Grace Ballinger, a Manchester Super Giants player writing for BBC Sport, previews the 2026 edition of The Hundred, which begins on Tuesday with a match between MI London and Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval. This is the tournament's first year under privatisation, with all eight teams now independently owned after host counties sold full or partial stakes, rather than the competition being centrally run by the ECB as before, marking a significant shift in how the competition is structured and marketed.

Ballinger highlights player salaries rising sharply, from £16,000 last year to £42,500 this summer, as one clear benefit of the changes, alongside a shift from centralised ECB management to franchise control, including varied kit sponsors. She notes that some brands built up over recent years have been transformed almost overnight, citing Sunrisers Leeds (formerly Northern Superchargers) rebranding after a £100m takeover by The Sun Group and retaining none of the squad that won the title in 2025 aside from three retained players. Ballinger herself has moved from Northern Superchargers to Manchester Super Giants (formerly Manchester Originals) via the player auction, and expresses enthusiasm about working under head coach Matthew Mott and captain Meg Lanning.