| 2021 season of The Hundred | |
| Fromdate: | 21 July |
| Todate: | 21 August 2021 |
| Administrator: | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Cricket Format: | 100-ball cricket |
| Tournament Format: | Group stage and knockout |
| Champions: | M: Southern Brave (1st title) W: Oval Invincibles (1st title) |
| Participants: | W: 8 M: 8 |
| Matches: | 68 W: 34 M: 34 |
| Player Of The Series: | W: Dane van Niekerk (Oval Invincibles) M: Liam Livingstone (Birmingham Phoenix) |
| Most Runs: | W: Dane van Niekerk (Oval Invincibles) (259) M: Liam Livingstone (Birmingham Phoenix) (348) |
| Most Wickets: | W: Tash Farrant (Oval Invincibles) (18) M: Four players (12)[1] |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Next Tournament: | 2022 The Hundred season |
| Website: | The Hundred |
The 2021 season of The Hundred was the inaugural season of The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament involving eight men's and women's teams located in major cities across England and Wales. The tournament was run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and took place for the first time, having been delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
The tournament gave equal weight to both men's and women's sides, with almost all the matches taking place as back-to-back double-headers at the same venue on the same day, with one ticket giving access to both the men's and women's games.[3]
One-hundred-ball cricket is a form of limited overs cricket, played by two teams each playing a single innings made up of 100 deliveries.[4] [5]
The format of the game is:
The eight teams competing in the 2021 season are new franchises, operating separately from the existing county cricket clubs. Each represents a large area of England and Wales, with venues chosen for their locations in major cities.[9] [10] [11] Andy Flower replaced Stephen Fleming as the coach of Trent Rockets (men) and Jonathan Batty replaced Lydia Greenway as the coach of Oval Invincibles (women) before the start of the season.[12]
Eight city-based teams competed for the men's and women's titles over a month between 21 July and 21 August 2021, ensuring that the competition took place during the school summer holidays. Aside from the opening two fixtures featuring the Oval Invincibles vs the Manchester Originals, all men's and women's matches were held on the same day at the same grounds.
There were 64 matches in the league stage (32 men's, 32 women's). Each team played four matches at home and four matches away. This included one match against every other side and then a second bonus match against their nearest regional rivals.[13]
Once the league stage was completed the top three teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the ultimate champions. The second and third teams met in a semi-final, which was played at the Oval. The winner of the semi-final then met the team that finished top of the league in the final at Lord's.[14]
Each squad was made up of 15 players, of whom a maximum of three could be overseas players. Players were signed using a draft system common in other franchise leagues. Two of the 15 players came from players who performed well in the T20 Blast.[9] At least one England Test player was signed to each of the eight men's teams competing in The Hundred.[15]
On 3 October 2019 the first players to be allocated to teams were announced.[16] They were as follows:
| Team | England women's central contracted players | England men's central contract player | Men's local icons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moeen Ali, Pat Brown | ||||
| Eoin Morgan, Dan Lawrence | ||||
| Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson | ||||
| Adil Rashid, David Willey | ||||
| Jason Roy, Tom Curran | ||||
| James Vince, Chris Jordan | ||||
| Alex Hales, Harry Gurney | ||||
| Welsh Fire (Welsh: Tân Cymreig) | Tom Banton, Colin Ingram |
The draft took place on 20 October 2019 at Sky Studios in Osterley.[17] Sky Sports and BBC Sport showed the event live.[18] [19]
All games were televised by Sky Sports, with the BBC also showing 10 men's and 8 women's games free-to-air.[20] Sky also showed all of the women's games and some of the men's games in full on its YouTube channel.[21]
advances to the Final
advances to the Eliminator
advances to the Final
advances to the Eliminator
------------------------------------------------
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| + Women | ||||
| Runs | Player | Team | High score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 259 | 67 not out | |||
| 249 | 92 not out | |||
| 244 | 58 not out | |||
| 233 | 64 | |||
| 221 | 71 not out |
| + Men | ||||
| Runs | Player | Team | High score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 348 | 92 not out | |||
| 232 | 65 | |||
| 229 | 60 | |||
| 225 | 59 | |||
| 214 | 80 |
| + Women | |||
| Wickets | Player | Team | Best bowling |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 4/10 | ||
| 15 | 4/15 | ||
| 15 | 3/14 | ||
| 14 | 4/12 | ||
| 12 | 3/19 | ||
| + Men | ||||
| Wickets | Player | Team | Best bowling | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 3/15 | |||
| 12 | 5/20 | |||
| 12 | 3/13 | |||
| 12 | 3/16 | |||
| 11 | 2/12 |