Matthew Potts of SunRisers Leeds reacts after MI London wins the 100-man match between MI London and SunRisers Leeds at The Kia Oval on July 21, 2026 in London, England.
TimesofIndia.com in London: The summer of cricket continues unabated in England. The men played three Tests against New Zealand, five T20Is and three ODIs against India. As for women, the T20 World Cup and the only Test were held between India and England.
Now it’s the turn of The Hundred, which begins on July 21.The Hundred, the unique 100-ball tournament, is back for its sixth edition. A lot has changed, yet not much has changed. It still features eight teams, still features 100-ball innings where bowlers can bowl spells of five or 10 balls in a row, is still objectively intended to speed up the game and features two doubleheaders – men’s and women’s – on the same day.
On the opening day, defending men’s champions MI London beat Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval. In the first match of the day, Sunrisers beat MI London by seven wickets in the women’s competition. A day later, in Southampton, the Southern Brave Women narrowly beat Welsh Fire. The men’s match later in the day backfired.What has changed is ownership, team names and equipment designs. Following a £520 million infusion into The Hundred, the Ambani family acquired Oval Invincibles (now renamed MI London), Sun Group bought Northern Superchargers (now SunRisers Leeds), and RPSG bought Manchester Originals (now Manchester Super Giants).
GMR Group, co-owner of Delhi Capitals, has acquired a 49% stake in Southern Brave.On the opening day of the season at The Oval, the mood was as relaxed as one would expect at this time of year. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day, far from the extreme heat this country has experienced in the past two months. Even though it was a weekday, families were out in droves, making the most of the many entry points that take you to this cricket ground in Kennington.The place that saw three successive Test defeats for the hosts. He was here just a month ago when New Zealand beat England by 253 runs. And just about a year ago, Mohammed Siraj bowled very powerfully to help India secure a series win by just 6 runs.But now, on Tuesday, The Hundred is underway, and the buzz is equal parts cricket, family and entertainment. A father was walking around holding the hands of two of his children and asking a flight attendant for help to find the “family section.”
Unlike international cricket, where tickets sell for £100 or more, The Hundred hopes to attract fans at affordable prices.With children aged 2 and under entering free, tickets for children aged 3-15 are £5, and tickets for adults start at £14. So, a whole young family can watch two cricket matches back to back, for five hours or more, for £30-40.To unwind after a long day of work, many food carts, kiosks and drink stalls have come to the rescue.
From Middle Eastern to fast food to Indian, everything was on offer to suit the tastes of customers. To fill it up there is a range of soft drinks, beers, cocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages. Perhaps most importantly, ice cream in different flavors and shapes is what the little ones demand.The difference in quality of atmosphere between the Indian Premier League, which is a mature cricket league, and The Hundred, which is still finding its feet, is huge. Now that there is investment by IPL franchises and Indian conglomerates in The Hundred, her path is only going forward, helped in no small part by the family-oriented approach.
