Three days on from winning the T20 Blast title with The Blaze, Grace Ballinger, now of the Manchester Super Giants, takes a closer look at The Hundred which starts on Tuesday.
New team names, new kits, new owners – the 2026 edition of The Hundred is here!
Slightly earlier than last year, this edition of The Hundred kicks off in London on Tuesday, where two of the teams bought by IPL franchises, MI London and Sunrisers Leeds, will face each other at The Oval.
The Hundred looks different to how it has for the past few years, and nobody, players included, really knows how it will play out.
This is the first year of privatisation within the tournament. Whilst it was previously centrally owned by the ECB, the eight teams are now all owned independently, after the host counties had the option to sell either the entirety, or part, of their side to independent buyers.
This privatisation manifests itself in many ways, but the essence of the tournament has remained the same.
The eight host grounds have stayed, and some teams have kept their original names.
Many of the brands that have been built over the past few years, on the other hand, have been totally transformed.
When the privatisation was announced, I was not really sure how it would affect me as a player.
The one inarguable benefit for the players, especially in the female game, is the jump in salaries.
For instance, my salary last year was £16,000, and this summer it has increased to £42,500 for the tournament.
The only other thing that has been apparent so far, is instead of everything being centrally managed by the ECB, management is now under the control of the independent franchises.
For example, last year every kit was New Balance, whereas this year, there are a range of kit brands.