We take a closer look at the women’s teams that will contest The Hundred in 2024, with team guides plus overseas and England players to keep an eye on as the season progresses…

Birmingham Phoenix

Home ground: Edgbaston
Head coach: Ben Sawyer

Squad (overseas players in bold): Issy Wong, Amy Jones, Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Richa Ghosh (India)*, Emily Arlott, Katie Levick, Hannah Baker, Sterre Kalis, Charis Pavely, Seren Smale, Emma Jones, Chloe Brewer, Fran Wilson, Lissy Macleod

*Suzie Bates (New Zealand) will be available as an overseas replacement for Richa Ghosh for the first three games

Overseas player to watch: Ellyse Perry. She bats, she bowls, she fields and she does them all very well. The Australian all-rounder has scooped 126 wickets and scored over 1,800 runs across 154 T20 internationals and will be a key player if Phoenix are to advance from the league phase for the first time since 2021.

England player to watch: Issy Wong. Run-up issues led to the England quick being dropped from the Phoenix XI last year and losing her international spot. But a recent three-wicket haul for Western Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – she dismissed each of Central Sparks’ top three for ducks – bodes well.

How did they perform in 2023? They had an absolute shocker. Seven defeats in eight games with the only point they achieved coming via a rain-off against Midlands rivals Trent Rockets. Sophie Devine and Amy Jones scored over 150 runs but there was little support from elsewhere, with Phoenix twice rolled for less than 100.

London Spirit

Home ground: Lord’s
Head coach: Ashley Noffke

Squad (overseas players in bold): Heather Knight, Meg Lanning (Australia), Deepti Sharma (India)*, Georgia Redmayne (Australia), Danielle Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Munro, Tara Norris, Hannah Jones, Cordelia Griffith, Eva Gray, Niamh Holland, Abbey Freeborn, Ellie Anderson

*Erin Burns (Australia) will replace Deepti Sharma while she is on international duty

Overseas player to watch: Meg Lanning. The former Australia captain, who retired from the international game last year after winning seven World Cups and scoring over 8,000 runs, will play in The Hundred for the first time. She was due to feature for Trent Rockets in 2022 but withdrew amid a break from cricket.

England player to watch: Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean. Leg-spinner Glenn and off-spinner Dean look set to play a key role for England during the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October and will also team up for Spirit during The Hundred. Glenn was named Player of the Series after taking eight wickets in England’s recent 5-0 rout of New Zealand in T20 cricket, while Dean bagged six wickets in that series as well as six more in the three ODIs that preceded it.

How did they perform in 2023? Sixth spot. So nowhere near as bad as Phoenix but still five points adrift of the play-off places, which they have never qualified for in three years of trying. Fourth in 2021 is Spirit’s best so far. Their 2023 campaign began with two washouts and they then lost four of their six completed matches but did earn London bragging rights with a 21-run victory over Oval Invincibles.

Manchester Originals

Home ground: Emirates Old Trafford
Head coach: Stephen Parry

Squad (overseas players in bold): Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Beth Mooney (Australia), Kim Garth (Australia), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), Emma Lamb, Eve Jones, Phoebe Graham, Fi Morris, Kathryn Bryce, Ellie Threlkeld, Liberty Heap, Danielle Gregory, Alice Monaghan, Bethan Ellis

Overseas player to watch: The openers. Laura Wolvaardt has been in brilliant ODI form for South Africa with three tons and a half-century across her last five knocks, while Australia’s Beth Mooney is the top-ranked T20I batter on the planet, and struck three fifties in a row in this spring’s Women’s Premier League. Also, her 97 not out for Spirit in 2022 has only been topped in the women’s Hundred competition by Tammy Beaumont’s 118 for Welsh Fire.

England player to watch: Sophie Ecclestone. Arguably the best bowler in the women’s game, slow left-armer Ecclestone has it all – height, skill, accuracy, wicket-taking ability, plus she packs a punch with the bat. Ecclestone is coming off a successful summer for England, helping her nation go unbeaten in home series against Pakistan and New Zealand in ODI and T20I cricket.

How did they perform in 2023? Not great. They had an identical record to Spirit with two washouts, two wins and four defeats but finished in seventh, a slot below Spirit by virtue of net run-rate. Run-scoring was a real problem for Originals with only Fi Morris managing a half-century and only Wolvaardt and Deandra Dottin totalling over 100 runs. Mooney’s signing should boost the batting, while Kathryn Bryce has been in form with the blade in English domestic cricket.

Northern Superchargers

Home ground: Headingley
Head coach: Danielle Hazell

Squad (overseas players in bold): Kate Cross, Bess Heath, Annabel Sutherland (Australia), Phoebe Litchfield (Australia), Georgia Wareham (Australia), Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Hollie Armitage, Marie Kelly, Grace Ballinger, Lucy Higham, Ella Claridge, Davina Perrin, Jodi Grewcock, Sophia Turner

Overseas player to watch: Phoebe Litchfield. The left-handed opener has had a pretty quiet time of late, both for Australia and also Gujarat Titans in the Women’s Premier League, but she was the third-highest run-scorer in last year’s Hundred with 279 in 10 knocks, featuring a best of 68 against Oval Invincibles.

England player to watch: Linsey Smith. The left-arm spinner is back in the England fold after five years in the wilderness and hoping to be on the plane for the T20 World Cup this autumn. She boosted her claims with 13 wickets for Southern Vipers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and bagged nine for Superchargers in last year’s Hundred.

How did they perform in 2023? Runners-up. Superchargers finished second in the league campaign, two points behind Southern Brave, with six wins out of eight. The Headingley-based outfit then advanced to the final via that league position after their eliminator against third-placed Welsh Fire was wrecked by rain. The title match proved a step too far as they were well beaten by Brave.

Oval Invincibles

Home ground: The Kia Oval
Head coach: Jonathan Batty

Squad (overseas players in bold): Alice Capsey, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)*, Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia), Mady Villiers, Paige Scholfield, Sophia Smale, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Jo Gardner, Lizzie Scott, Georgie Boyce, Rachel Slater, Amara Carr

*Laura Harris (Australia) will be available as an overseas replacement for Chamari Athapaththu for the first two games

Overseas player to watch: Chamari Athapaththu. The Sri Lanka captain has scored over 3,000 T20 international runs, with 119 of those coming from just 69 balls in a Women’s Asia Cup clash against Malaysia this week. The 34-year-old will miss Invincibles’ opening two fixtures due to international commitments but when she arrives she will be a key player with the bat as well as her off-spin.

England player to watch: Alice Capsey. The Hundred launched Capsey’s career when she scored a fifty on her Lord’s debut at the age of 16 in the inaugural edition in 2021. Since then she has played 51 white-ball matches for England, hitting four T20I fifties, and become an in-demand cricketer in franchise tournaments, while she made contributions with bat and ball in the Hundred finals in 2021 and 2022 as Invincibles beat Southern Brave on both occasions.

How did they perform in 2023? A right comedown. The two-time defending champions failed to make it out of the group, ending up fifth in the standings with three wins, four defeats and a washout. Capsey was one of four players to score over 100 runs but the Invincibles were still shot out for double figures twice.

Southern Brave

Home ground: Utilita Bowl
Head coach: Charlotte Edwards

Squad (overseas players in bold): Danni Wyatt, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, Smriti Mandhana (India)*, Chloe Tryon (South Africa), Lauren Cheatle (Australia), Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Mary Taylor, Naomi Dattani, Kalea Moore, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Sophie Luff, Katie Jones

*Charli Knott (Australia) will be available as an overseas replacement for Smriti Mandhana for the first two games

Overseas player to watch: Smriti Mandhana. One of the most elegant batters around, the India international contributed two fifties and over 200 runs during Brave’s title win last season. Mandhana will form a potent opening combination with England’s Danni Wyatt once she arrives from Asia Cup duty.

England player to watch: Take your pick! Brave are packed with England regulars: Wyatt – the leading run-scorer in the 2023 Hundred with 295, including 59 off 38 balls in the final – fellow batter Maia Bouchier and opening bowler Lauren Bell. Georgia Adams, perhaps unfortunate not to have played for England as of yet, topped the wicket-taking charts last term, striking 16 times with her off-spin and also scored 136 important runs.

How did they perform in 2023? Champions. Brave made it third time lucky having lost in the first two finals to Invincibles. They suffered just one defeat all season – to Fire – and ensured England legend Anya Shrubsole bowed out from cricket on a high. Brave will miss Shrubsole’s bowling on the field but one glance at their squad suggests they remain the team to beat. It is stacked.

Trent Rockets

Home ground: Trent Bridge
Head coach: Jon Lewis

Squad (overseas players in bold): Nat Sciver-Brunt, Grace Scrivens, Katie George, Ash Gardner (Australia), Alana King (Australia), Heather Graham (Australia), Bryony Smith, Kirstie Gordon, Alexa Stonehouse, Grace Potts, Josie Groves, Kira Chathli, Cassidy McCarthy, Aylish Cranstone, Natasha Wraith

Overseas player to watch: Ash Gardner. The Australia all-rounder was signed by Gujarat Giants for a cool £320,000 in the inaugural WPL auction, showing how highly valued her game is. Gardner belts the ball a long, long way and her off-spin has come on leaps and bounds, too. She took a 12-wicket match haul in the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge last summer – her home venue in The Hundred.

England player to watch: Nat Sciver-Brunt. The England linchpin fetched exactly the same amount as Gardner in the maiden WPL auction as she, too, is a multi-faceted player, capable of going through the gears with the bat and taking wickets with her nagging medium pace. With Gardner and Sciver-Brunt in the same side, Rockets will fancy making their first final in The Hundred.

How did they perform in 2023? Fourth. The Midlanders missed out on the play-offs by four points after an up-and-down campaign, which began with a defeat against Brave and ended with a loss to Invincibles. Sciver-Brunt and Bryony Smith scored in excess off 200 runs but only Kirstie Gordon (10) took more than five wickets.

Welsh Fire

Home ground: Sophia Gardens
Head coach: Gareth Breese

Squad (overseas players in bold): Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Georgia Elwiss, Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Jess Jonassen (Australia), Sarah Bryce, Freya Davies, Emily Windsor, Ella McCaughan, Beth Langston, Alex Griffiths, Phoebe Franklin, Georgia Davis, Kate Coppack

Overseas player to watch: Shabnim Ismail. The South Africa quick bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded in women’s cricket when she clocked 82.08mph while bowling for Mumbai Indians in this year’s WPL. The pacer also bagged a hat-trick for Fire in last term’s Hundred, from the final three balls of the game as she clinched a three-run win over Phoenix in style.

England player to watch: The Hundred could be a big competition for Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont ahead of the T20 World Cup. Dunkley is likely to be on the plane to Bangladesh, either as a starting or spare batter, but Beaumont is currently on the outside looking in for England in T20 cricket, despite scoring the first century by a women’s player in The Hundred last season. A repeat, or something similar, could give England a big decision to make.

How did they perform in 2023? A dramatic improvement. Fire, much like their men’s side, were woeful across the first two years of The Hundred as they finished rock bottom but they made the eliminator last year thanks to Beaumont and Dunkley’s runs and Ismail’s wickets. Fire then posted 104-2 from 75 balls before their game against Superchargers was washed away. A cruel way to go out.

Watch all 68 matches from The Hundred live on Sky Sports between July 23 and August 18.