The Hundred Women's Competition Explained: England's 100-Ball Franchise Cricket

The Hundred is England's 100-ball franchise cricket competition — contested by eight city-based franchises in both men's and women's formats. The women's competition runs alongside the men's competition, with women's matches broadcast on the BBC and Sky Sports on the same channels and in the same slots as men's matches. This co-broadcasting model has brought women's cricket to mainstream British sports audiences that were previously not engaged with the women's game.

100-Ball Format

The Hundred uses a format different from standard T20I cricket: each innings consists of 100 deliveries (balls) rather than 120 (which 20 overs of six balls would produce). Bowlers bowl in sets of either five or ten consecutive deliveries, with the captain deciding after the first five whether the same bowler continues for the next five. The format was designed to be simpler for new cricket audiences to follow — counting down 100 balls to zero is more accessible than counting overs for those unfamiliar with cricket's structure.

Eight Franchises

The Hundred features eight franchises: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets, and Welsh Fire — based in eight major English and Welsh cities. Each franchise fields both a men's and a women's team, played at the same venues in consecutive or concurrent scheduling. The co-location of men's and women's matches is central to The Hundred's ambition: it exposes men's cricket audiences to women's cricket through scheduling proximity.

International Players

Each Hundred franchise signs international players from around the world — Australia Women internationals, India Women internationals, South Africa Women internationals, and New Zealand Women internationals have all competed in The Hundred women's competition. The presence of Australia Women's star players like Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy, and Ash Gardner in The Hundred has elevated the standard of the competition and given English women's cricketers regular exposure to the world's best players in a domestic setting.

Broadcasting Impact

The Hundred's broadcast on BBC television — free-to-air in the UK — has been the most significant change in the visibility of women's cricket in England. Before The Hundred, most women's international cricket in England was either not televised or shown on subscription channels with limited reach. Broadcasting women's cricket on the BBC brings it to audiences who do not have sports subscription packages and who encounter women's cricket for the first time while watching the channel. Viewing figures for The Hundred women's competition have consistently exceeded expectations.