All you need to know ahead of the 2025 edition of The Hundred, which is live on Sky Sports from August 5-31.
Who are the teams involved?
The eight city-based teams are: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.
Every matchday is a double header, with a women’s game in the afternoon followed by a men’s fixture in the evening at the same ground, starting on Tuesday, August 5, with London Spirit vs Oval Invincibles. Every match is live on Sky Sports.
And where are games being played?
Phoenix play home games at Edgbaston, Spirit at Lord’s, Originals at Emirates Old Trafford and Superchargers at Headingley.
Invincibles’ home is The Kia Oval and Brave are based at the Utilita Bowl, while Rockets play at Trent Bridge and Fire at Sophia Gardens.
Which players should we look out for?
James Anderson and Rocky Flintoff have been signed in the wildcard draft for The Hundred
England’s record Test wicket-taker James Anderson, 43, will play in The Hundred for the first time after being a wildcard pick for Manchester Originals, while Northern Superchargers have two Flintoffs in their ranks as 17-year-old Rocky Flintoff joins a squad coached by dad Andrew.
In the women’s competition, you can watch England regulars Nat Sciver-Brunt (Trent Rockets),Tammy Beaumont (Welsh Fire), Sophia Dunkley (Welsh Fire) and Sophie Ecclestone (Manchester Originals), as well as international stars like Australia’s Ash Gardner (Trent Rockets) and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt (Southern Brave).
How do matches work?
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Get ready to watch The Hundred as it returns on August 5th!
One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It’s as simple as that.Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weatherIf a match in the knockout stages is tied, a Super 5 will be played, with the winner being the team scoring the most runs from a further five balls each.
How does the tournament work?
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With a week to go until The Hundred’s fifth season gets underway, Sky Sports hosted a press conference with a twist. Watch as Nasser Hussain, Ebony Rainford-Brent, and Dinesh Karthik are put on the spot by mini reporters
In the league phase, sides play six other teams once and their nearest rivals twice.We will, therefore, get two Invincibles vs Spirit matches and two Superchargers vs Originals games. Brave will play Fire twice and Rockets will meet Phoenix on two occasions.Teams earn two points for a win and one in the event of a tie or no result.If sides finish on the same number of points, league position is determined by net run-rate.The side that finishes top of the league table will secure a place in the final, with the teams in second and third subsequently meeting in an eliminator to determine the second finalists.
Who are the defending champions?
London Spirit pose with the trophy after winning The Hundred Women’s Final at Lord’s, London
London Spirit Women won The Hundred for the first time last year after a thrilling four-wicket victory over Welsh Fire in the final at Lord’s.
Set 116 to win, it came down to four needed from the last three balls before Deepti Sharma lofted Hayley Matthews over long-on for six.
In the men’s edition, Oval Invincibles won The Hundred for the second year running after a convincing 17-run victory over Southern Brave in the final at Lord’s.
Set 148, Brave made a solid start to their chase but then collapsed from 58-0 to 102-7 as Invincibles seized control.
Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa made the initial breakthrough before fast bowler Saqib Mahmood shredded the Brave middle order with three wickets in seven balls.
When does this year’s tournament begin and end?
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ECB CEO Richard Gould gives an insight into The Hundred’s investment and feels cricket can ‘muscle in’ on football in the future
The action gets going at Lord’s on Tuesday as London Spirit Men look to get Oval Invincibles’ title defence off the worst possible start (6.30pm), after defending champions London Spirit women take on their Invincibles counterparts in the afternoon (2.45pm).
The league stage runs until Thursday August 28, concluding with the Southern Brave vs Welsh Fire men’s and women’s double header in Southampton.
The eliminators then take place at The Kia Oval on Saturday August 30 with the finals subsequently held at Lord’s the following day as the 2025 champions are crowned.
