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When there was a whole influx of T20 franchise leagues rising across the world, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) didn't hold back. Although the ECB has the T20 Blast, it is not a franchise city-based league but a domestic T20 tournament.
So the ECB also jumped in on the trend. But, instead of a traditional T20 league, they went for a more innovative and different idea than just a normal T20 league. And that's how The Hundred was born in 2021.
As the name itself suggests, The Hundred is a 100 balls per innings match. The traditional T20 matches are 120 balls per innings, making the Hundred different from the T20 cricket. There are also various rules of this league that make it quite different compared to the traditional cricket tournaments.
The most important rule of The Hundred that one needs to know is that each innings consists of 100 balls, hence the name The Hundred. A traditional T20 match is 120 balls per innings.
A bowler can deliver sets of five or ten balls in a row. The captain of the team decides if the bowler will bowl five or ten balls. A bowler can only bowl up to 20 balls per innings. In traditional cricket, an over is called after 6 consecutive balls are bowled. A bowler can bowl 10 overs in One Day Cricket and 4 overs in Twenty20 Cricket.
The fielding side will change ends only after every 10 balls are bowled. Normally, the fielding side change ends after an over, i.e., six legal deliveries.
Instead of a 6-over powerplay in T20 cricket, the first 25 balls of each innings are considered a powerplay in The Hundred. During the powerplay, only 2 fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
Each innings will consist of a 90-second strategic timeout. During this time period, the coaches of both teams can come out and discuss tactics.
Unlike a Super Over in T20 cricket, if the scores are tied after 100 balls each innings, teams will play a further 5 balls each to determine the winner of the match.
There are two versions of the Hundred League: one for men and one for women. The league has a total of 8 teams that participate in the league, each representing a city from England and Wales.
There are two London-based teams: the London Spirit and the Oval Invincibles. The other six teams in the league include the likes of Manchester Originals, Birmingham Phoenix, Trent Rockets, Northern Superchargers, Welsh Fire, and Southern Brave.
Each team is linked with a particular county club, which has the majority share of the team, while the ECB has a minority share percentage.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) held an auction for its 49% share in the franchises. The auction was held in early 2025. Owners of IPL franchises such as the Mumbai Indians' Reliance, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Delhi Capitals' GMR, the Lucknow Super Giants' RPSG Group, the Sunrisers Hyderabad's Sun Group, and others also showed interest.
The Indian billionaire Ambani family’s Reliance Industries has bought a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles for £60 million, while a consortium including Google, Adobe, and Microsoft purchased the other London team, the London Spirit, for £145 million.
GMR Group, who are the owners of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, bought a 49% stake in the Southern Brave for £48 million. However, they will have full control of the team after their takeover of the Hampshire County Club, which owns the remaining 51%, making GMR hold a 100% stake in the Brave franchise.
For £40 million, Sanjay Govil, the owner of Major League Cricket (MLC) team Washington Freedom, acquired a 49% share in Welsh Fire, and Birmingham City's owners, Knighthead Capital, acquired a 49% stake in the Birmingham Phoenix.
Sun Group, the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, paid £100 million for a 49% stake in the Northern Superchargers, while Todd Boehly, a co-owner of Chelsea FC, an English Premier League team, paid £40 million for a 49% stake in the Trent Rockets.
Finally, the Lucknow Super Giants owners, RPSG Group, have purchased a 70% share of the Manchester Originals franchise for approximately £81 million. After first acquiring 49% of the ECB, the RPSG Group secured an additional 21% share with the Lancashire County Club, the franchise's second owner, bringing the total ownership to 70% RPSG and 30% Lancashire Club.
Now, come to how the private investments in The Hundred can change the sport. There are positive and negative influences of this investment that we will discuss below.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) made almost £500 million with the selling of 49% of their share. This fund will now be allocated to the cricketing ecosystem in England to support the development of the game in the country. According to reports, approximately £50 million has been earmarked for grassroots cricket, which will play a significant role in the development of the next generation of players.
Meanwhile, the remaining amount will be distributed among the 18 first-class county cricket clubs and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owners of the Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The non-host counties, which don't have a share in the hundred teams, will receive a larger amount. This will be a much-needed cash injection for the county clubs, which will aid in recovering from the financial crisis they have had to suffer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are several county clubs in England that have faced financial debt. This amount will help clear the debts, while the clubs can also invest the same amount to improve the club infrastructure.
The Hundred League will also be able to raise the caliber of competition thanks to the private financing. With the investments coming from high-profile investors like IPL team owners, tech billionaires, and sports investors, the ECB will hope for a much-improved competition quality.
The increased financial injection could play a big role in raising the salary cap. A higher salary cap will enable the teams to attract top cricketing stars from across the world. The Men's Hundred has suffered since its inception to compete with the big leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Pakistan Super League, or even Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA, which has attracted higher-quality players than The Hundred competition. There are expectations that investments from the likes of IPL franchises would bring in better-quality players, thus helping the league to elevate its popularity.
While The Hundred has been criticised for many reasons, the one aspect of the league that has been praised by the cricket experts and the fans is the equality between men's and women's cricket. The Hundred promotes equality in cricket by holding back-to-back women's matches followed by men's matches. And most importantly, both leagues have equal prize money.
The private investments in The Hundred franchises would help in the further development of the women's game. The franchises and counties would be able to invest more money into grassroots cricket while also attracting top-level international cricketers by offering higher salaries. But it is to be seen whether the investment will be more towards the men's competition or the equality between men and women will be honored by the private investors.
One of the big reasons behind the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s decision to welcome private investment is to increase the league’s reach and visibility. The presence of the IPL franchise team owners or other big international owners like Google and Microsoft could play a significant role in raising the global reach of the league.
The IPL franchises have already built a big fan base, and some connections of the Hundred franchise with the IPL franchises could attract more viewers from India, which is undoubtedly rated as the biggest market for cricket. The IPL franchises’ presence will also boost the commercial side and broadcasting side.
Currently, The Hundred is broadcast on Sony Sports Network in India, but with the IPL franchises and big investors’ presence in the league, there could be more broadcasters vying for the rights, which could also increase the broadcast revenue, which currently reportedly stands at £2 million.
With the private investment for The Hundred, there could be a time when traditional cricket could be sidelined. England’s summer is packed with domestic cricket. The summer season begins with the County Championship, followed by the One Day and T20 Blast.
Already, the county clubs lose their top players for half of the T20 Blast and almost the entire One-Day Cup to The Hundred. The private investment for The Hundred could see the traditional formats get less visibility. This could also see the traditional fans turn their face on these formats.
There are already plans to introduce two new teams in the league in the future, which could see the league expanding to over a month. This could create scheduling conflicts with not only the International T20 leagues but also the legacy tournaments like the County Championship, T20 Blast, or the One Day Cup.
The Hundred’s first season was played in 2021. As of 2025, there have already been four editions of the tournament played, with the 2025 edition scheduled to be held between 5 and 31 August. So let's take a look at the list of all The Hundred Competition winners, men's and women's.
The Hundred League's first season took place in 2021. It was played between 21 July and 21 August. There were a total of 68 matches played, 38 men's and 38 women's.
The inaugural men's edition was won by Southern Brave, while the women's edition was won by Oval Invincibles. The Southern Brave won the championship by defeating the Birmingham Phoenix by a margin of 32 runs. Meanwhile, the Oval Invincibles beat the Southern Brave by 48 runs to win the inaugural women's edition.
The second edition of The Hundred League was played between 3 August and 3 September 2022. This year, there were a total of 60 matches played: 34 men's and 26 women's matches.
The winners of the 2022 men's edition were the Trent Rockets. The Rockets beat the Manchester Originals by 2 wickets to lift the trophy. Meanwhile, the Oval Invincibles retained their trophy in 2022 as they beat the Southern Brave once again, by 5 wickets, to retain the title.
The Hundred 2023 was the third edition of the tournament. It was held between 1 and 27 August, 2023. This year, the total matches were increased back up to 68, with 34 men's and 34 women's matches.
Oval Invincibles won the Men's edition this year riding on the back of back-to-back Women's titles in the past two seasons. The Invincibles beat the Manchester Originals by 14 runs to win the crown. Meanwhile, after back-to-back finals defeats, the Southern Brave won the women's edition, beating the Northern Superchargers by 34 runs in the final match.
The Hundred 2024 was the most recent and the fourth edition of the tournament. The total number of matches remained 68, with 34 men's matches and 34 women's matches.
The Oval Invincibles retained the men's title in 2024. The Invincibles beat the Southern Brave in the final match by 17 runs to retain the title. Meanwhile, after the men won in 2022, the Trent Rockets women won their first The Hundred title in 2024 as they beat the Welsh Fire in the final by 4 wickets.
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