After three weeks of thrilling cricket, The Hundred 2023 reaches its conclusion today after eliminators is set to see two new names on the trophies.
In the women's competition, two-time champions Oval Invincibles could only finish fifth in the group stage, which means Southern Brave - runners-up in the first two seasons - or Northern Superchargers, who have never made the knockouts before, set to be first-time champions. In the men's final, Manchester Originals, who beat Brave in the eliminator, will look to go one better than the 2022 final when they lost to Trent Rockets.
Oval Invincibles, who topped the table to advance straight to the final, are in the knockout stages for the first time. There will be an array of world-class talent on show in both finals, where Manchester Originals have England white-ball skipper and tournament top scorer Jos Buttler and England opener Phil Salt in their ranks.
Sam Curran, player of the tournament at last year's T20 World Cup, is in the Oval Invincibles side as well as the pacey Gus Atkinson, who has just been called up to the England squad for the first time. That is in addition to Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Tom Curran and captain Sam Billings, who have all played for England.
India superstar Smriti Mandhana, the most expensive player at the inaugural Indian Women's Premier League earlier this year, opens the batting for Southern Brave alongside England international Danni Wyatt. They also have England seamer Lauren Bell opening the bowling. Northern Superchargers have talented Australian duo Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Wareham, plus England seamer Kate Cross and newbie Bess Heath.
Speaking about Litchfield, Superchargers captain Hollie Armitage said: "She's taken the game on and got stuck in. The contributions she's already had for us have been really beneficial and hopefully she can do exactly the same.
"Her stats speak for themselves. She plays 360 and has really taken on the role in the middle order. She is a brilliant character off the field and has settled in amazingly."
As well as the Hundred trophy, there are also plenty of individual awards on the line. Finals day at Lord's will include a performance between the two matches by Brit Award winners Rudimental.
