The Hundred Odds 2022: We're backing the Originals for Hundred glory!

It's back! Love it or loathe it, I guarantee that you'll end up watching some of it. The Hundred returns for it's second outing after a hugely successful first season. Traditionalists may scoff and fans of the county system feel it's going to be the end of some of the smaller counties but the Hundred looks here to stay, courtesy of some massive financial backing from the ECB. We've asked our regular cricket tipster Adam Roberts to preview this unique franchise competition and provide us with his best bets for the monthly slogathon. After successfully predicting BBL winners Perth Scorchers, PSL winners Lahore Qalanders and Vitality Blast winners Hampshire Hawks, can he grab another ante-post winner? Let's dig in...

What is the Hundred?

The Hundred is a 100-ball franchise cricket tournament taking place each summer in the UK. Eight men's and eight women's teams compete in a month-long league and knockout format to establish a winner. Last year's winners were the Southern Brave in the men's tournament and the Oval Invincibles in the women's. 

When does the competition take place and where can I watch it?

The Hundred 2022 runs from the 3rd August right through to the final which is due to take place on the 3rd September. All games will be shown live in the UK by Sky Sports, with the BBC also showing 10 men's games and 8 women's games free-to-air. 

What is the Format?

The Hundred is an entirely new form of limited overs cricket played over 100 balls per innings. The matches are designed to be played quicker than standard T20 games and to be completed in two and a half hours. There are some differing rules that are specific to this format:

• 100 balls per innings
• A change of ends after 10 balls
• Bowlers deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls
• Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game
• Each bowling side gets a strategic time-out of up to two and a half minutes
• A 25-ball powerplay start for each team
• Only two fielders are allowed outside the initial 30-yard circle during the powerplay
• Teams will be able to call time-outs, as has been the case in the IPL since 2009
• The non-striker must return to their original end after a caught dismissal
• No-balls are worth two runs and a free hit
• Slow over-rates are penalised by one fewer fielder being permitted outside the ring for the final over.

Eight city-based teams play four matches at home and four matches away, each team plays every other team once and their nearest regional rivals twice. The team finishing at the top of the table after the 32 matches are completed, progress straight into the finals and the 2nd and 3rd placed sides play an 'eliminator' to see who will face them.

Who are the Franchises?

Birmingham Phoenix

Home ground: Edgbaston

Captain: Moeen Ali

Head Coach: Daniel Vettori

2021 performance: Runners-up

Overseas players: Matthew Wade (Australia), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Kane Richardson (Australia), Imran Tahir (South Africa)

Squad players: Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Benny Howell, Tom Abell, Matthew Fisher, Will Smeed, Chris Benjamin, Miles Hammond, Graeme van Buuren, Henry Brookes, Dan Mousley

London Spirit

Home ground: Lords

Captain: Eoin Morgan

Head Coach: Trevor Bayliss

2021 performance: Eighth

Overseas players:  Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Glenn Maxwell (Australia) - replaced by Josh Inglis when Maxwell on Int. duty, Nathan Ellis (Australia), Ben McDermott (Australia)

Squad players: Eoin Morgan, Zak Crawley, Mark Wood, Liam Dawson, Dan Lawrence, Jordan Thompson, Mason Crane, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Chris Wood, Adam Rossington, Ravi Bopara, Toby Roland-Jones, Brad Wheal, Jamie Smith

Manchester Originals

Home ground: Old Trafford

Captain: Jos Buttler

Head Coach: Simon Katich

2021 performance: Sixth

Overseas players:  Andre Russell (West Indies), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Sean Abbott (Australia), Ashton Turner (Australia)

Squad players: Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Matt Parkinson, Laurie Evans, Daniel Worrall, Jamie Overton, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Colin Ackermann, Wayne Madsen, Fred Klaassen, Calvin Harrison, Richard Gleeson

Northern Superchargers

Home ground: Headingley

Captain: David Willey

Head Coach: James Foster

2021 performance: Fifth

Overseas players:  Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Wahab Riaz (Pakistan), David Wiese (Namibia)

Squad players: David Willey, Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, Adam Hose, Matthew Potts, John Simpson, Roelof van der Merwe, Adam Lyth, Michael Pepper, Callum Parkinson, Ben Raine, Jordan Clark

Oval Invincibles

Home ground: Oval

Captain: Sam Billings

Head Coach: Tom Moody

2021 performance: Fourth

Overseas players: Sunil Narine (West Indies), Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Hilton Cartwright (Australia), Mohammad Hasnain (Pakistan)

Squad players: Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Reece Topley, Danny Briggs, Pat Brown, Matt Milnes, Jack Leaning, Jordan Cox, Nathan Sowter, Jack Haynes, Rory Burns

Southern Brave

Home ground: The Ageas Bowl

Captain: James Vince

Head Coach: Mahela Jayawardene

2021 performance: Winners

Overseas players: Quinton de Kock (South Africa) - replaced by James Fuller when de Kock on Int. duty, Marcus Stoinis (Australia) - replaced by Paul Stirling when Stoinis on Int. duty, Tim David (Singapore), Finn Allen (New Zealand)

Squad players: James Vince, Jofra Archer(injured), Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, George Garton, Craig Overton, Alex Davies, Jake Lintott, Rehan Ahmed, Ross Whiteley, Joe Weatherley, Dan Moriarty, Michael Hogan

Trent Rockets

Home ground: Trent Bridge

Captain: Lewis Gregory

Head Coach: Andy Flower

2021 performance: Third

Overseas players: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) - replaced by Tabraiz Shamsi when Khan on Int. duty, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Marchant de Lange (South Africa), Daniel Sams (Australia)

Squad players: Lewis Gregory, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Alex Hales, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Ian Cockbain, Luke Wood, Samit Patel, Matt Carter, Steven Mullaney, Sam Cook, Luke Fletcher, Tom Moores, Ben Mike

Welsh Fire

Home ground: Sophia Gardens

Captain: Jonny Bairstow

Head Coach: Gary Kirsten

2021 performance: Seventh

Overseas players: Adam Zampa (Australia), David Miller (South Africa), Naseem Shah (Pakistan), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan)

Squad players: Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Jake Ball, David Payne, Sam Hain, Leus du Plooy, Matt Critchley, Ryan Higgins, Jacob Bethell, Josh Cobb, George Scrimshaw

Ok, into the nitty gritty and my pick for the Hundred men's winner in 2022 is Manchester Originals. As a proud Yorkshireman, that takes some writing but Lancashire looked superb in the Blast right until their capitulation in the final and they carry the bulk of that squad into the Originals franchise. One huge plus for Manchester this season is the availability of skipper Jos Buttler. Buttler only played two games last season due to his participation in the England test squad but that is no longer an issue and the 31-year-old can take his international white-ball frustrations out on the poor Hundred bowlers instead. After scoring 863 runs in the IPL, including four hundreds at an eye-watering strike rate, Buttler can carry that form into this shorter format, and his partnership with Phil Salt at the top of the order will be crucial. 

They also possess pace in Richard Gleeson (more on him later) and spin in Matty Parkinson as well as some overseas firepower in Dre Russell and Wanindu Hasaranga. If they perform up to their squad depth, they should be a shoo-in for the top three.

Next up is my bet of the tournament - It's that man James Vince to top score for the competition. The 31-year-old has shone with the bat and as skipper for both Southern Brave and Hampshire Hawks this last 12 months, winning titles with both, and can count himself extremely unfortunate to not have received an England recall in any of the three international formats. Vince was third in the runs lists in last seasons Hundred and continued that form through to the Blast, topping the charts with 678 runs at a 146.12 strike rate. 

I've taken Vince each-way which pays four places and I'd be amazed if his name wasn't up near the top of the charts by the 3rd September. 

Last up as promised it's back to veteran pace king Richard Gleeson. Spin ruled in last year's Hundred with Adil Rashid, Rashid Khan, Jake Lintott and Imran Tahir amongst the leading wicket takers. However, the quicks ruled the roost in the Vitality Blast and none so more than Gleeson. The 34-year-old has had huge problems in the past and almost considered retirement, but his perseverance has paid dividends with a late England call-up and Gleeson led the Blast in wickets this season. Consistently bowling over 90 mph makes him a huge threat with the new ball and when bowling at the death.  

Again the each-way option means we get a payout if Gleeson is in the top four wicket takers overall.