The Hundred 2026: Schedule, Teams, Format Explained

The Hundred enters its sixth summer in 2026 — and for the first time since launch in 2021, the competition arrives with three rebranded teams, a full player auction in place of the old draft, and a relaxed overseas-player rule that lets each side field four imports in their playing XI. The format itself stays at 100 balls per innings, but everything around it has been redesigned to match the global T20-economy that overtook the English summer in the years since.

For Indian readers, the angle is simple: more IPL and WPL stars are likelier to feature in 2026 than at any point in the league's history, the auction has produced the kind of cross-league signing wars that used to be the IPL's exclusive territory, and the broadcast picture in India is settled for the duration of the season.

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Tournament at a glance

• Window: 21 July to 16 August 2026 (per the official 2026 fixture release)
• Format: 100-ball cricket — 100 balls per innings, change of bowling end every 10 balls, max 20 balls per bowler
• Teams: 8 men's, 8 women's
• Matches: 32 men's + 32 women's group stage, plus eliminator + final
• Eliminator: the Oval, London
• Final: Lord's, London — Sunday 16 August 2026
• Overseas allowance: four overseas players per playing XI (up from three in 2025)
• Player acquisition: first-ever Hundred auction in late 2025, replacing the draft
• Broadcast (UK): BBC + Sky Sports
• Broadcast (India): Star Sports / JioHotstar (per the latest ECB-Star sub-licensing deal)

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The eight teams (after the 2025 rebrand)

Three franchises were rebranded between the 2025 and 2026 seasons after the ECB sold equity stakes to a mix of Indian and global investor groups:

1. MI London — formerly Oval Invincibles. Now part of the Mumbai Indians family (Reliance Industries), with home games shared between the Oval and Lord's.
2. Sunrisers Leeds — formerly Northern Superchargers. Bought into by the Sun Group / Sunrisers Hyderabad ownership; based at Headingley.
3. Manchester Super Giants — formerly Manchester Originals. Now under Lucknow Super Giants ownership; based at Old Trafford.
4. Birmingham Phoenix — unchanged ownership; based at Edgbaston.
5. London Spirit — unchanged; based at Lord's.
6. Southern Brave — unchanged; based at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.
7. Trent Rockets — unchanged; based at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
8. Welsh Fire — unchanged; based at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

Per the Sky Sports format confirmation, the ECB also confirmed that the 100-ball format itself stays for 2026 — despite winter speculation that the league might convert to a 20-over T20 to align with the global calendar. That conversion is now flagged for "no earlier than 2027" and is not certain even then.

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The format — 100 balls in plain English

For readers new to the league, the basics:

• Each innings is 100 balls, not 20 overs.
• A bowler can deliver 5 balls or 10 balls in a single set; the bowling end then changes.
• Maximum 20 balls per bowler per innings.
• Powerplay lasts the first 25 balls — two fielders allowed outside the inner ring (instead of three in T20).
• One short tea-style break at the halfway mark.
• DLS-recalculated targets in rain-affected matches use a 100-ball-converted formula that the ECB and ICC tweaked for 2026.

The functional difference vs T20 is small for batters but bigger for captains and bowlers: the 10-ball set means a captain can give a bowler a full block of pressure rather than splitting it across two overs. On flat decks this favours wrist-spin and yorker-bowlers; on green tops it has produced some surprisingly quick collapses against new-ball seam pairs.

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The format change that matters most: the auction

Until 2025, The Hundred used a draft — teams picked players in salary tiers, with no real bidding war. From 2026, the league has its first-ever player auction, held in November 2025 at a London hotel.

Per the Wisden auction wrap, the league's auction debut produced four headline signings: a marquee Australian batter on a record three-year deal at MI London, an India white-ball star at Manchester Super Giants on a one-year window deal, a West Indian death-bowler at Sunrisers Leeds, and an English Test all-rounder at Birmingham Phoenix on a multi-year retention.

The auction also confirmed:

• A maximum salary cap per franchise (in £ sterling) that is lower than the IPL but materially higher than the BBL.
• A right-to-match (RTM) card per franchise to retain one outgoing player.
• Four overseas slots in the playing XI (up from three) — the single biggest rule shift for the league's competitive balance, as it lets each franchise field a full overseas pace pair plus two imported batters.

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How a tournament unfolds

• Group stage: each team plays four home and four away matches across the four-week window. Each side plays one match against every other team in the competition, plus a bonus regional-rivals fixture.
• Top three progress to the playoffs.
• Eliminator at the Oval — second vs third — for the right to face the league-toppers in the final.
• Final: Sunday 16 August 2026, Lord's, men's and women's finals on the same day (women's first, men's second).

The Lord's finals day model — both finals on the same day at the same venue — is the format's strongest brand asset and the ECB has not changed it.

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Why this matters for Indian readers

Three reasons.

One: the new ownership lines mean three of the eight Hundred teams are now affiliated with Indian IPL/WPL franchises (MI London → Mumbai Indians; Sunrisers Leeds → Sunrisers Hyderabad; Manchester Super Giants → Lucknow Super Giants). That is a structural reason to expect more Indian player movement to England across the calendar.

Two: the four-overseas-XI rule plus the auction system makes The Hundred a genuine second-window IPL alternative for stars who finish their IPL season in late May. The August window slots cleanly between the IPL afterglow and the autumn international calendar.

Three: Star Sports / JioHotstar carrying the league in India means the audience pipeline is no longer broadcast-restricted. For a fan view of the IPL/Hundred crossover, see our 10 IPL 2026 storylines round-up — several of those names will feature in The Hundred this summer.

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Storylines we will be tracking

• MI London's first season under Mumbai Indians ownership. A Reliance-backed franchise on London soil with a marquee Australian top-of-order batter — does the playing-style change?
• Sunrisers Leeds at Headingley. Headingley's seamer-friendly conditions with an SRH-style ownership philosophy is an interesting tactical match.
• The four-overseas XI in practice. Which teams play it as 4 Aussie / 0 elsewhere vs. a balanced mix?
• Auction prices vs draft logic. The auction produced bigger price-spreads than the draft; whether this rewards franchises that bid smart or punishes those that bid emotionally is the league-wide test.
• The 2027 format review. The ECB has flagged a possible conversion to 20 overs in 2027. The 2026 season is functionally an audition for whether 100-ball cricket survives.

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What we are not predicting

A 2026 winner. The auction has reset every squad's balance and the four-overseas rule has not been match-tested in volume. Anyone telling you Birmingham Phoenix or MI London are pre-tournament locks is selling you a betting line, not analysis. Wait for the first ten days of the group stage; the table will tell us who has actually built the right squad for 100 balls.

FAQ

When does The Hundred 2026 start?

The Hundred 2026 starts on Tuesday 21 July 2026 with the men's and women's competitions running side-by-side. The group stage finishes in mid-August, with the finals day at Lord's on Sunday 16 August 2026 hosting both the women's and men's finals.

How many overseas players can each team field?

Each Hundred team can field four overseas players in the playing XI in 2026 — up from three in previous seasons. Squads carry more overseas players than that, but only four can play in any single match.

What is different between The Hundred and a T20?

A T20 is 20 six-ball overs (120 balls). The Hundred is 100 balls per innings, delivered in sets of 5 or 10 balls at a time, with the bowling end changing after each set. Maximum 20 balls per bowler. Powerplay is the first 25 balls (vs first six overs in T20).

Where can I watch The Hundred 2026 in India?

In India, The Hundred 2026 is broadcast on Star Sports and streamed on JioHotstar — confirmed for the full tournament window. In the UK, the BBC and Sky Sports share the rights.

Why were three teams rebranded for 2026?

The ECB sold equity stakes in all eight Hundred franchises in early 2025. Three were bought into by groups linked to existing IPL/WPL ownerships, prompting the rebrands: MI London (Reliance / Mumbai Indians), Sunrisers Leeds (Sun Group / SRH) and Manchester Super Giants (Lucknow Super Giants ownership group).