London derby to launch fifth season of Hundred in August

The fixtures for the fifth season of the Hundred have been announced by the ECB, with the tournament set to open with a double-header between London rivals London Spirit and Oval Invincibles at Lord's on August 5.

Invincibles, the defending men's champions, and Spirit, the defending women's champions, are also expected to be the most sought-after franchises in the Hundred equity sale, which gets underway on Thursday, when Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix are the first teams to go under the hammer.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, this year's tournament avoids a clash with Major League Cricket, the US-based tournament that will be entering its own third season in 2025. The Hundred final is set to take place on August 31, also at Lord's, with the Eliminator slated for The Oval on August 30.

For the first time this season, direct signings have been permitted in both the men's and women's competitions, with Laura Wolvaardt and Amelia Kerr the first to have been recruited in that fashion, as they join Southern Brave and Manchester Originals respectively.

Charlie Dean, who has been retained by London Spirit after her role in last year's title win, said: "August is fast becoming one of the best months of the summer. The Hundred has developed into an excellent competition, we play in front of fantastic crowds and even from the middle you get a sense of how the crowd is so full of families and young people.

"The cricket itself is high quality, the format is accessible and quick, and we're all really looking forward to getting back to it and hopefully defending our title."

Oval Invincibles' captain, Sam Billings, who is also seeking to defend the title, added: "It will be great to kick off The Hundred with a sold-out derby at Lord's. From our point of view, we're looking to start strongly as we have done the last couple of years to set the tone for another positive year. No doubt it will be a brilliant atmosphere at Lord's.

"It was another fantastic tournament last year, we've worked hard at the Invincibles to build a really strong core and there's no reason why we can't have another great year. The Kia Oval is undoubtedly one of the best places in world cricket to play, our home support is special. We all hope we can build on the last couple of years and keep the trophy in South London."

Season tickets for previous holders will be on sale from today, while an exclusive window for previous attendees will be open from March 4-18. Priority sales will be from April 1-15, before tickets go on general release from April 17.

Click here for Men's Hundred fixtures
Click here for Women's Hundred fixtures