How can I lie back and think of The Hundred if I don’t even know who’s playing?
The Hundred’s first year under new investment shows the bet was worth it and a rosy future lies ahead… or proves ‘the crisps and nuts show’ needs binning. As usual, truth is somewhere in the middle, and as the Test summer resumes where can The Hundred’s foundations be strengthened?
The product is good, the pace and challenge enjoyed by players and fans, and the simplification works. The Hundred casts its net pointedly at families. From being involved in early discussions between the ECB, BBC and Sky way back , I still love the courage to set the ground alight under their core audience in pursuit of a different one. Its aims to be more relevant to younger, more urban-centred, and family audiences has been evident from Day One.
Post-investment changes follow the original research, out went ‘Northern’ in came ‘Leeds’, same for ‘Oval’ and ‘London’. The main issue came as Originals became Super Giants, and how ‘Super Giants’ was a Manchester thing, as Originals fit the city’s identity well.
Manchester Super Giants winners of The Hundred 2026
Here is where the challenge lies. In cricket, as with football, rugby league and union, clubs are community assets. Even as clubs slip into an investment asset class, there is a very strong reflex that kicks in when a club’s community link is weakened (see Liverpool/Amazon for details).
Being a community asset is hugely important for how clubs shape their identity, and how fans mould their affiliation and support to the club through its values. The shift into a bolder franchise model, with higher player salaries and auctions, has clear implications for how fandom is built.
Traditionally, fandom has built on geography, how your team represents you, and values linked to the geography. That was why The Hundred moved from counties to cities. People are less likely to talk about being from Warwickshire as to being from Birmingham. Leaning into urban and civic pride drove initial brand development. Of course, fan habits are evolving as people follow an athlete, or support a team who represents their own values, which is strongly in evidence in women’s sports.
How does The Hundred straddle these two tracks to feed its growth? It’s a muddied picture as Joe Root faces up against Leeds and Kate Cross runs in against Manchester. Attracting international stars will attract new spectators, but what happens to that Sunrisers fan who loves Mitch Marsh if he plays for Welsh Fire next year?
The Hundred teams will make those fan habits stick, and start new ones, by firming up what they mean to their locations. What is it to be a Manchester Super Giant? How are Trent Rockets part of their community? How does London Spirit show up locally for the people of north and west London? Every team will have a foundation where they can get firm up their place in the lives of their fans. The spectacle and in-ground experience is sound, how the franchises move fans from a transactional place to something more emotionally, and economically, sustaining is an exciting challenge up next.