The Hundred 2025 outright preview and best bets

This year’s edition of The Hundred begins on Tuesday, so be sure to check out Richard Mann’s preview which features a strong bet in the outright market.

The Hundred certainly has its detractors among English cricket fans, but the tournament has very quickly become a staple of the summer and will again take centre stage throughout August.

For cricket punters, The Hundred has swiftly followed a strong trend seen in other franchise competitions: the importance of pedigree.

I so often write about franchise pedigree. We’ve seen the likes of Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers dominate the Big Bash year on year, while Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have until only recently been by some distance the standout franchises in the Indian Premier League.

There are many other examples across the cricket world, and here in The Hundred, OVAL INVINCIBLES are beginning to create something similar, winning two of the four editions already, in 2023 and then again last year.

In both years, the Invincibles dominated the regular season, topping the league table before winning the final. Put simply, they have been best team in this tournament since its inception.

Invincibles hard to knock ahead of title defence

Well led by the astute Sam Billings whose franchise cricket experience is varied and vast, the foundations of this team are laid on a strong Surrey County Cricket Club core, namely Sam and Tom Curran, Will Jacks and Gus Atkinson, the latter expected to play a fair bit this year having missed a chunk of last summer’s competition.

With Jacks – 504 runs in the T20 Blast this summer already – the wildly-talented Tawanda Muyeye, Jordan Cox and Sam Curran expected to make up the top order, there is lots to like there and the promise of big runs. Curran’s batting continues to go from strength to strength.

Billings will likely marshal the middle order, with Tom Curran and South Africa international Donovan Ferreira held back to add the finishing touches later in the innings. The latter is a real powerhouse, but Tom Curran is a wildly underrated white-ball cricketer in my opinion, one whose batting has real value.

In truth, I’m not sure the Invincibles where quite at their best last year. Nor did they have to be. Their class and experience won out in a few close matches, ones which were dominated by an unusually spiteful white ball, before Saqid Mahmood bowled them to victory over Southern Brave in the final.

To my mind, the batting can operate a level or two above what we saw last term – a scary prospect – and they have probably moved veteran Dawid Malan along at the right time. I’m really excited to see that young, aggressive opening pair go bang at the top, setting things up for a battery of talented players to come.

The bowling is without Adam Zampa this season, but some would argue that fellow wrist spinner Rashid Khan is an upgrade. I’m not going to argue that one either way, but Rashid looks a good pick-up regardless, and ought to bowl well with the canny Nathan Sowter.

Jason Behrendorff is another overseas signing to note, and the Perth Scorchers hitman will be suited by the pitch at the Oval. Throw Saqib and the Curran brothers into the mix and there really are no holes in this bowling attack – or the team as a whole.

I think Billings is an excellent captain, a real general who doesn’t miss a trick from behind the stumps, and with that winning habit already instilled into this group, I’m struggling to find many negatives.

Some may grumble at the current price of 7/2, but as we have seen so often before, those odds could shorten quickly and drastically once the wheat has been separated from the chaff.

I reckon those odds are fair, and will be betting accordingly.

Brave and Originals back for more in The Hundred

Brave were the team to give the Invincibles most to worry about last year, and were tournament winners in 2021. They have pedigree, and promise to field another very strong side.

James Vince is the headline act, and was quite outstanding last season, stroking 424 runs at 53.00. Finn Allen is a very dangerous support act, while old boys Jason Roy and Laurie Evans remain capable on their day, if not quite as consistent as they once were.

The bowling has quality, too. We could see a little bit of Jofra Archer along with Surrey teammate Tymal Mills, while Danny Briggs and Craig Overton are both excellent operators at this level.

Brave should go well again, but the one nagging doubt is that they weren’t quite good enough to win the tournament last season when Vince was red-hot. They are plainly very reliant on Vince, and were he to have a quieter time of it this time around, are they really strong enough to win the tournament?

I don’t think they are, and 9/2 doesn’t represent great value.

One team I do expect better from this year is Manchester Originals (11/2), second bottom in the regular season 12 months ago, but runners-up in 2023 when looking a very good outfit.

I’d take last season with a pinch of salt, given Jos Buttler missed the entirety of the campaign through injury. Buttler is fit again now, and in fine touch on the evidence of his IPL exploits in the spring. His opening partnership with Phil Salt promises much.

I wasn’t blown away by Salt’s captaincy last year, but in fairness, he had a poor hand to play with. That won’t be the case this time around, with Heinrich Klaasen and Rachin Ravindra helping form a formidable batting line-up that might just be the most dangerous in the competition.

The bowling looks the weaker suit, but there is spin from Noor Ahmed and Tom Hartley, while the wildcard pick of James Anderson is no gimmick judging by how good he has been in the T20 Blast this summer. Anderson has claimed 17 wickets from nine matches in that competition, with an economy rate of just 7.57.

I do think we’ll quickly see the difference between good and bad in this tournament, and I have London Spirit, Northern Superchargers and Welsh Fire all on the bad list.

Phoenix and Rockets make the shortlist

Not so Birmingham Phoenix who will field a strong top six, headed by Ben Duckett who only played seven games last season, but still had time to blast 269 runs at 67.25. He’ll join forces with likes of Jacob Bethell and Liam Livingstone.

Perhaps more exciting is their seam attack that looks very much like peak New Zealand. Tim Southee swung the new ball round corners last year and is back for more, as is the brilliant Adam Milne. Fellow Kiwi swinger Trent Boult also joins the party.

I’d definitely give them a squeak, and 11/2 will certainly appeal to some, though perhaps Trent Rockets are slightly better value at 8/1 and can push the Invincibles closest this year.

The batting, in particular, really stands out. Joe Root will have his knockers in this format, but he lit up the SA20 last winter and continues to be a run machine across formats. He will hold things together so the likes of Tom Banton, Marcus Stoinis and Sam Hain can blast around him.

I’m a huge fan of Banton, a converted one it must be said, but he promises to provide the Rockets with some rapid starts, while you’ll struggle to find two more reliable hands than Root and Hain. Stoinis is all power, and a brilliant finisher when on song.

The bowling also ticks plenty of boxes. In the last couple of seasons, the Rockets have favoured spin-friendly tracks for Rashid Khan to work on, but he’s gone now, and perhaps that will allow them to get back to traditional Trent Bridge which is generally all about runs.

That will test the bowling, of course, but there are still good spin options from Calvin Harrison and South African George Linde, and this year’s attack promises a real cutting edge with the new ball from David Willey and the pacey Lockie Ferguson.

This just looks to be a better all-round team now, less dependent on conditions, and with a little bit of x-factor in the shape of Rehan Ahmed.

Rehan will be keen to continue his excellent summer as he pushes for a place on the winter Ashes tour, and his much-improved batting has yielded five hundreds in the County Championship already this term. Add 23 wickets from his wrist-spin, and this is a red-hot all-rounder.

The Rockets are certainly of interest at the prices, but just like every other side in The Hundred, it’s hard to argue they are as settled, or as strong, as the Oval outfit who, well, look just about invincible.

Preview published at 1635 BST on 03/08/25

The Hundred 2025 outright preview and best bets

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