England Test stars face another tight turnaround as Hundred fixtures are announced

England players involved in the Hundred final face the prospect of a single training session before the start of their Test series against Pakistan next summer as a two-day turnaround limits their preparation.

The fixtures for the 2026 Hundred announced on Tuesday - the tournament's first edition since stakes in its eight franchises were sold to external investors - and is set to run from July 21 until August 16, as previously revealed by ESPNcricinfo. It has an exclusive window in England's international schedule, both men's and women's, guaranteeing full player availability.

But England's men start a three-Test series against Pakistan at Headingley on August 19, only two-and-a-half days after the Hundred final, which is set to remain at Lord's. Allowing for travel to Leeds, players involved in both will likely only train once before the first Test - and may not have a single session if the Hundred final heads into a reserve day on August 17.

There was an even tighter turnaround between the Hundred and England's next fixture in 2025, with a single day's gap between the final and an ODI against South Africa - coincidentally, also at Headingley. It led Brendon McCullum, their head coach, to concede that the schedule was "not ideal", adding: "We're going to have to find ways to deal with it."

ESPNcricinfo has learned that one solution mooted by England's management is to invite players to the national performance centre at Loughborough for red-ball training during the Hundred, particularly fast bowlers. However, new franchise owners may be unwilling to see their players' workloads increase during the tournament's four-week window.

Ben Stokes, England's Test captain, has only sporadically been involved in the Hundred and spent last year's edition working as a non-playing 'mentor' at Northern Superchargers, since renamed Sunrisers Leeds. He appears unlikely to feature in 2026 either, saying earlier this month: "I didn't miss playing it last year."

But several England Test regulars have already secured lucrative contracts for this summer, with each of the eight franchises signing up to eight players - four men's, four women's - before the inaugural auctions in March. The women's auction will take place in London on March 11, with the men's to follow on March 12.

Harry Brook, for example, is set to earn nearly £500,000 from his deal with Sunrisers Leeds as the arrival of new investment prompts marked salary increases, while Ben Duckett (Trent Rockets), Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix), Jofra Archer and Jamie Smith (Southern Brave) and Brydon Carse (Sunrisers Leeds) are among the other Test regulars to have signed contracts.

Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Jordan Cox are expected to be among the most expensive English signings at the first men's auction, with Amy Jones, Dani Gibson and Davina Perrin likely to attract significant sums in the women's auction. The full list of pre-auction signings is available here.

Each franchise has a salary cap of £2.05 million to spend across their 16-player men's squad, and a further £880,000 to spend across their 16-player women's squad. Teams will also be allowed to field four overseas players in their XI this year, an increase from three in each of the first five seasons.

The Hundred will continue to use its double-header model throughout the season, with a women's match followed directly by a men's fixture between the same franchises at the same venue. It will launch on July 21 when MI London (formerly Oval Invincibles) face Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval - two days after England's men face India in an ODI at Lord's.

MI London and Sunrisers Leeds are two of the three teams to be renamed for 2026, along with Manchester Originals, who have been rebranded Manchester Super Giants and - without explanation - have added an elephant to their crest.

One significant change to the schedule for 2026 is the addition of a reserve day for the 'Eliminator' between the teams finishing second and third, after teams had their seasons ended by no-results in 2023 (women's) and 2025 (men's). Venues have yet to be confirmed for the knockout fixtures but they are expected to remain at The Oval (Eliminator) and Lord's (final) as in previous seasons.

February 16 Auction registration deadline
March 11 Women's auction
March 12 Men's auction
TBC Wildcard draft
July 21 Opening fixtures
August 14 Eliminator
August 15 Eliminator reserve day
August 16 Final
August 17 Final reserve day