Who impressed and who struggled in the 2025 Men’s Hundred

The fifth iteration of the men’s Hundred competition has come to a close as the Oval Invincibles claimed their third successive title by beating the Trent Rockets by 26 runs at Lord’s.

The top three all secured their place in the tournament finale with one game remaining, with the Trent Rockets in the play-off for the first time since they won in 2022, whilst it was a maiden appearance in the knockout stage for Northern Superchargers under the leadership of Andrew Flintoff.

With the tournament now completed, we pinpoint some of the individuals who have had a successful campaign and those who perhaps struggled to make their expected impact.

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Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker amongst biggest stock risers

It has been a remarkable summer for 24-year-old Jordan Cox, who has enjoyed a prolific Hundred campaign as the current leading run-scorer with 327 at an average of 65.40.

The top order batter has been in imperious form for finalists Oval Invincibles, striking three consecutive half-centuries at 178.68 and smashing a tournament-high 21 sixes, ten of which came in his blistering 29-ball 86 during his side’s record score of 226 against Welsh Fire.

Cox has had an impressive season for Essex, averaging just under 60 in the County Championship and concluded the Vitality Blast campaign with a staggering 60-ball 139 to guide his side to a successful chase of 221 against Hampshire Hawks.

His first taste of international cricket in autumn last year did not quite go to plan and he was cruelly robbed of making his Test debut in New Zealand after suffering a broken thumb, and whilst he was not named in the latest England white ball squads, it seems only a matter of time before an opportunity presents itself once more.

Fast bowler Sonny Baker has had a breakthrough month with the Manchester Originals, earning himself a maiden England call-up for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa and T20 series in Ireland.

The bustling 22-year-old, who appeared in the 2022 Hundred for Southern Brave before even making his professional T20 debut, has claimed nine wickets in the competition this season at an economical rate of just 7.68, notably taking a hat-trick against Northern Superchargers at Headingley.

Baker’s scalps include the likes of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, impressing not only with his high pace but ability to restrict batters up front in the PowerPlay and also bowl effective yorkers towards the back end of the innings which has forced the legend James Anderson to settle for a largely watching brief in his first taste of franchise cricket.

Having made the move from Somerset to Hampshire during the winter, Baker is part of a crop of exciting young quick bowlers at the Utilita Bowl, alongside fellow England prospect Eddie Jack, with many tipping a potential fast-track Ashes selection, despite having only made his First Class debut in January this year during the England Lions tour of Australia.

Elsewhere, all-rounder Rehan Ahmed has continued his splendid 2025 season with 189 runs and ten wickets for Trent Rockets, continuing his new-found role at number three which has seen him notch five centuries for promotion-bound Leicestershire in the County Championship.

Whilst Ahmed will be joining up with the England squad next week, three players who will not be there are Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone but their performances in the Hundred suggest the trio may still have something to offer at international level.

Jonny Bairstow, 35, has not been in the England white ball setup since the 2024 T20 World Cup and it seems a recall is highly unlikely, though did any chances no harm with 243 runs at a strike rate of 164.18 for strugglers Welsh Fire, with a competition joint-highest score of 86 not out against London Spirit.

Liam Livingstone, 32, was axed ahead of the home series against West Indies at the beginning of the summer but like Bairstow, has also averaged in excess of 40 this campaign and was at his destructive-best when he took down Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan in a match-winning 69* off 27 balls against Oval Invincibles for his Birmingham Phoenix side.

At 27, Sam Curran does have age on his side and can consider himself rather unlucky not to be included in the latest England squads as one of the standout players in the Hundred with both bat and ball consistently, striking at 178.40 for his 223 runs and also taking 12 wickets with his inventive change-ups.

After a difficult few years, Curran has so far been overlooked since Brendon McCullum assumed all-format control but his all-round ability may be difficult to ignore much longer in a department England appear light on and his IPL experience may be valuable ahead of the T20 World Cup co-hosted by India.

Mixed fortunes for current England stars

It has been a hectic period for many of England’s leading players, coming into the tournament immediately after the gruelling Test series with India concluded.

For many the transition from red ball to white ball is second nature.

Joe Root (228 runs @ 32.57) had a slow start with three single-figure scores in five innings but ended the group stage with two half-centuries, including a valuable 64 not out which guided Trent Rockets to victory at Welsh Fire and secured their place in the top three.

Harry Brook (221 runs @ 44.20) has led Northern Superchargers to the Eliminator stage for the first time in their history, displaying his typically outrageous stroke play, whilst wicketkeeper Jamie Smith also passed 200 runs for London Spirit at a strike rate above 170.

Zak Crawley has been somewhat of a surprise package, making the move to Northern Superchargers where he has amassed 280 runs at a strike rate of 162.79 and become the catalyst at the top of the order for their improved performances.

However, his Test opening partner Ben Duckett has found runs a little harder to come by with an average of only 17.57 and striking at 114.95, whilst his Birmingham Phoenix teammate and England golden boy Jacob Bethell has also not had the impact he would have hoped for with just 122 runs in eight innings.

Elsewhere, former white ball captain Jos Buttler unsurprisingly found himself towards the top of the batting charts with 283 runs at 40.42, with his England and Manchester Originals teammate Phil Salt also breaking the 200-run barrier but at nowhere near his usual destructive best.

In terms of the bowlers, Jofra Archer continued to build nicely with eight wickets in six matches and only on one occasion did the Southern Brave pacemen concede more than a run-a-ball.

Josh Tongue, not known for his white ball exploits, ended the group stage as the leading wicket-taker with 14 at a phenomenal strike rate of 8.21.

There was slightly less success for England’s limited overs pace duo Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood.

Mahmood featured five times for Oval Invincibles but proved highly expensive at an economy rate of 11.42, whilst left-arm swing bowler Wood only managed to claim three scalps in seven outings for London Spirit.

Headline overseas names flatter to deceive

The overriding quality of a franchise tournament is often determined by the performances of the international signings and the Hundred has attracted a number of big names this season, though not all have been able to live up to expectations.

Steve Smith’s maiden Hundred campaign was unable to inspire perennial strugglers Welsh Fire as the Australian could only muster 133 runs with no half-centuries.

Pantomime villain David Warner began the competition in fine form for London Spirit with two scores in the 70s in his first three games but since then only managed to pass 10 once in five games.

London Spirit also had Kane Williamson as captain and whilst the New Zealand great registered over 200 runs, like Warner, they came at a fairly modest strike rate of under 130 which was significantly lower than other leading batters towards the top of the run-scoring charts.

Heinrich Klaasen is renowned as one of the most destructive batters in world cricket, though other than a rapid fifty against Northern Superchargers, the South African struggled to hit his straps and only managed a touch over 110 strike rate throughout.

Birmingham Phoenix’s all-Kiwi pace attack also failed to deliver as anticipated, with Trent Boult, Adam Milne and Tim Southee only claiming 12 wickets between them.

It was by no means all disappointment for the overseas stars, and perhaps unsurprisingly it was at the defending champions Oval Invincibles where all three of their imports were a resounding success.

Rashid Khan missed the last two group games on international duty and has subsequently been replaced by Adam Zampa for Sunday’s final, though still managed to rack up 12 wickets in his six matches and Edgbaston-aside, all of which came at a typically economical rate.

Donovan Ferreira may still not be a household name but is fast becoming a huge franchise asset for his ball-striking ability in the middle order and he has executed that role for the Invincibles to perfection with 17 sixes in total and a staggering 244.92 strike rate.

Australian seamer Jason Behrendorff was a slightly left-field pick in the draft but the 35-year-old has proved to be a reliable new-ball option with ten wickets at an economy rate of just 7.33.

Elsewhere, Australian duo Chris Green and Riley Meredith have continued their form from the Vitality Blast and proved solid acquisitions for the Welsh Fire with 22 wickets between them, though ultimately proved not enough to help drag their side into contention.

Domestic big hitters disappoint

Followers of the Vitality Blast will become accustomed to seeing regular names appearing at the top of the batting and bowling charts each year, though some of the best performers from the 2025 campaign were unable to replicate their form in the Hundred.

The ever reliable James Vince had an uncharacteristically poor tournament for the Southern Brave with an average of just 12.87, after scoring 155 runs more than any other batter in 2024.

23-year-old opener Will Smeed returned to the Birmingham Phoenix fold after missing through injury last year, though his 15.62 average represents a significant drop from the T20 Blast where he accumulated over 500 runs for Somerset.

The Northern Superchargers top order had a reshuffle in the draft and one man who was hoping to benefit from a fresh start was Michael Pepper, returning to the Headingley franchise after two disappointing seasons with London Spirit.

Performances for Essex in recent years have put him on the fringes of the England squad but he once again endured a miserable Hundred tournament with only 62 runs in seven innings, taking his career average in the competition to a mere 11.19.

Another new addition to the Superchargers batting order was Surrey’s Dan Lawrence, though like Pepper, he also struggled to make a meaningful impact with only one notable contribution and four single-figure scores.

A formidable Welsh Fire batting lineup on paper did not materialise on the field and for two of Somerset’s more consistent performers, they will feel disappointed with how their tournament panned out.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore saved one of the innings of the competition until the final group game with nothing but pride to play for, smashing 84 off 46 balls in a lone chase against Southern Brave, though only managed 97 runs in his previous six innings, whilst captain Tom Abell similarly found runs hard to come by throughout the campaign with a top score of 48 against Trent Rockets in their penultimate game.

By Dom Harris

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