Rain first, cricket later
The third men's Hundred opened on 1 August and spent a fortnight under cloud. Four of the opening eleven matches finished without a result. One was washed out before a ball was bowled at Edgbaston, another abandoned with Southern Brave 34 for 3 at Lord's, and Welsh Fire's win over Manchester Originals in Cardiff was squeezed into 40 balls a side. For a competition whose central promise is a fast, reliable evening out, a run like that does more damage than a stretch of dull cricket would.
What followed was the strongest season the men's competition had produced. Jos Buttler made 391 runs for Manchester Originals, the highest aggregate in any Hundred season to that point. Harry Brook hit 105 not out from 42 balls for Northern Superchargers at Headingley and finished on the losing side, Welsh Fire chasing 159 with eight wickets standing. Calvin Harrison took 5 for 11 at Old Trafford, the best figures recorded in the competition. Tymal Mills took a hat-trick in Cardiff on his way to 16 wickets, more than anyone managed.
Oval Invincibles set the pace
Invincibles lost once. One defeat, one tie against Welsh Fire at The Oval, six wins, and a run of narrow margins that suggested a side comfortable in tight finishes rather than one dominating. They won by two runs against London Spirit, by nine at Headingley, by eight at the Rose Bowl. Sam Billings' team had lost the 2021 Eliminator and missed out entirely in 2022. This time they finished top and went straight to Lord's.
The Eliminator produced the highest scoring in the competition's short history. Southern Brave made 196 for 1 at The Oval and lost, Manchester Originals chasing it down with four balls to spare, Buttler making 82 from 46. Manchester had reached back-to-back finals.
Curran's evening
The final turned on one innings. Oval Invincibles were labouring at Lord's until Tom Curran came in and made 67 not out from 34 balls, dragging the total to 161 for 5 on a pitch that had not looked like offering that. Manchester Originals needed a partnership and never built one. Will Jacks took 2 for 11 from his 15 balls, Max Holden's 37 was the top score, and Invincibles won by 14 runs for their first men's title. Jamie Overton was named player of the tournament for Manchester, 202 runs and three wickets, which was a fair summary of a competition that rewarded players capable of doing two jobs.
Records, and the same old question
Total attendance across both competitions reached roughly 580,000 and the ECB announced record ticket sales alongside improved television figures. London Spirit averaged over 14,000 at Lord's. Welsh Fire, still without a title and still the hardest sell of the eight, averaged under 6,500.
Three seasons in, the competition had established that it could fill grounds in August and that it had funded a professional women's game which did not previously exist. It had not persuaded its critics. The county complaint by 2023 was less about 100 balls than about what the calendar had become: a Blast finished by mid-July, a One-Day Cup played in August without recognisable names, and a County Championship squeezed to the shoulders of the season. Supporters of The Hundred replied that the alternative was a domestic structure with no broadcast deal worth the name and no money to pay women cricketers. That argument was not resolved in 2023, and it has not been resolved since.