The Indian Premier League is the world’s premier T20 league event. To rival it, the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to conceive a similar event to provide fans with fast-paced cricket in the shortest possible time. Thus began The Hundred, a tournament wherein a match consisted of one hundred balls, bowler across 20 overs. It is organised for both men and women’s teams, with rules akin to a T20 tournament.
Eight city-based teams participate in the tournament. These cities are a part of counties with established cricket sides. The eight participating teams in The Hundred are Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.
A team is decided based on a draft system. Each team must have one player who represents England in international cricket. The total strength of the squad including this player is 15. Out of these 15, a team cannot have more than four overseas players. The entire event lasts for nearly a month and each day’s fixture includes a men’s and a women’s match. A team plays four home and four away matches.
A win is worth two points and no points are awarded for a loss. If the match ends with no result, both teams get a point each. If two teams are tied at the same number of points, then the net run-rate acts as a tiebreaker. At the end of the league stage, the table toppers directly qualify for the final. Teams positioned second and third play an eliminator to decide the second finalist.
Since an innings has one hundred balls, some rules are exclusive to this tournament. A 15-minute interval is provided between two innings. If the completion of the first innings is delayed, then the interval is reduced to ten minutes. The bowling side can take a strategic timeout of 90-seconds any time after the first 25 balls of the innings. No bowler can bowl more than four overs and each over lasts five balls. Furthermore, a bowler cannot bowl more than two consecutive overs. Additionally, bowlers are allowed to change ends based on their choice. In contrast, batters cannot change ends at the end of each over.
A no ball is worth two runs. The delivery subsequent to a no ball is a free hit. Field restrictions apply for the first 20 balls of the innings. In this time period, no more than two fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle. On the leg-side, at any stage of the innings, the fielding side cannot have more than five fielders.
A new batter must be ready to face the next delivery within 60 seconds of a batter’s dismissal. The umpire can give a warning to the side on the first instance of a batter getting delayed for this. Should a second instance take place, then the fielding side gets five penalty runs. If a batter takes more than 80 seconds to be on the crease, then they are declared timed out.
As of 2024, Oval Invincibles are the most successful side in The Hundred, winning two titles each in the men’s and the women’s events. In the men’s tournament, James Vince is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 980 runs to his name. The leading wicket-taker is Tymal Mills with 43 wickets. In the women’s tournament, the leading run-scorer is Natalie Sciver-Brunt tops the leaderboard with 967 runs. Amanda-Jade Wellington is the leading wicket-taker with 45 wickets.
