The fourth season of The Hundred begins next Tuesday with men's and women's fixtures between Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix at The Oval.
The Invincibles Men won their first 100-ball title last season, while Southern Brave Women beat Northern Superchargers to lift the trophy and this summer's finals will take place at Lord's on Sunday, August 18.
- OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN TO WIN THE HUNDRED
- NICHOLAS POORAN TOP TOURNAMENT RUNSCORER
- TRENT ROCKETS MEN TO FINISH BOTTOM
- BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX WOMEN TO WIN THE HUNDRED
- GRACE HARRIS TOP LONDON SPIRIT WOMEN RUNSCORER
Defending Champions Look Strong
Oval Invincibles Men were worthy winners of The Hundred last season, losing only one of their nine matches on their way to the title.
They topped the league standings to earn a spot in the final at Lord's, where their bowlers subdued a powerful Manchester Originals batting line-up.
The Originals had racked up 201-3 in their Eliminator win over Southern Brave, but they fell 14 runs short in the final after Tom Curran's unbeaten 67 powered the Invincibles to 161-5.
Curran had come in at number seven with his side reeling at 34-5 and that batting depth makes the defending champions hard to beat in 2024.
England internationals Dawid Malan and Will Jacks should score plenty of runs at the top of the order and Sam Billings and Jordan Cox are dynamic middle-order batters.
Skipper Billings also has a top-class pace attack at his disposal. The Curran brothers, Tom and Sam, are joined by England's latest Test star Gus Atkinson and Australia left-armer Spencer Johnson, who took three wickets for one run from 20 balls in last year's league win over the Originals.
Aussie leg-spinner Adam Zampa is one of the world's best T20 bowlers and his return to The Oval can help the Invincibles maintain their high standards.
OVAL INVINCIBLES MEN TO WIN THE HUNDRED
Pooran Should Shine For Superchargers
Northern Superchargers finished bottom of the table last season and are hoping for a fresh start under the captaincy of Harry Brook.
The Superchargers' 2023 struggles meant they received first pick at The Hundred player draft and coach Andrew Flintoff chose to snap up West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran.
That signing could prove to be a masterstroke, especially as Brook and Ben Stokes are set to miss the start of the tournament due to England's Test series against the Windies.
Pooran had a magnificent IPL campaign with Lucknow Super Giants, demonstrating why he is one of the most in-demand batters in T20 franchise tournaments.
He scored 499 runs in 14 innings at a strike-rate of 178 runs per 100 balls and showcased his talents again at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
The West Indies missed out on the semi-finals, but Pooran was comfortably their leading runscorer and his blistering innings of 98 off 53 balls against Afghanistan, featuring eight sixes, was the highest individual score of the tournament.
NICHOLAS POORAN TOP TOURNAMENT RUNSCORER
Bet On The Hundred
Rockets May Struggle
Trent Rockets Men won The Hundred in 2022, but lost four of their seven completed matches last season to finish a disappointing fifth in the table.
The Rockets may struggle to improve on that effort and, with the Superchargers, London Spirit and Welsh Fire squads all looking stronger in 2024, it could be worth backing them to finish bottom of the standings.
They still have some quality players in their ranks, notably Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan, but openers Alex Hales and Adam Lyth are aged 35 and 36, while Sam Hain and Joe Root are touch players rather than power-hitters in the middle-order.
Ollie Robinson, discarded by England's Test selectors, has questions to answer in this format and the Rockets have lost last season's two leading runscorers, Colin Munro and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, as well as their top wicket-taker Daniel Sams.
TRENT ROCKETS MEN TO FINISH BOTTOM
Perry's Phoenix To Exceed Expectations
Birmingham Phoenix Women had a woeful campaign in 2023, when their only point in eight matches came from a washout against Trent Rockets.
There were mitigating circumstances as Australia legend Ellyse Perry was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury and the Phoenix suffered a series of narrow defeats.
They lost their final game by 73 runs against London Spirit but their previous four results were three-run losses to the Rockets, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire and a ten-run defeat to Oval Invincibles.
Manchester Originals needed 99 balls to overhaul a target of 88 against Birmingham and the Phoenix should start turning tight defeats into wins with Perry, the leading runscorer in this year's WPL in India, fit to captain them.
New Zealand veterans Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine are solid overseas signings and India youngster Richa Ghosh is one of the most exciting prospects in world cricket.
With England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones and fast bowler Issy Wong also in the squad, the Phoenix may well exceed modest pre-season expectations.
BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX WOMEN TO WIN THE HUNDRED
Hard-Hitting Harris To Lead London Charge
Australia's Grace Harris had a lean runscoring campaign for London Spirit last season before exploding into life with 87 off 47 balls in the final league fixture against Birmingham Phoenix.
The Australia international is arguably the hardest hitter in the game and she will be determined to produce the goods on a more consistent basis this summer.
Harris's 2023 exploits included a stunning unbeaten 136 off 59 deliveries for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash - the highest individual score in the competition's history.
She is the first player to score two WBBL centuries and she cracked 188 from 138 balls for UP Warriorz in this year's WPL in India.
Harris usually bats in the middle-order for Australia's T20 team, for whom she scored 132 runs off just 65 deliveries in a series in India in December 2022.
However, her 87 against the Phoenix last summer came as an opener, while she also made 47 at the top of the order for the Aussies against Bangladesh in April, so she is well worth backing to be London Spirit's leading runscorer.
GRACE HARRIS TOP LONDON SPIRIT WOMEN RUNSCORER
