CricPulse
The Hundred’s 2026 season started on 21 July at the Kennington Oval, and it arrived with more off-field change than any season since the competition launched in 2021. There’s a first-ever player auction replacing the old draft, three teams playing under new names and new IPL-linked owners, salary pools that jumped sharply for both the men’s and women’s competitions, and the same condensed, sets-of-five scoring format that still confuses plenty of players and club scorers seeing it up close for the first time. This guide covers both halves of that story: what actually changed for 2026, and how the format’s rules work if you’re scoring, following, or picking a fantasy team around it.
What’s New in The Hundred for 2026
Four changes define this season, and they’re worth understanding together because they’re connected — the auction, the ownership shifts, and the salary increases all happened in the same off-season overhaul.
A first-ever player auction
Since its first edition, The Hundred allocated players to teams through a draft with fixed salary tiers. For 2026, that changed to an auction model, held over two days in March, where teams bid for players within a salary cap rather than picking from tiers. Teams could lock in up to four players before the auction through pre-auction signings — a maximum of three direct signings (which had to be overseas players or England centrally contracted players) plus one retention of any player — before the rest of each squad was built at auction.
Bigger salary pools, more overseas players
The overall salary pool for each team in the men’s competition rose sharply for 2026, and the women’s competition pool roughly doubled — the largest single-season increase since the competition began. Alongside the money, the overseas player allowance grew from three to four per XI, and squads now run 16 to 18 players deep. For fans and fantasy players, that combination means noticeably different-looking XIs than in past seasons, even at clubs that kept their name and colors.
Three teams rebranded under IPL ownership
All eight Hundred franchises now have outside investment, and three changed their identity entirely to mirror an IPL sister franchise:
| New name (2026) | Previous name | Linked IPL franchise |
|---|---|---|
| MI London | Oval Invincibles | Mumbai Indians |
| Sunrisers Leeds | Northern Superchargers | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Manchester Super Giants | Manchester Originals | Lucknow Super Giants (70% stake) |
The kit changes followed the ownership: MI London swapped the Invincibles’ green for Mumbai’s blue and gold, Sunrisers Leeds moved from purple to orange, and Manchester Super Giants adopted the red-and-blue stripes associated with Lucknow. The other five franchises — Birmingham Phoenix, Trent Rockets, Welsh Fire, Southern Brave, and London Spirit — kept their existing names for this season.
The Hundred’s Format and Scoring Rules, Explained
Team news aside, the actual gameplay is what causes confusion for anyone new to the format — including club players and scorers who’ve only ever worked with traditional six-ball overs. Here is the format broken down rule by rule.
100 balls per side, not 20 overs
Each innings is a fixed 100 balls, not a fixed number of six-ball overs. That sounds like a small distinction from a 20-over T20 innings (120 balls), but it changes both the total runs on offer and how bowlers are used through the innings.
Deliveries come in sets of five, not overs of six
Instead of the familiar six-ball over, The Hundred is bowled in sets of five balls. A bowler delivers a set of five, and the captain can choose to have the same bowler continue for a second consecutive set of five (effectively ten balls in a row) before ends and bowlers must change. This is the single biggest adjustment for scorers used to over-based scoresheets — ball counts don’t line up with “overs completed” the way they do in the six-ball game. If you’re scoring a hybrid or trial version of this format for a club match, CricPulse’s Over-to-Ball Converter is a fast way to sanity-check ball totals against a traditional over count while you get used to it.
Bowling limits
Each bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls in an innings — the equivalent of four traditional six-ball overs’ worth of deliveries, though in practice it’s delivered as two sets of ten (or four sets of five).
Powerplay
Each side gets a 25-ball powerplay at the start of its innings, during which only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle — a shorter, sharper restriction window than a T20 powerplay’s six overs (36 balls).
No-balls and free hits
No-balls carry the same penalty logic as T20 cricket: one penalty run, plus a free hit on the next delivery. The mechanics of a free hit — and how mode-of-dismissal rules narrow on that ball — are identical to the T20 game, so anything you already know from T20 cricket strategy carries over directly.
Points system
The Hundred uses a straightforward points table: 4 points for a win, 2 points each for a tie, no-result, or abandoned match, and 0 points for a loss. With eight teams and each side playing eight group matches before the knockouts, table positions can shift quickly on net run rate once a couple of results go against a team — worth tracking with a dedicated points table calculator if you’re following the standings closely through the group stage.
2026 Schedule at a Glance
- Tournament window: 21 July to 16 August 2026
- Opening match: MI London vs. Sunrisers Leeds at Kennington Oval
- Group stage: each of the eight teams plays eight matches, running through 12 August
- Finals: played at Lord’s to close the competition
- 34 total matches across the men’s and women’s competitions combined
What the Auction Shake-Up Means for Fantasy Teams
For fantasy players, the auction is the headline change worth acting on. Draft-based rosters in past seasons were fairly predictable year to year; an auction with a 45%-plus bigger salary pool and a fourth overseas slot per XI means several squads look meaningfully different from 2025 — new overseas signings batting higher in the order, previously squeezed domestic all-rounders getting more balls, and pre-auction retentions concentrating star power on a handful of sides. Before locking in a fantasy team for The Hundred, it’s worth revisiting current-form captain logic rather than assuming last year’s picks still apply — our fantasy cricket captain picks strategy guide walks through the role-and-opportunity framework that matters most when a competition’s rosters have just been reshuffled this heavily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Hundred the same as a T20 match?
No. T20 is 20 six-ball overs (120 balls) per side; The Hundred is a fixed 100 balls per side, bowled in sets of five rather than overs of six, with its own powerplay and bowler-limit rules described above.
Why did three Hundred teams change their names for 2026?
Oval Invincibles, Northern Superchargers, and Manchester Originals renamed themselves to MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, and Manchester Super Giants respectively after taking on ownership stakes from Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants, and adopted kit colors to match their new owners.
How does The Hundred’s auction work?
Teams could lock in up to four players before the auction (a maximum of three direct signings of overseas or England centrally contracted players, plus one retention of any player), then bid for the rest of their squad against a team salary cap over a two-day auction in March 2026.
How many points does a win give in The Hundred?
A win is worth 4 points. A tie, no-result, or abandoned match gives both sides 2 points each, and a loss is worth 0 points.
Can club or local leagues use The Hundred’s format?
Some clubs run Hundred-style exhibition or training-night formats for variety, particularly to fit shorter evening windows. If you’re scoring one, the main adjustment is tracking balls bowled in sets of five (with the captain’s option to extend to ten) rather than by traditional overs — CricPulse’s ball-by-ball scoring handles either counting method, so you’re not stuck retrofitting an over-based scoresheet onto a balls-based format.
The Bottom Line
The Hundred’s 2026 season is as much a business and ownership story as a cricket one: an auction replacing the draft, three renamed teams under IPL-linked owners, and the biggest salary jump the competition has seen, especially in the women’s game. But the on-field product is still the same fast, sets-of-five format that rewards understanding its scoring quirks — points, powerplay length, and bowler limits — before you follow the table or set a fantasy XI. Whichever side of the format you’re tracking it from, getting the ball-counting and points-table mechanics right early makes the rest of the season easier to follow.