The Hundred 2026: London Spirit v Trent Rockets Rivalry

The Hundred has not had time to grow many proper rivalries — the league only launched in 2021, half its men's matches still play in front of family-skewed crowds, and the franchises change personnel on the auction floor every winter. But London Spirit v Trent Rockets has quietly become the closest thing the men's competition has to a north-south Test. Lord's against Trent Bridge, Kane Williamson against the Rockets pace pack, a 100-ball format that suits both line-ups in different ways — and a head-to-head record that tilts the Rockets' way despite the Spirit's home advantage at the most famous ground in cricket.

The 2026 season runs from 21 July to 16 August, per Sky Sports' fixture release. Spirit and Rockets meet twice in the men's competition this season — and twice in the women's — making the four fixtures across the calendar the rivalry's biggest concentrated window since the league launched.

Note on the league name change. From the 2026 season London Spirit's men's side now plays as MI London following the Reliance / Mumbai Indians group's 49% acquisition of the franchise. The brand transition was confirmed by the ECB; for clarity, this piece uses "London Spirit" for the historical record (2021-25) and "MI London" only when discussing the 2026 squad and on-field side. The women's side retains the London Spirit name.

Head-to-head: the numbers so far

Across The Hundred's first five seasons (2021-25), the men's head-to-head between London Spirit and Trent Rockets has tilted toward the Rockets, who lead the rivalry roughly 3-2 across the regular-season meetings counted on Wisden's head-to-head page. The most recent meeting — 14 August 2025 at Lord's, in front of 26,000 — went London Spirit's way by 21 runs, with Jamie Smith promoted to open and going to a 32-ball half-century, sharing a 73-run partnership with Kane Williamson, per ESPNcricinfo's match report.

The Rockets' wider record across the league — including the 2024 final win — has been the more consistent of the two franchises. London Spirit's 2024-25 turn-around was real but not yet fully bedded in.

Why the venues matter

Lord's and Trent Bridge are very different 100-ball pitches.

• Lord's has the famous 2.5-metre slope across the square, which The Hundred's 5-ball-per-bowler-per-end format actively exposes. Right-arm seamers from the Pavilion End get the natural line into right-handed batters; left-arm seamers from the Nursery End get the angle into the pads. This rewards captains willing to use four bowlers from each end across the 100 balls.
• Trent Bridge has historically been the most chase-friendly white-ball venue in England outside of Headingley. Average first-innings totals in 100-ball matches at Trent Bridge run higher than the league mean; the boundary square of the wicket is genuinely short.

Spirit's record at home is a major part of their case in this rivalry — across the 2021-25 seasons, the franchise won close to 60% of men's home matches at Lord's. Rockets' at Trent Bridge has been similar.

Captains, key players and how 2026 lines up

MI London (formerly London Spirit) men's — the 2026 captain has not been formally announced as of the squad-confirmation window, but Kane Williamson continues as the marquee international and is the obvious leadership candidate. Around him, the franchise has retained Jamie Smith, who broke through at Lord's in 2025; the international addition expected to lead the new-ball pair is a left-arm seamer well suited to the Nursery End slope. The Mumbai Indians ownership has been clear about wanting to import the franchise's analytics and high-performance staff template.

Trent Rockets men's — the franchise's identity since 2024 has been built around their pace battery and the all-rounder line-up the Nottinghamshire pathway has provided. The Rockets' 2025 run included a four-game streak at Trent Bridge that ended in the playoffs. Captaincy and the marquee overseas slot for 2026 have been the subject of early-summer speculation; expect a confirmed line-up in early July.

Women's competition. London Spirit Women have been one of the league's standout sides — Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight have shared the captaincy and senior responsibility across previous seasons. Trent Rockets Women rebuilt their squad through 2024-25; the rivalry on the women's side has trended closer than the men's, with most of the fixtures since 2023 finishing inside 15 runs.

The franchise economics behind the rivalry

The 49% private-investor sales the ECB ran in 2024-25 have changed the economics of every Hundred franchise but Spirit and Rockets in particularly visible ways. Per Sky Sports' coverage of the franchise sales:

• London Spirit's 49% stake went to a Silicon Valley tech consortium for a reported £145 million — the highest valuation of any of the eight franchises and the deal that ultimately reshaped the franchise into MI London after a follow-on commercial partnership with the Reliance / Mumbai Indians group.
• Trent Rockets' 49% stake went to Cain & Ares Management for just under £40 million — a lower valuation that reflects Trent Bridge's smaller capacity (around 17,500) versus Lord's (roughly 30,000).

That valuation gap is the financial spine of the rivalry. Lord's gates and the global reach of the MI ownership group will pull more international auction dollars into Spirit / MI London's recruitment over the next two seasons. Rockets need the Trent Bridge sell-out crowd and the playoff bonus money to keep pace.

Fan culture: why it works as a rivalry

The Hundred's audience is deliberately family-skewed — the league has worked hard to keep the atmosphere closer to a county T20 Blast crowd than an IPL primetime fixture. But Spirit-Rockets is one of the few pairings where the away support travels in numbers. Trent Bridge's away end fills with London Spirit colour when the Rockets host; St John's Wood, in turn, hosts a measurable Nottinghamshire away presence at Lord's.

The rivalry also pulls a cross-format crowd: county members from Middlesex and Nottinghamshire who would otherwise spend their summer Sundays watching first-class cricket turn up because their counties' identities sit inside both franchises. The two bowling units carry that county DNA — the Spirit pace battery has historically leaned on Middlesex's domestic seamers and the Rockets on the Notts pathway, with Stuart Broad's long franchise involvement (though now in a coaching capacity) emblematic of that overlap.

What to watch in the 2026 fixtures

The two confirmed men's meetings between MI London and Trent Rockets in 2026 fall in the middle of the league season, the standard slot for the franchise's flagship rivalry game. Three things to watch on each match-day:

1. The toss decision at Lord's. Whoever bats first at Lord's in The Hundred has historically been favoured — the slope is harder to read for the chasing side under lights. If the toss-winner inserts, expect a low-200s total.
2. The Trent Bridge boundary count. Spirit / MI London's middle order against Rockets' spinners on the short square boundaries: this is where the rivalry's high-scoring matches have been won.
3. The new-ball pair from the Pavilion End at Lord's. The single biggest tactical edge in the rivalry. The team that gets two genuine new-ball wickets in the first 20 balls usually wins.

For the wider Hundred picture, see the Hundred 2026 schedule and team breakdown and the Hundred 2026 format explainer.

The verdict

This is the rivalry that most justifies The Hundred's split-broadcast model — Sky Sports leads on coverage in the UK while the BBC carries one match per round on free-to-air, per the ECB's broadcast deal. Lord's full and Trent Bridge full carry the league's biggest aggregate gates of the season. The Spirit / MI London brand transition adds a 2026 storyline — but the on-field rivalry's value is already there.

Prediction for 2026: 1-1 across the men's regular-season meetings, with the deciding fixture coming in the playoffs if both sides finish in the top three.

FAQ

When does The Hundred 2026 start?

The Hundred 2026 runs from 21 July to 16 August, with the final at Lord's on Sunday 16 August. The first match-day is at the Kia Oval, per the official Hundred fixtures release.

Is London Spirit changing its name in 2026?

The men's franchise will play as MI London from the 2026 season following the Reliance / Mumbai Indians group's investment. The women's side continues as London Spirit.

Who has the better head-to-head record — Spirit or Rockets?

Across the 2021-25 men's competition, Trent Rockets lead roughly 3-2 in the head-to-head, per Wisden. London Spirit won the most recent meeting at Lord's on 14 August 2025 by 21 runs.

Where do the two franchises play their home matches?

London Spirit / MI London play at Lord's; Trent Rockets play at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Are the Spirit-Rockets women's matches part of the same rivalry?

Yes — the women's competition runs alongside the men's at the same venues, with London Spirit Women retaining the original franchise name. Recent women's fixtures between the two have been notably tight, most finishing inside 15 runs.

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— James Whitfield, CricJosh UK & County correspondent. May 2026.