Bellingham, kits and team names: What’s changed in The Hundred for 2026?

As The Hundred returns for 2026 - live on Sky Sports from Tuesday July 21 to Sunday August 16 - we look at what has changed for the ECB's 100-ball competition…

New team trophy

An innovation this year is for a combined men's and women's trophy to be awarded to the Hundred team performing best across both competitions, in addition to the individual men's and women's titles that will be presented to the tournament winners.

• The Hundred - men's and women's squads for 2026
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Every match win - whether in the group stage, eliminator or final - is worth four points with a franchise's men's and women's totals added up for a combined score.

Four bonus points each are up for grabs for the men's and women's sides that top the league table, avoid the eliminator and head straight to the competition final.

If two franchises finish level on points come the end of the tournament, the team with a squad that won a final will triumph. If both franchises won a final - or neither did - then most finalists and, if needed, combined net run-rate will determine a winner.

New owners and team names

All eight sides now have overseas investors, with deals for the Ambani family's Reliance Industries Limited to secure a 49 per cent stake in MI London - formerly Oval Invincibles - and Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly's Cain International to acquire the same stake in Trent Rockets completed in late 2025.

Deals for the other six teams had previously been sealed but this is the first season where the new investors can really stamp their authority.

England footballer Jude Bellingham now holds a 1.2 per cent stake in Birmingham Phoenix and will be involved in increasing participation in cricket in the community.

Knighthead Capital Management - who own Bellingham's former club Birmingham City and have NFL legend Tom Brady as a minority shareholder - own 48.4 per cent.

MI London are one of four teams to have Indian Premier League-affiliated investment, with the Ambani family also owning five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians.

SunRisers Leeds - formerly Northern Superchargers - are entirely owned by the Sun Group that owns SunRisers Hyderabad, while RPSG Group - in charge of Lucknow Super Giants - hold a 70 per cent stake in Manchester Super Giants, previously Originals.

Plus, GMR Group possesses a 49 per cent stake in Southern Brave, adding to a portfolio that includes IPL's Delhi Capitals and Hampshire.

Elsewhere, the American-based Tech Titans hold a 49 per cent share of the Lord's-based London Spirit, while Indian-American businessman Sanjay Goval, who owns Major League Cricket outfit Washington Freedom, has a 50 per cent stake in Welsh Fire.

New kits

This heavy overseas investment had also led to kits being tweaked, with the IPL-backed clubs now playing in the same colours as their Indian counterparts.

MI London performed in green under their Oval Invincibles moniker but will now wear blue with gold trim like Mumbai Indians, while SunRisers Leeds switch from purple to orange to match SunRisers Hyderabad.

Southern Brave's green get-up has been ditched as they alter to blue and red, the same as Delhi Capitals, and Manchester Super Giants swap from black and grey to the red and blue stripes of Lucknow Super Giants.

Birmingham Phoenix will don a black strip this term - they previously turned out in orange and yellow - with London Spirit remaining in blue but now also having an MCC 'egg and bacon' yellow and red stripe down their jersey.

Welsh Fire stay in red and Trent Rockets are still yellow and orange.

New money

New owners pumped over £500m into The Hundred when they purchased all or part of their clubs but the money continued to be splashed in the tournament's first auction earlier this year.

Sussex all-rounder James Coles - recently part of England's white-ball squads against India - was bought for £390k by London Spirit in the men's competition, with Welsh Fire forking out £200k on Jordan Cox after his player-of-the-tournament performances for Oval Invincibles, as they were then, in 2025.

The women's auction was notable for England all-rounder Dani Gibson earning £190k as SunRisers Leeds came calling and legends of the game Beth Mooney (Australia) and Sophie Devine (New Zealand) securing £210k paydays from Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire respectively.

Plus, to further emphasise how The Hundred can now change a player's life, 18-year-old England spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman went to Southern Brave for £105k. Being part of this competition is highly profitable gig for some.

Watch every match from The Hundred live on Sky Sports between Tuesday July 21 and Sunday August 16, with every day seeing a double-header of a women's fixture followed by a men's match at the same venue.

Reigning women's champions SunRisers Leeds kick of their defence against MI London at The Oval on opening day (2.45pm first ball), before MI London start their pursuit of a fourth consecutive men's title versus SunRisers Leeds from 6.30pm.