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The fourth edition of The Hundred is now well underway in England and Wales.
Despite its controversial format—a departure from the normal T20 competitions that have proliferated all over the world—the competition has proved to be successful, both with the paying public and television audiences.
There is even more riding on this year than previously, The ECB have spoken to outside groups like NFL and Indian Premier League team owners about investing in the tournament ahead of next year, so this is their best chance to drive up the price.
It is also unique because the men's and the women's tournaments run parallel. In franchise leagues like the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League, the women's event precedes the men's.
Meanwhile, SA20 and the PSL have yet to establish a separate women's tournament, although it is in the works for both.
In terms of the men, the competition has had three different winners so far.
The inaugural winners were Southern Brave, which defeated Birmingham Phoenix in the final at Lord's in 2021. The Trent Rockets claimed the title the following year, beating the Manchester Originals.
And, last year, the Originals again had to settle for the runners-up spot, beaten this time by the Oval Invincibles.
The Invincibles had established themselves as the dominant force in the early years of the women's event, winning the first two finals against the Southern Brave.
However, the Brave made up for those earlier disappointments by winning last year's final, defeating the Northern Superchargers.
All sides will play eight games in the group stages, seven against the other teams in the league and a bonus game against their nearest geographic rivals. The team that tops the table progresses to the final at Lord's on 18 August.
The sides that finish second and third will contest an Eliminator game on 17 August.
Due to international commitments, several franchises began the competition without some of their star names. However, with the conclusion of England's test series against the West Indies, Major League Cricket, and the Women's Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, they are returning to their full complement.
(Teams were allowed to bring in temporary replacements until they could join their respective squads. Unlike male franchise leagues, the BCCI does allow its female cricketers to take part in this competition, which explains the presence of Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, and Deepti Sharma on team rosters).
The competition began on 23 July with a doubleheader—men's and women's matches are usually staged on the same day—between the Oval Invincibles and the Birmingham Phoenix. The Surrey side won both convincingly.
They top both the men's and women's tables even though, like the Northern Superchargers, they have only played two matches so far. All the other teams have played three matches.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Oval Invincibles are the favourites to win both competitions.
Their men's team has a potent bowling attack, featuring Curran brothers Sam and Tom and Australian off-spinner Adam Zampa, one of their leading wicket-takers at the T20 World Cup. At this relatively early stage of the competition, Zampa is already the leading wicket-taker, with six victims. He is also the current favourite, with the bookmakers, to finish as the top wicket-taker in the whole tournament.
They also have Gus Atkinson, who finished the test series against the West Indies as the leading wicket-taker and made an early claim to be the long-term replacement for the now-retired Jimmy Anderson.
Their women's team is as strong and features Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu. She is fresh from her exploits in the Women's Asia Twenty20 Cup, where she was not only Player of the Tournament but also of the final itself, as her side stunned India to win the competition for the first time.
Another major international star is Marizanne Kapp of South Africa, the first cricketer to take a hat-trick in a women's Twenty20I.
Alice Capsey and Lauren Whitfield-Hall lead their England contingent.
Despite their defeated sides, the Southern Brave is also heavily backed to do well in both competitions.
Inevitably, Jofra Archer will attract attention in the men's team as he looks to prove his fitness again after his numerous injury problems. He has already expressed his desire to be involved in the next Ashes series for England so he will be hoping that he can come through the next few weeks unscathed.
Other overseas options include New Zealand opening bat Finn Allen and Kieron Pollard, who has become a T20 specialist and opted out of the West Indies test side against England.
On the women's side, Mandhana will look to maintain her dazzling form with the bat in recent months. That saw her score back-to-back ODI centuries against South Africa and reach three figures again in their one-off test. She also top-scored for her country in that final against Sri Lanka, although her efforts were in vain at that time.
Mandhana can expect to be supported by England internationals Danni Wyatt and Lauren Bell.
London Spirit has yet to reach the finals in either competition, but, at least on the women's side, they will hope this year will be different. They have an experienced skipper, former Australian captain Meg Lanning, and current England captain Heather Knight, who supports her. Sharma will be looking to enhance her reputation outside India.
Nor is their men's side lacking in talent, although Zak Crawley's injury in the Third Test against the West Indies may keep him out of action for a while. Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer are both strong performers in franchise cricket. Their experience, combined with veteran Ravi Bopara, can inspire some of the team's younger members to step up.
One of the outsiders is the Northern Superchargers, although their men's team has a solid batting line-up. Their squad includes current England test captain Ben Stokes, his up-and-coming colleague Harry Brook, and the West Indian Nicolas Pooran. Pooran is one of the most explosive players currently playing franchise cricket, who can win matches independently. He is tipped to finish as the top run scorer this year in The Hundred.
However, except for Kiwi Mitchell Santner, their bowling attack needs to be stronger, which may be their Achilles' heel.
Their women's team also has a less robust roster, although Australian Annabel Sutherland can help impart a winning mentality to the squad.
They have made a disappointing start to the season, but they will hope to close the gap on the others by winning their games in hand.
If the Manchester Originals hope to make the men's final again, they must change their fortunes. They are currently bottom of the table, having lost all three of their matches so far.
They also have a large native Run Rate to overcome. So far, the sum is less than the total of their constituent parts. A side that consists of England's opening T20 partnership for the World Cup, Jos Buttler, and Phil Salt, one of the break-out stars from that tournament, Afghan bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, should have been expected to perform better.
At least their women's team, with another Australian international, Beth Mooney, at the heart of it, is among the clutch of sides with a chance of reaching the play-offs.
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