We take a closer look at the men’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: Daniel Vettori

Squad (overseas players in bold): Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Ben Duckett, Tim Southee (New Zealand), Sean Abbott (Australia), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Jamie Smith, Benny Howell, Louis Kimber, Tom Helm, Jacob Bethell, James Fuller, Dan Mousley, Aneurin Donald, Rishi Patel

Overseas player to watch: Sean Abbott. The Australia all-rounder, who averages 22 with the ball in T20 cricket, featured for the Manchester Originals in the 2022 edition of The Hundred and has now been signed by Birmingham.

England player to watch: Liam Livingstone. The all-rounder is an asset prized in franchise cricket around the world thanks to his big hitting, destructive batting and more than useful spin bowling.

How did they perform in 2023? The Phoenix missed out on the play-offs again after finishing sixth and the 2021 runners-up will be seeking to improve on their two wins in the men’s competition last year.

London Spirt

Home ground: Lord’s

Head coach: Trevor Bayliss

Squad (overseas players in bold): Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Andre Russell (West Indies), Shimron Hetmyer (West Indies), Nathan Ellis (Australia), Dan Lawrence, Dan Worrall, Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington, Olly Stone, Matt Critchley, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Michael Pepper, Ravi Bopara, Ryan Higgins, Jimmy Neesham (temporary replacement for Crawley), Matthew Taylor (temporary replacement for Pope)

Overseas player to watch: Andre Russell. The 36-year-old West Indies international is one of the most explosive batters in cricket’s shortest format and, along with compatriot Shimron Hetmeyer, could add some potent run-scoring to the line-up.

England player to watch: Ollie Pope. The England batter previously played for the Welsh Fire, but was picked up by the Spirit in this year’s draft to boost their batting line-up.

How did they perform in 2023? The Spirit failed to improve on reaching the play-off eliminator in 2022, dropping to seventh in the table with just two wins and the second-worst net run-rate in the men’s competition.

Manchester Originals

Home ground: Emirates Old Trafford

Head coach: Simon Katich

Squad (overseas players in bold): Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt, Paul Walter, Tom Hartley, Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Usama Mir (Pakistan), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Wayne Madsen, Max Holden, Mitchell Stanley, Josh Hull, Sonny Baker, Matthew Hurst, Tom Aspinwall, Scott Currie

Overseas player to watch: Fazalhaq Farooqi. The left-arm fast bowler was part of the Afghanistan team that shocked Australia and reached the semi-finals of the recent men’s T20 World Cup and should prove a valuable addition in his first Hundred season.

England player to watch: Phil Salt. The top-order batter averages over 35 in T20Is and has a strike-rate above 165, so should again provide a big run-scoring threat as he enters his fourth season with Manchester.

How did they perform in 2023?: The Originals head into this season aiming to go one better than in 2023 when they lost the final to Oval Invincibles after finishing second in the table and winning the eliminator.

Northern Superchargers

Home ground: Headingley

Head coach: Andrew Flintoff

Squad (overseas players in bold): Harry Brook (captain), Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Jason Roy, Nicholas Pooran (West Indies), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand), Matthew Short (Australia), Adam Hose, Matthew Potts, Callum Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Graham Clark, Tom Lawes, Jordan Clark, Dillon Pennington

Overseas player to watch: Matthew Short. The Australia top-order batter is playing his first season in The Hundred, and has over 2,500 runs to his name in domestic T20 cricket. He can contribute in the shortest format with the ball too, taking 35 wickets so far with his off-breaks.

England player to watch: Ben Stokes. The England Test captain is making his return to the competition for the first time since the inaugural season in 2021, being available for four matches of this year’s tournament, and should provide some big contributions with both bat and ball.

How did they perform in 2023? Things can only get better for the Superchargers this time around after they finished bottom of the table last year, with just two wins and the worst net run-rate in the men’s competition.

Oval Invincibles

Home ground: The Kia Oval

Head coach: Tom Moody

Squad (overseas players in bold): Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Adam Zampa (Australia), Spencer Johnson (Australia), Donovan Ferreira (South Africa), Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, Nathan Sowter, Tawanda Muyeye, Tom Lammonby, Marchant de Lange, Mark Watt, Harrison Ward (temporary replacement for Atkinson)

Overseas player to watch: Adam Zampa.

England player to watch: Gus Atkinson. The pace ace has already been making his mark at Test level for the national team this summer, but also averages just over 20 with the white ball in domestic T20 cricket and 14 in the three T20Is he has played so far.

How did they perform in 2023? The Invincibles go into the 2024 campaign as the team to beat, finishing top of the table and then going on to defeat Manchester Originals by 14 runs in the final at Lord’s.

Southern Brave

Home ground: Utilita Bowl

Head coach: Stephen Fleming

Squad (overseas players in bold): Jofra Archer, James Vince, Chris Jordan, Rehan Ahmed, Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Finn Allen (New Zealand), Tymal Mills, Leus du Plooy, Craig Overton, George Garton, Alex Davies, Danny Briggs, Laurie Evans, James Coles, Joe Weatherley

Overseas player to watch: Finn Allen. The New Zealand star was the second-highest run-scorer in the men’s competition last year with 240 to his name and highest score of 69, and the Brave will be hoping he can be just as prolific again in 2024.

England player to watch: Jofra Archer. Back in action after injury struggles which forced him to miss all of last summer, the England pace ace will surely provide a big wicket-taking threat for the Brave.

How did they perform in 2023? Could have been better, could have been worse. The Brave reached the eliminator after finishing third in the table, but suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Manchester Originals which denied them a place in the final.

Trent Rockets

Home ground: Trent Bridge

Head coach: Andy Flower

Squad (overseas players in bold): Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Joe Root, Tom Banton, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Rovman Powell (West Indies), Imad Wasim (Pakistan), Luke Wood, John Turner, Sam Hain, Sam Cook, Calvin Harrison, Jordan Thompson, Adam Lyth, Ollie Robinson, Tom Alsop, Riley Meredith (temporary replacement for Root)

Overseas player to watch: Rashid Khan. Arguably the star of the Afghanistan team and a player whose leg-spin has proven in demand in franchise cricket around the world, the 25-year-old will be one of the dangermen for the Rockets.

England player to watch: Joe Root. The England batter has proven equally effective in white-ball cricket as he has the longest format and can provide an option with the ball as well thanks to his more than useful spin.

How did they perform in 2023? The Rockets failed to fire last year, finishing two points behind fourth-placed Welsh Fire and just one ahead of the bottom three teams, and will have eyes on bettering their total of three wins.

Welsh Fire

Home ground: Sophia Gardens

Head coach: Michael Hussey

Squad (overseas players in bold): Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Tom Abell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Matt Henry (New Zealand), Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Glenn Phillips (New Zealand), David Payne, Luke Wells, Roelof Van der Merwe, Stephen Eskinazi, Chris Cooke, Jake Ball, Mason Crane, Ben Green

Overseas player to watch: Haris Rauf. The Pakistan pace bowler is always a threat with the ball, regularly sending down deliveries of over 90mph, and averages 21.42 in T20Is.

England player to watch: Jonny Bairstow. The big-hitting Yorkshireman is always a danger at the top of the order and when he gets going can prove difficult for opposition bowlers to stop.

How did they perform in 2023? Much improved on the previous season as they finished fourth and only missed out on an eliminator spot due to a narrowly inferior run-rate. Making the knockout stages will be a minimum expectation in 2024.