What is the Hundred? The rules, teams and players as 100-ball tournament returns in 2022

London Spirit have signed West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard as their No 1 men’s pick in The Hundred draft, while all-rounder Andre Russell joined Manchester Originals and Dwayne Bravo went to Northern Superchargers.

Pollard, who has played more than 100 Twenty20 internationals, was recruited by the London side along with England spinner Liam Dawson and Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith. Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was already in their squad.

“I’m really pleased I’ll get to play at Lord’s. I have some good memories of playing there, and have done well in finals for Hampshire there,” Dawson said. “Glenn Maxwell and Pollard are legends of the game, so I think we’ve got a fantastic team together.”

Manchester Originals, who finished sixth last season, signed West Indian Russell, Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and Australian fast bowler Sean Abbott.

Welsh fire bolstered their squad by bringing in Australia spinner Adam Zampa, South African big-hitter David Miller, and Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah as their overseas players.

West Indian Bravo will be joined at the Northern Superchargers by Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz.

Southern Brave won the inaugural competition last year, comfortably beating Birmingham Phoenix in the men’s final at Lord’s after the Oval Invincibles won the women’s crown.

What are the rules for the matches?

The blurb on the Hundred website sums up the aims from simplicity of the game to the desired audience: “Seven cities, eight teams, 100 balls. The Hundred will be played over five weeks during the school holidays and will be a great way for families to enjoy cricket.”

The ECB’s market research showed that two and a half times more people questioned identify with a city rather than a county; 75 percent of families said they prefer short games that finish by 9pm and 19 percent of those asked who do not follow cricket said the complicated nature of the sport’s terminology is the main barrier to attending games. Those answers have underpinned the design of the tournament.

The broadcasters will try to make it easier to tell which team is winning. So for the team batting first the scoreboard will show runs scored from balls faced (57 runs from 25 balls), for the team batting second it will be runs needed and balls remaining (75 required from 51 balls) with Sky using the winviz equation as well (which shows the percentage chance of each side winning updated ball by ball).

Each team’s innings will be 100 balls long (plus no balls and wides) with ten 10 of 10 balls from each end. The captains will choose whether a bowler bowls five balls in a row or stays on to bowl all 10. The bowlers can bowl a maximum of 20 balls per innings and can bowl two five-ball overs in a row either from the same end or alternate ends.

The decision review system using Hawkeye will be available for the first time in domestic cricket in England as well as a ‘smart replay’ system that will call no balls automatically (which will result in a free hit).

One of the main reasons for the Hundred is to complete matches in two and a half hours ending at 9pm to attract young families. Teams will be on the clock throughout. There will be 50 seconds allowed for change of ends for broadcasters.

The fielding side can call a two-minute timeout when the head coach can come on the field and talk tactics to players. It is not compulsory and can only be called after 25 legitimate balls have been bowled in an innings.

There will be a 25 ball powerplay when only two fielders are allowed outside the inner circle and umpires will call “five” at the end of an over instead of “over” as has been traditionally the case. They will also hold up a white card to signify the end of the first five legitimate balls from one end.

Who are the players?

The Hundred 2022 squads – men's

Birmingham Phoenix

Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Tom Abell, Will Smeed, Chris Benjamin, Miles Hammond, Henry Brookes, Jack Leach, Matthew Wade, Olly Stone, Kane Richardson, Matthew Fisher, Graeme van Buuren

London Spirit

Zak Crawley, Mark Wood, Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan, Mason Crane, Dan Lawrence, Adam Rossington, Ravi Bopara, Blake Cullen, Brad Wheal, Kieron Pollard, Liam Dawson, Riley Meredith, Jordan Thompson, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Chris Wood

Manchester Originals

Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Matt Parkinson, Jamie Overton, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Colin Ackermann, Wayne Madsen, Fred Klaasen, Calvin Harrison, Andre Russell, Laurie Evans, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dan Worrall, Sean Abbott

Northern Superchargers

Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Faf du Plessis, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, John Simpson, Adam Lyth, Callum Parkinson, Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz, Adam Hose, Roelof van der Merwe, Luke Wright

Oval Invincibles

Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine, Jason Roy, Nathan Sowter, Reece Topley, Jordan Cox, Saqib Mahmood, Rilee Rossouw, Danny Briggs, Hilton Cartwright, Matt Milnes, Jack Leaning

Southern Brave

Jofra Archer, Alex Davies, George Garton, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton, James Vince, Ross Whiteley, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Jake Lintott, Tim David, Joe Weatherley, Daniel Moriarty, Rehan Ahmed

Trent Rockets

Matthew Carter, Marchant de Lange, Lewis Gregory, Rashid Khan, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Tom Moores, Steven Mullaney, Joe Root, Colin Munro, Luke Wood, Luke Fletcher, Samit Patel, Sam Cook, Ian Cockbain, Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Welsh Fire

Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Jake Ball, David Payne, Leus du Plooy, Ryan Higgins, Josh Cobb, Joe Clarke, Tom Banton, Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah, Sam Hain, Jacob Bethell, Matt Critchley

The Hundred 2022 squads – women's

London Spirit

Heather Knight, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Amara Carr, Naomi Dattani, Grace Scrivens, Alice Monaghan, Beth Mooney, Amelia Kerr, Megan Schutt, Sophie Luff

Welsh Fire

Katie George, Hayley Matthews, Claire Nicholas, Georgia Hennessy, Alex Griffiths, Hannah Baker, Lauren Filer, Nicole Harvey, Tammy Beaumont, Rachael Haynes, Annabel Sutherland, Fran Wilson, Alex Hartley, Fi Morris, Sarah Bryce

Manchester Originals

Sophie Ecclestone, Lizelle Lee, Kate Cross, Emma Lamb, Ellie Threlkeld, Cordelia Griffith, Hannah Jones, Georgie Boyce, Laura Jackson, Deandra Dottin, Amy Satterthwaite, Ami Campbell, Phoebe Graham, Grace Potts

Northern Superchargers

Jemimah Rodrigues, Alyssa Healy, Laura Wolvaardt, Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Hollie Armitage, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Bess Heath, Kalea Moore, Liz Russell, Jenny Gunn, Lucy Higham

Oval Invincibles

Dane van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp, Tash Farrant, Shabnim Ismail, Mady Villiers, Alice Capsey, Danielle Gregory, Grace Gibbs, Emma Jones, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Aylish Cranstone, Emily Windsor, Eva Gray, Kira Chathli

Southern Brave

Danni Wyatt, Smriti Mandhana, Sophia Dunkley, Anya Shrubsole, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Maia Bouchier, Lauren Bell, Carla Rudd, Tara Norris, Paige Scholfield, Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Adams, Jo Gardner, Freya Kemp, Ella McCaugha

Trent Rockets

Natalie Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Kathryn Bryce, Abbey Freeborn, Meg Lanning, Mignon du Preez, Bryony Smith, Alana King, Marie Kelly, Sophie Munro, Georgia Davis, Alexa Stoneho

Birmingham Phoenix

Amy Jones, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Elwiss, Kirstie Gordon, Isabelle Wong, Evelyn Jones, Emily Arlott, Gwen Davies, Abtaha Maqsood, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin, Sophie Molineux, Sterre Kalis