Due to a two-day turnaround, England players competing in the Hundred final may only have one training session prior to the commencement of their Test series against Pakistan next summer.
The 2026 Hundred’s schedule, which was initially disclosed by ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, will take place from July 21 to August 16. This is the tournament’s first edition after stakes in its eight clubs were sold to outside investors. It guarantees full player availability with a unique window in England’s international schedule for both men’s and women’s teams.
However, just two and a half days after the Hundred final, which is still scheduled to take place at Lord’s, England’s team begins a three-Test series against Pakistan at Headingley on August 19. Players participating in both will probably only train once before the first Test, allowing for travel to Leeds. If the Hundred final heads into a reserve day on August 17, they might not have a single session.
The turnaround between the Hundred and England’s subsequent match in 2025 was even more constrained, with only one day separating the final from an ODI match against South Africa, which also happened to be played at Headingley. Their head coach, Brendon McCullum, acknowledged that the schedule was “not ideal” as a result, saying, “We’re going to have to find ways to deal with it.”
According to ESPNcricinfo, one suggestion put out by England’s management is to bring players—especially fast bowlers—to the national performance centre in Loughborough for red-ball training during the Hundred.
However, during the four weeks of the tournament, new franchise owners might not want to see an increase in their players’ workloads.
England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, has only seldom participated in the Hundred. He worked as a non-playing’mentor’ at Northern Superchargers, now known as Sunrisers Leeds, during last year’s competition. Even his appearance in 2026 seems doubtful, as he stated earlier this month: “I didn’t miss playing it last year.”
However, before the first auctions in March, each of the eight teams signed up to eight players, four men’s and four women’s, with some England Test regulars already securing rich contracts for this summer. The men’s auction will be held on March 12 after the women’s auction in London on March 11.
Ben Duckett (Trent Rockets), Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix), Jofra Archer and Jamie Smith (Southern Brave), and Brydon Carse (Sunrisers Leeds) are among the other Test regulars who have signed contracts. Harry Brook, for instance, is expected to make close to £500,000 from his deal with Sunrisers Leeds as the arrival of new investment prompts notable salary increases.
At the first men’s auction, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, and Jordan Cox are anticipated to be among the most costly English recruits; at the women’s auction, Amy Jones, Dani Gibson, and Davina Perrin are probably going to fetch high prices. You can find the whole list of pre-auction signings here.
The salary cap for each franchise’s 16-player men’s team is £2.05 million, while the pay cap for their 16-player women’s team is £880,000. Additionally, teams will be permitted to use four foreign players in their starting lineup this year, up from three in each of the previous five seasons.
Throughout the season, The Hundred will stick to its double-header format, with a women’s game immediately followed by a men’s match between the same teams at the same location. Two days after England’s men play India in an ODI at Lord’s, MI London (previously Oval Invincibles) will play Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval on July 21 to kick off the event.
Three teams will change their names for 2026: MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, and Manchester Originals, who have changed their name to Manchester Super Giants and added an elephant to their crest without any justification.
The addition of a reserve day for the “Eliminator” between the teams that place second and third is one notable alteration to the 2026 calendar. Teams’ seasons were ended by no results in 2023 (women’s) and 2025 (men’s). Although the locations for the knockout matches have not yet been finalised, it is anticipated that they will continue to be held at Lord’s (final) and The Oval (eliminator), as in past seasons.
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