Just three English cricketers will take on captaincy roles in this year’s women’s Hundred competition, a stark contrast to the men’s tournament and a seemingly wasted chance to broaden the pool of potential England leaders.
When Charlotte Edwards succeeded Heather Knight as England women’s head coach following the 2024-25 Ashes, Nat Sciver-Brunt stood as the sole credible candidate to fill Knight’s shoes. Edwards made nurturing leadership talent a key objective, aiming to enlarge the roster of players who could eventually succeed Sciver-Brunt.
Charlie Dean has since distinguished herself as a capable leader. Named vice-captain last year, she has captained England on nine occasions this summer—including three T20 World Cup matches—while Sciver-Brunt recovered from a calf injury. Yet Dean, who will lead London Spirit, is one of only three English players entrusted with a Hundred captaincy. The others are Dani Gibson (Sunrisers Leeds) and Hollie Armitage (MI London). The remaining five franchises will be guided by overseas appointees.
Sciver-Brunt relinquished her Rockets captaincy last year, and Ash Gardner will again lead that side in 2026. Gardner is among four Australian women’s captains in the Hundred, joined by Meg Lanning (Manchester Super Giants), Ellyse Perry (Birmingham Phoenix) and Sophie Molineux (Southern Brave). New Zealand’s Sophie Devine will captain Welsh Fire.
Knight, 35, will sit out the women’s Hundred entirely this year, assuming a general manager position with London Spirit’s women’s team instead.
Gibson, a record-breaking £190,000 acquisition at March’s auction, gained limited leadership experience during England’s intra-squad series in South Africa last March. However, established England regulars such as Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp were passed over by their franchises.
The pattern positions the Hundred as an anomaly among the three premier women’s franchise leagues. In last year’s WBBL, seven of eight teams were led by Australians, while three of five WPL sides were captained by Indians.
The disparity is especially pronounced against the men’s Hundred, where South Africa’s Aiden Markram (Manchester Super Giants) is poised to be the sole overseas captain. The Super Giants remain the only franchise yet to confirm their 2026 men’s skipper; the other seven will be led by English players. Three of those—Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix), Sam Curran (MI London) and Phil Salt (Welsh Fire)—are viewed as possible contenders for England’s T20I captaincy should Harry Brook step down, a scenario that could arise if Brook replaces Ben Stokes as Test captain.
Brook has opted not to captain Sunrisers Leeds this season, citing workload management, with Zak Crawley taking the reins. The remaining confirmed men’s captains are former England internationals in their thirties: Liam Livingstone (London Spirit), Sam Billings (Trent Rockets) and Chris Jordan (Southern Brave).
Both MI London and Sunrisers Leeds anticipate a frenetic prelude to the men’s opener on July 21. The fixture falls three days after T20 Blast Finals Day and the Major League Cricket final in the United States, and two days after an England-India ODI at Lord’s, leaving some players unlikely to train before debuting for their new clubs.
Several women’s players also face a compressed schedule, with only three days separating the women’s T20 Blast Finals Day at The Oval on July 17 and the opening women’s Hundred match between the same two franchises.
The Hundred – 2026 captains
Birmingham Phoenix: Jacob Bethell, Ellyse Perry
London Spirit: Liam Livingstone, Charlie Dean
Manchester Super Giants: Aiden Markram (tbc), Meg Lanning
MI London: Sam Curran, Hollie Armitage
Southern Brave: Chris Jordan, Sophie Molineux
Sunrisers Leeds: Zak Crawley, Dani Gibson
Trent Rockets: Sam Billings, Ash Gardner
Welsh Fire: Phil Salt, Sophie Devine