The fourth edition of the Men’s Hundred 2024 will take place from July 23 to August 18 at seven different venues, featuring eight teams. The Oval Invincibles will play against Birmingham Phoenix at the Kia Oval to start the tournament on Tuesday.
In this fast-paced 100-ball format, some rules have been adjusted to give bowlers a fair chance against batters. Instead of the usual format, a bowler can choose to deliver either five or ten consecutive balls, with a maximum of 20 balls per innings.
Over the past three seasons, bowlers have shown they can handle the batters’ power in this competition.
Here are five bowlers who could be very successful in the Men’s Hundred 2024.
5. Jofra Archer
The right-arm fast bowler Jofra Archer came back to international cricket in May 2024 after more than a year. He took three wickets in three games against Pakistan before the T20 World Cup. In the World Cup, he was the joint top wicket-taker for England with 10 wickets and an economy rate of 7.21. Even though he is fit, the team decided not to rush him back to Test cricket against West Indies. After about a month of rest, Archer will be ready to play in the Men’s Hundred 2024. Archer has taken 182 wickets in 145 T20 matches with an economy rate of 7.68.
The clever right-arm spinner, Adil Rashid, did very well in the last season of the Men’s Hundred for the Northern Superchargers. He took 11 wickets in eight games with a good economy rate of 7.53. His best performance was 4 wickets for 18 runs against the Manchester Originals.In the 2024 T20 World Cup, Adil was England’s top wicket-taker with 10 wickets in 8 matches, including 4 for 18 against Oman. With 341 wickets in 303 T20s and an economy rate of 7.45, he’s crucial for the Superchargers.
3. Tymal Mills
Left-arm fast bowler Tymal Mills has had up-and-down performances lately, mostly because of injuries. But he stood out this year, leading the Vitality Blast with 24 wickets in 13 matches, and had an economy rate of 7.57. His strong performance helped Sussex finish in second place on the points table. The Brave will hope he keeps up his good form in the Men’s Hundred 2024.
Haris Rauf, the second Pakistani bowler to take over 100 wickets in T20Is, will join the Welsh Fire for the Men’s Hundred 2024. Last season, he took five wickets in six games with an economy rate of 7.38. In the T20 World Cup, Rauf was Pakistan’s top wicket-taker with seven wickets in four matches and an economy rate of 6.73. Though he has only taken three wickets in six matches of the ongoing MLC 2024 for the San Francisco Unicorns, the 30-year-old has a strong T20 record and could be a key player for the Fire.
1. Rashid Khan
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has been very effective in T20 cricket, taking nearly 600 wickets with an economy rate of 6.47. In the 2023 MLC, he took 8 wickets in 6 matches with an economy rate of 6.83, helping MI New York win the title.Rashid had a decent IPL 2024, taking 10 wickets in 12 games with an economy rate of 8.40. In the 2024 T20 WC, he took 14 wickets in 8 games with a great economy rate of 6.17, helping Afgh reach the semi-finals. This year in MLC 2024, the 25-year-old has been key for MI New York, taking 10 wickets and scoring over 100 runs. It will be interesting to see if Rashid can lead the Rockets to their second title of the tournament.
Here is a table summarizing the stats for the players: