The Hundred’s defending champions will be the first men’s and women’s sides back into action as the competition returns this summer to thrill crowds with fast-past cricket and even more family entertainment.
Inaugural men’s winners Southern Brave will welcome Welsh Fire to the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday 3 August for the first match of the action-packed competition, which begins this year with a round of men’s derbies. The following day sees the men’s London derby between Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, before Manchester Originals host Northern Superchargers on August 5 and then Trent Rockets meet Birmingham Phoenix on August 6.
The Hundred is a key part of an incredibly exciting summer for the women’s game, with women’s cricket featuring in the Commonwealth Games for the very first time. As a result, The Hundred women’s competition will get underway after the conclusion of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, on Thursday 11 August.
Defending women’s champions Oval Invincibles will take on Northern Superchargers in the opening women’s clash, which marks the first men’s and women’s double header of the competition. The women’s teams will take the evening slot at The Kia Oval, after the men play mid-afternoon.
From then on, every matchday will see women’s and men’s teams playing at the same ground on the same day, after the double header format proved a hit last year, with a record-breaking 267,000 people attending the women’s matches across the competition.
Last year’s women’s finalists will meet for the first time on Sunday 14 August with Southern Brave travelling to take on Oval Invincibles at the Kia Oval.
Due to the delayed start of the women’s competition because of the clash with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, for this summer only, the women’s group stage will consist of six matches per team, with the men’s teams playing eight.
The group stages will end on Wednesday 31 August before the second and third placed men’s and women’s teams face each other at the Ageas Bowl in The Hundred Eliminator on Friday 2 September. The winners will face the top ranked men’s and women’s team in The Hundred Final on Saturday 3 September at Lord’s.
Fans will be able to get their hands on tickets in two priority windows, firstly for 2021 tickets holders, attendees and Northamptonshire Season Ticket Holders in late February and a second window on 31 March for anyone who has signed up via thehundred.com. Tickets will then go on general sale on 20 April.
Games will once again be broadcast live on Sky Sports and BBC throughout the competition after more than 16m tuned in to watch The Hundred on TV alone in 2021.
The first year of The Hundred saw 510,000 tickets sold and issued as the competition welcomed new and existing fans. Grounds across the country posted sell-outs and 19% of all tickets sold were for under 16s. 55% of ticket buyers for The Hundred hadn’t bought a ticket for cricket in this country before while attendances across the competition were the highest for a women’s cricket event globally ever.