The Hundred 2026 - schedule and how to follow

The Hundred is a white-ball cricket tournament designed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to attract more investment and diverse audiences to the game.

It was due to launch in 2020 but delayed by a year following the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are eight teams in the competition, with each representing cities of the UK, rather than the traditional county structure.

Prior to the investment the eight teams were called: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.

Three have changed name with Manchester Originals becoming Manchester Super Giants, Northern Superchargers changing to Sunrisers Leeds and Oval Invincibles now MI London. All three of those sides have investment from groups linked to India's IPL and their names have changed in line with those teams.

For the first time in UK sporting history, a draft was used to build the 16 squads after an initial direct-signing window.

The men's and women's tournaments run simultaneously and each match sees both team bat for 100 balls, with the highest score winning.

Each bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls each, and in five or 10-ball sets.

A powerplay - a section of the innings where the fielding side are only allowed two fielders on the boundary - lasts 25 balls per innings.

Matches are designed to last for two-and-a-half hours in total, making it the fastest format of the game played in the UK and more attractive to TV broadcasters.

As well as a men's and women's table, there will be a new combined table and trophy from the 2026 season.

You will be able to follow the tournament across the BBC.

There will also be 16 matches live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Isa Guha, Alex Hartley and Amber Sandhu will present the coverage with Michael Vaughan, Sir Alastair Cook and Phil Tufnell returning as pundits.

New faces include England Test opener Emilio Gay and seamer Mark Wood, while former India batter Ajinkya Rahane and New Zealand wicketkeeper Katey Martin will also be involved.

World Cup winners Tymal Mills, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Dawid Malan, Amanda Jade-Wellington and Carlos Brathwaite will also be part of the coverage.

There will be ball-by-ball audio commentary on all 68 matches on BBC Sounds, with extensive coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra.

The BBC Sport website and app will have reports on every game and daily video highlights of the best moments, while there will be live text commentary and in-play video clips on the Eliminator and finals.

The BBC Cricket Instagram, external account will also have all the best moments, plus you can keep up to date with the competition via the BBC Cricket WhatsApp channel, external.

The BBC Sport YouTube, external will have highlights throughout the tournament and keep an eye out for 'Ravi meets' - a new feature with a partially sighted cricket fan who took BBC Sport's social channels, external by storm in the summer of 2025.

Every game is live on Sky Sports.

The Hundred 2026 on BBC TV

Times are BST and subject to change (women's game first, then men's)

Tuesday, 21 July: MI London v Sunrisers Leeds (14:45 & 18:30)

Wednesday, 22 July: Southern Brave v Welsh Fire (15:00 & 18:30)

Sunday, 26 July: Trent Rockets v London Spirit (14:30 & 18:00)

Sunday, 2 August: MI London v Manchester Super Giants (14:30 & 18:00)

Tuesday, 4 August: Sunrisers Leeds v London Spirit (15:00 & 18:30)

Wednesday, 5 August: Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix (15:00 & 18:30)

Sunday, 9 August: London Spirit v Birmingham Phoenix (14:30 & 18:00)

Sunday, 16 August: Finals (14:15 & 18:00)