The Hundred

A new city-based cricket Twenty20 competition was first proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in September 2016. Following early discussions between the 18 first-class counties, the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) they voted 16–3 in favour of developing the competition. On 26 April 2017, members of the ECB voted by 38–3 to push ahead with the new competition.

The idea of switching the competition from the established Twenty20 format to an entirely new type of cricket was first proposed by Sanjay Patel, the ECB's chief commercial officer, in a private October 2017 meeting with senior cricket officials. He argued that the hundred ball format would be simpler to understand for new audiences that the competition wants to attract.

Former England player and Northern Superchargers head coach Dani Hazell stated that the tournament would help with investment into the women's regional structure and the tournament would be an important learning experience for domestic players.

The tournament was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The profitability of The Hundred has been a subject of debate. In 2016, a report produced by Deloitte had predicted the tournament would make about £27m profit per year. The ECB reported in 2022 that The Hundred had made an £11.8m profit. A report produced in 2023 by Fanos Hira, a chartered accountant, and assisted by ECB chairman Richard Thompson, showed a loss of £9m in its first two years. These figures do not include the £24.7m promised to the counties and MCC. The ECB's chief executive Richard Gould said he expected the tournament was "here to stay" beyond the current deal with Sky Sports, which runs until 2028.

For the third season of The Hundred, it was announced that the 100-ball cricket competition would be collaborating with Marvel Comics. A selection of Marvel's characters, such as Hulk, Iron Man and Black Panther featured in digital content with players from across all eight teams to introduce the competition to new audiences.

In 2024, the ECB secured support from county cricket clubs to transfer ownership of the eight franchises away from the ECB, with the host counties (or MCC for London Spirit) given 51% of their franchise, and the ECB retaining 49%, which they would make available to private investors.

The proceeds from the sale of the ECB's 49% stake would see 90% split equally between the 18 counties and the MCC, with 10% going to the recreational game. Any host selling part or all of their 51% stake would see proceeds split in the following way: 80% for the host county, 10% split between the 18 counties and MCC, and 10% for the recreational game.

In September 2024, it was reported the ECB had turned down a £400m offer for 75% of the competition, from Bridgepoint Group, a London-listed buyout firm. In October, MCC held a vote in which its members voted in favour of accepting the ECB's offer.

The process of courting potential investors culminated in the final stage taking place in January 2025. A 49% share in Birmingham Phoenix was sold for approximately £40m to Knighthead Capital, a US investment group that including NFL quarterback Tom Brady. On the same day, Oval Invincibles announced that the Ambani family, owners of the Mumbai Indians, had acquired a 49% stake for around £60m.

Sanjay Govil's Washington Freedom bought a 50% stake in Welsh Fire and a consortium of tech billionaires led by Nikesh Arora acquired 49% of London Spirit for £145m.

Lancashire became the first host county to sell part of their stake in their franchise, with 70% of the Manchester Originals going to the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, owners of the Mohun Bagan Super Giants and Lucknow Super Giants, for approximately £81m. This transaction established RPSG as the principal stakeholder in the Manchester-based team, with Lancashire County Cricket Club retaining the remaining 30% ownership.

Yorkshire then sold their entire stake in the Northern Superchargers to Sun Group, the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, for around £100m. On February 11, 2025, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly agreed to buy a 49% share in Trent Rockets for close to £40m. On February 12, GMR Group, owner of Hampshire Cricket Club, agreed a £48m deal for the ECB's 49% stake in Southern Brave.