The Hundred will commence on Wednesday when the current holders Southern Brave open up this season’s tournament when they face Welsh Fire at the Ageas Bowl. The competition itself goes from strength to strength, with plenty of exciting action to come in the next few weeks.

There are eight sides battling it out for the honour of being crowned Hundred champions. Here are a look at this seasons sides.

Birmingham Phoenix

Phoenix have a new coach in the form of New Zealander Daniel Vettori who took over the role in April after former coach Andrew McDonald’s appointment to the head coach role with the Australian men’s team.

The side will be captained by local lad Moeen Ali who will be moving to Warwickshire from Worcestershire next season. Ali has previously woin the T20 Blast with Worcestershire Rapids and has some big game experience with both England and in the IPL.

Phoenix have acquired Australian Matthew Wade, who was a crucial part of the victorious Australian world cup winning side in the UAE last winter.

Phoenix have signed up a quality death bowler with Australian Kane Richardson joining the side. Adam Milne is also a name that will feature for the Birmingham outfit having been a success in last years Hundred having picked up 12 wickets in the event.

The evergreen South African leg spinner Imran Tahir returns back to Phoenix and is a massive crowd pleaser. Tahir picked up ten wickets in the tournament last year including a memorable hat trick against Fire. At 43- years of age the South African still looks the part and is a key to Phoenix’s chances this year.

Birmingham have also snapped up Liam Livingstone who has put in outstanding performances not just for England but for sides in the IPL,PSL and the Big Bash.

London Sprint

The sad passing of Shane Warne in March forced Spirit to make an unwanted change at the top by bringing in former England coach Trevor Bayliss.

Spirit will once again be led by home captain Eoin Morgan. It has been a bad twelve months for Morgan with just one win in last weeks competition and injury problems forced Morgan to retire from International cricket and abandon the white ball captaincy.

Australian Glenn Maxwell returns back to Spirit after missing out in 2021 and could play a big part in Spirit improving their poor record from last year.

Ben McDermott arrives off the back of helping Hampshire Hawks win their maiden Blast title and will be a key figure for the >London outfit when Maxwell leaves for Australian duty.

Having withdrawn from a season with Welsh Fire, Kieron Pollard returns to The Hundred with London Spirit. Spent part of the Blast season with Surrey before injury cut short his time with the county.

Spirit have also signed Australian Nathan Ellis who was a real start for the Hampshire hawks in the Blast. Ellis has a superb economy rate bowling at the death and looks a top pick.

Among the English players picked by Spirit, Essex’s Dan Lawrence and Kent’s Zalk Crawley will feature for Spirit with Surrey’s Jamie Smith- who turned down the chance of playing in the Hundred last season- also snapped up by Spirit.

Manchester Originals

Simon Katich will be in charge for Manchester during their Hundred campaign. The Australian has guided Trinbago Knight Riders to back to back CPL titles and was also briefly linked with the England Head Coach roles earlier this year.

England’s new white ball captain Jos Buttler will skipper the side for the second time after only appearing twice in the competition last year. Expect more appearances from Buttler this time around.

Among the best T20 all rounders of all time Andre Russell is a massive signing for Manchester and come into the tournament on the back of taking 17 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 IPL.

Australian Sean Abbott will turn out for Originals but is likely to miss the latter stages of the competition after being called up to Australia’s white ball squad.

Sri Lankan International Wanindu Hasaranga is one of the rising stars of white ball cricket. He made a big impression at the T20 World Cup taking 16 wickets.

It will be third time lucky for Richard Gleeson in the Hundred having missed the past two Hundred contracts due to injury. However, this could be the stage that he shines on having already proved to be a big success in an England shirt.

Northern Superchargers

Former Essex and England wicketkeeper James Foster will coach Superchargers this season and is the first English Coach to earn the role of head coach in the Hundred having replaced Darren Lehmann who stepped down from the role in January of this year.

Faf du Plessis will lead the side after failing to play for the side last year due to concussion. Back for 2022 the South African is one of the best batters in this form of the game with over 7,500 runs to his name.

Pakistani Wahab Riaz is an interesting signing for the Northern franchise. Having made only one appearance last year for Trent Rockets, Riaz took 4-30 with three wickets in ten balls. The 37-year-old can be a match winner on his day and looks a top signing.

All rounder David Wiese has been signed up for this seasons campaign having made two appearances for London Spirit last year.

Completing their overseas signings, Supercharges have acquired the experienced 38-year-old Dwayne Bravo.

 

England stars Harry Brook and Adil Rashid have also been signed for the Superchargers who will be looking to improve on their fifth place finish from last season.

Oval Invincibles

Australian Tom Moody will be in charge of the Invincibles with Kent’s Sam Billings captaining the side.

The outstanding Sunil Narine who was a massive success for Surrey in the Blast returns back to the Invincibles. Narine has a brilliant T20 record with 452 wickets in 419 games and an outstanding economy rate which is second to none.

Somerset’s Rilee Rossouw who scored 623 runs in the Blast for Somerset will be wearing an Invincibles shirt this season. The South African looks a shrewd addition to the London franchise.

Pakistani Mohammad Hasnain who is available to bowl again following a ban for his action reported during the Big Bash, has been snapped up by the Invincibles. Capable of bowling at regular 90mph he could be a key asset for the London side.

Invincibles will have local players Jason Roy, Sam Curran  and Will Jacks featuring for them with their knowledge of Oval pitches a big asset for the London side.

Southern Brave

Coached by Mahela Jayawardene has a rich reputation in the short format of the game. He has won the IPl on no less than three occasions with Mumbai Indians along with the Hundred at his first attempt last season.

Hampshire Captain James Vince will skipper the side and comes into the tournament in a rich vein of form in all forms of the game. He has also won the Big Bash League twice with Sydney Sixers along with this seasons Blast with Hampshire Hawks.

Retained by Southern Brave, Tim David is a player capable of clearing the ropes on any ground with ease.

Australian Marcus Stoinis is a powerful striker of the ball at the top of the order, but will miss the end of the campaign because of international duty with Paul Stirling replacing him.

Quinton de Kock who has retired from test cricket returns to Southern Brave for a second season. An opening batter and confident wicketkeeper will join the side late in the campaign.

New Zealander Finn Allen has swopped  a Birmingham Phoenix shirt for a Brave shirt this time around. He featured for Yorkshire Vikings in the recent Blast, but his stint proved to be a disappointing one.

English players Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills are two bowlers who will be crucial to the chances of Brave retaining their Hundred title.

Trent Rockets

Coach Andy Flower has a wealth of experience to call upon. He returns to Trent Rockets after guiding them to the play offs in 2021.

The side will be skippered by Somerset all rounder Lewis Gregory who had a fine Blast campaign with taking 15 wickets at an average of a shade over 20.

One of the best spinners on the circuit will suit up in a Rockets shirt. Rashid Khan proved to be expensive in his campaign last term with 12 wickets but with  a high average.

South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has been recruited as a part replacement for Khan. Shamsi represented Oval Invincibles last term picking up seven wickets in six matches.

Tied at the top of the wicket taking table, Marchant de Lange with 12 wickets returns back to the Rockets. He was also the first player to pick up a five-for in the competition after returning figures of 5-20 against Southern Brave last July.

Colin Munro and Daniel Sams along with England stars Joe Root and Dawid Malan will feature for Rockets in a side that could surprise people this time around.

Welsh Fire

Coached by Gary Kirsten the Welsh franchise will be captained by Jonny Bairstow. The Yorkshireman has enjoyed an outstanding summer for England in all forms of the game and is an entertainer in his own right.

However, Bairstow will be out of action for a while due to England commitments and is a big blow for Fire to be without his services. Ben Duckett is likely to step into the breach and lead the Fire.

Adam Zampa has been snapped up by the Welsh outfit after a spell with Birmingham Phoenix last season. Set to be absent from the latter stages of the tournament due to international commitments, Zampa will look to impress straight from the off.

18-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad will feature for Fire with the Afghanistan looking to be one of the players who could set the Hundred on fire.

David Miller and Naseem Shah along with English stars Ollie Pope and Tom Banton will feature for the Welsh outfit along with Ben Duckett in a side that may well surprise everybody this season.

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