for a set number of overs in a regular cricket match, but in The Hundred, fewer balls are faced every over to increase the game's intensity and excitement. 100 balls make up each team's innings, with overs consisting of either five or ten consecutive deliveries.

Other improvements are included in The Hundred's rules as well. Each bowler, for instance, has the option of throwing either five or 10 consecutive balls, providing them the chance to exert pressure or try variations. In order to give teams a chance to reassemble and formulate their strategies, the format also includes strategic time-outs.

The Hundred has drawn notice for its focus on entertainment, which includes live music, a welcoming environment for families, and shorter match times. It has gained a sizable fan base and assisted in introducing cricket to new audiences. The event will continue every year throughout the English summer cricket season after the debut season in 2021. Sky Sports and the BBC televise the games.

The Hundred third year will begin on August 1st. For the women, the Oval Invincibles will be looking to defend their title for the third consecutive year. For the men, The Trent Rockets look to defend their title that they won the previous year.