Cricket's new competition promises a first for UK women's sport

The Hundred - a new eight team 100-ball-a-side competition - will begin on July 21, becoming the first UK team sporting event to launch men’s and women’s competitions alongside each other and headline with a women’s match.
The original launch of The Hundred - which was supposed to make its debut last yearThe original launch of The Hundred - which was supposed to make its debut last year
The original launch of The Hundred - which was supposed to make its debut last year

The Kia Oval will host the tournament opener as the Oval Invincibles will face the Manchester Originals in the women's competition. The men's opener following the next day.

Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred Women’s Competition, explained her joy as the Hundred puts “gender balance at its heart”.

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“Opening The Hundred with a standalone women’s match represents a historic moment, not just for cricket and women’s cricket, but more widely," she explained. “We are really proud to be able to make this announcement, and I cannot wait to see our brilliant female players walk out at the Kia Oval on 21 July. The schedule really epitomises how The Hundred is changing the game”.

The Hundred, which aims to open up cricket to more families and young people, will run the men's and women's competitions alongside each other. Excluding the first two matches, the men's and women's teams will be playing on the same day, at the same venue, with fans able to see both games with just one ticket.

The women’s and men’s eliminator will take place at the Kia Oval on August 20. Both the men’s and women’s finals will take place day later at Lords. A full fixture list can be found below.

The entire tournament will be televised live on Sky, with extensive coverage of 10 men's games and eight live women's matches - including the women's tournament opener and men's finals - aired on the BBC.

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The tournament features eight brand new teams based across the UK. These include Welsh Fire (Cardiff), Southern Brave (Southampton), Northern Superchargers (Leeds), London Spirit, Trent Rockets (Nottingham), Oval Invincibles (London), Manchester Originals and Birmingham Phoenix.

Each game of The Hundred will last less than three hours as a new shorter format of cricket is introduced. Each team has 100 balls; simply, the team with the most runs in their innings wins.

Sussex CCC fans will be able to see plenty of their counties' stars in action.

White-ball skipper Luke Wright will travel north to play for the Trent Rockets. The Sussex bowling quartet of Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills and George Garton will all be playing for Southern Brave after also being retained.

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Phil Salt (Manchester Originals) and Rashid Khan (Trent Rockets) will also be involved in the 100-ball-a-side competition. Likewise, the highly coveted Ollie Robinson could also play in the competition with the final places in the Mens' Hundred squads being announced throughout today (Feb 23).

In the women's competition, Sussex's Freya Davies heads to the London Spirit, Linsey Smith will represent the Northern Superchargers and Nancy Harman makes her way to the Trent Rockets. They join a host of previously retained Sussex players including Danni Wyatt and Paige Schofield, who will both play for the Southern Brave.

Tickets to The Hundred go on general sale on April 21.

Full list of fixtures (all are both men’s and women’s matches unless stated).

21 July Oval Invincibles v Manchester Originals (women’s), Kia Oval

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22 July Oval Invincibles v Manchester Originals (men’s), Kia Oval

23 July Birmingham Phoenix v London Spirit, Edgbaston

24 July Trent Rockets v Southern Brave, Trent Bridge

Northern Superchargers v Welsh Fire, Emerald Headingley

25 July London Spirit v Oval Invincibles, Lord’s

Manchester Originals v Birmingham Phoenix, Emirates Old Trafford

26 July Trent Rockets v Northern Superchargers, Trent Bridge

27 July Welsh Fire v Southern Brave, Sophia Gardens

28 July Manchester Originals v Northern Superchargers, Emirates Old Trafford

29 July London Spirit v Trent Rockets, Lord’s

30 July Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix, Ageas Bowl

31 July Welsh Fire v Manchester Originals, Sophia Gardens

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Northern Superchargers v Oval Invincibles, Emerald Headingley

1 August Birmingham Phoenix v Trent Rockets, Egdbaston

London Spirit v Southern Brave, Lord’s

2 August Oval Invincibles v Welsh Fi, Kia Oval

3 August London Spirit v Northern Superchargers, Lord’s

4 August Birmingham Phoenix v Oval Invincibles, Edgbaston

5 August Manchester Originals v Southern Brave, Emirates Old Trafford

6 August Welsh Fire v Trent Rockets, Sophia Gardens

7 August Southern Brave v Northern Superchargers, Ageas Bowl

8 August Oval Invincibles v Trent Rockets, Kia Oval

9 August Birmingham Phoenix v Welsh Fire, Edgbaston

10 August Manchester Originals v London Spirit, Emirates Old Trafford

11 August Southern Brave v Welsh Fire, Ageas Bowl

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12 August Northern Superchargers v Manchester Originals, Emerald Headingley

13 August Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix, Trent Bridge

14 August Oval Invincibles v London Spirit, Kia Oval

15 August Trent Rockets v Manchester Originals, Trent Bridge

16 August Southern Brave v Oval Invincibles, Ageas Bowl

17 August Northern Superchargers v Birmingham Phoenix, Emerald Headingley

18 August Welsh Fire v London Spirit, Sophia Gardens

20 August Women's and Men's Eliminator, Kia Oval

21 August Men's and Women's Finals, Lord’s

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