England players involved in the Hundred final face the prospect of having just a single training session before the start of their Test series against Pakistan next summer, with a tight two-day turnaround severely limiting preparation.
The fixtures for the 2026 Hundred, announced on Tuesday, confirm the tournament will run from July 21 to August 16, as previously reported by ESPNcricinfo. It will be the first edition since stakes in its eight franchises were sold to external investors and will again operate within an exclusive window in England’s international schedule, guaranteeing full player availability across both the men’s and women’s games.
However, England’s men begin 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. Factoring in travel to Leeds, players involved in both competitions are likely to manage just one training session ahead of the opening Test. That preparation time could disappear entirely should the final be forced into its reserve day on August 17.
The situation follows a similarly compressed schedule in 2025, when there was only a single day between the Hundred final and an ODI against South Africa, also at Headingley. On that occasion, England head coach Brendon McCullum acknowledged the strain, conceding the schedule was “not ideal”, and adding: “We’re going to have to find ways to deal with it.”
ESPNcricinfo has learned that one potential solution under consideration 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, the new franchise owners may be reluctant to see workloads increased during the tournament’s four-week window.
Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, has only featured sporadically in the Hundred and spent last season working as a non-playing mentor at Northern Superchargers, since renamed Sunrisers Leeds. He appears unlikely to take part in 2026, having said earlier this month: “I didn’t miss playing it last year.”
Despite those concerns, several England Test regulars have already secured lucrative contracts for the coming summer. Each of the eight franchises has been permitted to sign eight players in advance of the inaugural auctions in March, split evenly between men and women. The women’s auction will take place in London on March 11, followed by the men’s auction on March 12.
Harry Brook is set to earn close to £500,000 through his deal with Sunrisers Leeds, reflecting significant salary inflation following new investment. Ben Duckett of Trent Rockets, Jacob Bethell of Birmingham Phoenix, Jofra Archer and Jamie Smith of Southern Brave, and Brydon Carse of Sunrisers Leeds are among the other England Test regulars to have secured contracts.
Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Jordan Cox are expected to be among the most expensive English players at the men’s auction, while Amy Jones, Dani Gibson and Davina Perrin are tipped to attract strong interest in the women’s auction. A full list of pre-auction signings has been published.
Each franchise will operate under a salary cap of £2.05 million for their 16-player men’s squads, with an additional £880,000 allocated for women’s squads of the same size. Teams will also be allowed to field four overseas players in their XI, an increase from three in each of the tournament’s first five seasons.
The Hundred will continue with its double-header format, featuring a women’s match followed immediately by a men’s fixture between the same teams at the same venue. The 2026 season will begin on July 21, when MI London, formerly Oval Invincibles, face Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval, two days after England’s men play India in an ODI at Lord’s.
MI London and Sunrisers Leeds are two of the three franchises to be renamed for 2026, along with Manchester Originals, who have rebranded as Manchester Super Giants and, without explanation, added an elephant to their crest.
One notable scheduling change is the introduction of a reserve day for the Eliminator between the teams finishing second and third. The adjustment follows seasons being disrupted by no results in 2023 in the women’s competition and 2025 in the men’s. Venues for the knockout matches are yet to be confirmed but are expected to remain at The Oval for the Eliminator and Lord’s for the final.