The Hundred is over for 2025. At Lords, last Sunday, the Oval Invincibles men’s team lived up to their name by winning the trophy for the third consecutive year.
The Trent Rockets, winners in 2022, were dispatched in the final. In the women’s final, the Northern Superchargers beat the Southern Brave.
After five years of getting used to the format, the team names and the garish branding, it has seemed that, whisper it softly, the tournament has gained wider acceptability.
Perhaps the determination, bordering on evangelism, of The Hundred’s proponents for it to succeed have browbeaten naysayers into submission. Even I have watched much more of it in person than in previous years.
Record attendances were recorded at four different grounds in 2025, including 22,542 at the women’s final. A total of 580,000 tickets were sold and issued.
The audience demographics were consistent with 2024, with 23 percent junior tickets, 41percent families and 30 percent female buyers. Viewing figures increased in 2025.
In the group stages, Sky Sports’ audience for The Hundred rose by an average of 38 percent compared with 2024. BBC Sport experienced 2.2 million online viewing requests in 2025, up from 1.6 million in 2024.
These metrics speak of success, of a sound base on which to build for the future. Yet, The Hundred’s future is going to be different to its past. How much so will play out over the coming months under the direction of a new board.
This will feature representatives of the England and Wales Cricket Board, the host clubs and investors. The ECB has delegated authority to the board relating to certain aspects of the strategic direction and commercial growth of The Hundred. These include sponsorship and licensing deals, player salaries, player draft and retention conditions.
It is in these areas that changes are anticipated, driven by the new investors. Their combined investment, so far of around $700 million, provides substantial influence.
Until this point, cricket in England and Wales has required the agreement of two-thirds of the constituent counties to implement change. It was always clear, from the beginning of The Hundred concept, that the ECB saw it as a mechanism for diluting the voting power of the counties.
This is now a reality. Even those counties which have retained a 51 percent equity share do not appear to be having things their own way.
A clear case is the Oval Invincibles. It is understood that the name is being consigned to history, replaced by MI London. The Ambani family owns the Mumbai Indians’ global portfolio of franchises. This began in the Indian Premier League and has been extended to MI Cape Town, MI Emirates, MI New York and, imminently, London.
There is disappointment amongst Surrey County members that the name could not retain Oval in its title. It is interpreted as the thin end of the wedge, a sign of things to come, in which a majority shareholding does not convey real power.
Less concern has been expressed about other name changes. The Manchester Originals name will change to incorporate “Super Giants” to bring it into line with the Lucknow and Durban franchises of the RPSG group. The Northern Superchargers name is likely to be adapted by the 100 percent owners, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The influence of the India owners and part owners is likely to go far beyond name changes. Coaches and support teams may be changed to align with their teams in other franchise leagues.
There are rumors that The Hundred’s draft selection system, in which franchises take turns to pick players from a pool, will be replaced with the auction system favored by the IPL.
In turn, this may mean a change to the number of players which can be retained from the 15-person squads. The aim of these systems is to establish competitive balance between squads.
The auction system is more high profile and results in the top players being picked off for eye-watering amounts of money. Its adoption will disrupt the existing teams, a move likely to be unpopular.
The Oval Invincibles, for example, has built its success on its affiliation with the Oval. It has chosen a strong cadre of Surrey players to create a clear identity, retaining this core to generate team spirit and bonding. In recognition of this, supporters have responded by generating an in-match atmosphere that is regarded by commentators as the best on the circuit.
Yet this successful team is at risk of being ripped up. The prospect may please its rivals, but there is a risk of too much change creating confusion for audiences.
The Hundred has a one-month duration, unlike the IPL, which lasts for two months. By the time that people have begun to be accustomed to team compositions, The Hundred is almost over. How much heed the new board will take over warnings not to change too much too soon is unknown.
It has other weighty considerations. One is how it taps into the Indian market, which is four-and-a-half hours ahead of the UK. Currently, men’s matches, which follow the women’s, are scheduled to end around 9 p.m. BST.
Another consideration is the number of overseas players who will be attracted or allowed. Currently, each squad is permitted three overseas players. It has proved difficult to attract the volume of top men’s players, largely because of competing T20 tournaments elsewhere or national commitments.
The big question centers on Indian players. If centrally contracted in India, they are not permitted to play in any franchise league, other than the IPL. The presence and influence of Indian owners in The Hundred may start to shift the debate.
In the short term, the example of Ravichandran Ashwin is the most likely model. He has retired from international cricket and declared an ambition to be an “explorer of the game around (the) various leagues.” It is rumored that his first exploration may be the Big Bash League in Australia.
August 2025 marks the end of the beginning for The Hundred. It has survived apathy, suspicion, ridicule and aggressive opposition, bordering on detest.
Despite the format being played nowhere else in the world, it has succeeded in what many thought to be its real purpose, that of attracting external investment into the English and Welsh game. The price to be paid for that outcome will now unfold at the hands of the new owners.
Undoubtedly, The Hundred 2026 will herald in a new era, with significant implications for both audience and player retention, not to mention its potential impact on the structure and shape of the domestic game.
Much depends on the power dynamics of The Hundred’s new board during this stage of transition.
