The Hundred 2026 season in one paragraph
The Hundred 2026 was the sixth season of the England and Wales Cricket Board's 100-ball competition, and the first played under new ownership. It ran from 21 July to 16 August 2026, with 34 men's matches across eight grounds in England and Wales. Manchester Super Giants — Manchester Originals until the RPSG Group took a 70 per cent stake — won their first title, chasing 159 at Lord's with two balls to spare. Tim Seifert made 72 from 38 in the final and was named both player of the match and player of the tournament. Trent Rockets, who topped the group by two clear points, lost the one match that mattered most.
Three teams changed their names
The 2026 season was the first in which the eight teams were run by their new owners rather than by the ECB, and three of them arrived with different names on the shirt. Oval Invincibles, men's champions in each of the previous three seasons, became MI London after Reliance Industries bought their 49 per cent stake. Northern Superchargers became Sunrisers Leeds after Sun TV Network purchased the club outright. Manchester Originals became Manchester Super Giants under RPSG. Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire kept their names, and every side kept its home ground.
The competition format did not move. Eight teams, eight group games each — four at home, four away, one against every other side plus an extra fixture against the nearest regional rival. The top three went through, second played third in an eliminator at The Oval, and the winner met the group leaders in the final at Lord's.
The Hundred 2026 group stage
Trent Rockets set the pace and never really lost it. They opened by conceding 214 to Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston — the highest total of the season — and still came within 10 runs of chasing it, then won six of their next seven. Ben Duckett took three player-of-the-match awards in the group stage and finished with 306 runs.
Sunrisers Leeds were the most watchable side. Mitchell Marsh scored 416 runs, more than anyone else in the competition, and Leeds posted 241 for 2 against London Spirit at Headingley on 4 August, the highest score of the 2026 season. Ryan Rickelton, with 291 runs at a top score of 94 not out, gave them a second front.
Manchester Super Giants took the harder route. They lost three of five in the middle of the group — to Sunrisers Leeds, Trent Rockets and MI London in consecutive matches — and needed to win their last three to finish second. They did: a nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire, 10 runs over Southern Brave, and a 10-wicket demolition of Sunrisers Leeds at Headingley on 11 August, chasing 128 without losing a wicket in 67 balls.
MI London finished fourth on net run rate, one place and 0.362 outside the knockouts, despite matching Manchester and Leeds on 20 points. Their last group game — a two-run win over Birmingham Phoenix at The Oval on 12 August, with Richard Gleeson taking the player-of-the-match award — was not enough. The defending champions, under a new name, missed the knockouts for the first time.
Birmingham Phoenix won once in eight, on the opening weekend, and finished last with four points.
The eliminator: Manchester Super Giants beat Sunrisers Leeds by 20 runs
At The Oval on 14 August, Paul Walter hit 80 from 46 balls to take Manchester Super Giants to 186 for 4. Josh Tongue then took 4 for 26 to stop the chase 20 short, despite Rickelton's 54 not out. Tongue was player of the match and ended the season on 14 wickets, level with Gleeson at the top of the men's list.
The Hundred 2026 final: Manchester Super Giants beat Trent Rockets by 5 wickets
Lord's, 16 August 2026. Manchester Super Giants won the toss and bowled. Trent Rockets made 158 for 8 from their 100 balls — Aneurin Donald's 38 from 19 the fastest contribution, Noor Ahmad taking 3 for 33. Manchester needed 159.
Tim Seifert made 72 from 38 with seven sixes and effectively settled it, though Mohammad Amir's 3 for 29 dragged the Rockets back into the game late. Manchester got there with two balls to spare, 162 for 5, and won The Hundred for the first time in the competition's six seasons. It was the first men's or women's Hundred trophy for a Manchester side, and it ended Oval Invincibles' — now MI London's — three-year hold on the men's title.
Who won what in The Hundred 2026
- Champions: Manchester Super Giants (first title)
- Runners-up: Trent Rockets
- Player of the tournament: Tim Seifert (Manchester Super Giants)
- Most runs: Mitchell Marsh, 416 for Sunrisers Leeds, high score 76
- Most wickets: Josh Tongue (Manchester Super Giants) and Richard Gleeson (MI London), 14 each
- Highest team total: Sunrisers Leeds 241/2 v London Spirit, Headingley, 4 August
- Biggest win: Manchester Super Giants by 87 runs v Birmingham Phoenix, Old Trafford, 26 July