Trent Rockets have been confirmed as the inaugural winners of the Hundred Helix trophy, a new prize introduced for the 2026 season that rewards the franchise with the most combined points across the men's and women's competitions. The award was decided on Sunday, 16 August 2026, after both finals were completed at Lord's, with Rockets securing the title on points before either match had finished because they had already qualified for both showpiece games.
Rockets finished with 60 points in the combined standings, 16 clear of second-placed Sunrisers Leeds. According to Sky Sports, that gap had already been established heading into finals day, meaning the Helix trophy was effectively locked in for Rockets regardless of the outcome at Lord's.
What is the Helix trophy and why was it created?
The Helix trophy is a new overall prize introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board for the 2026 Hundred season, designed to sit alongside the existing separate men's and women's titles rather than replace either of them. Points from every match across the tournament, including group games, eliminators and finals, count toward the combined table, with each win worth four points, according to TechRadar.
The trophy's name was chosen by supporters through a fan vote run on the competition's official website, with "Helix" emerging as the winning suggestion, as reported by a national broadcaster's report. The men's and women's competitions have run alongside one another since 2021, and the combined award was created specifically to recognise the strongest all-round franchise across both formats.
How did finals day at Lord's unfold?
Rockets could not complete a rare double after winning the women's final but falling short in the men's showpiece later the same day. As detailed in our earlier coverage, Trent Rockets claimed their first-ever Women's Hundred title, beating Sunrisers Leeds by eight wickets at Lord's after bowling the defending champions out for a season-low 91.
In the men's final, however, Manchester Super Giants beat Trent Rockets by five wickets to win their first men's Hundred title, with Tim Seifert producing a record-equalling innings of 72 to deny Rockets the double. That result meant Rockets took home the women's trophy and the new Helix prize, but not the men's title.
What was the road to the final like for Rockets?
Trent Rockets' women's side arrived at Lord's on the back of a strong campaign. Earlier in the tournament, as covered in our report on Rockets' dominant win over Birmingham Phoenix, the team bowled Phoenix out for just 64 at Edgbaston before Sophia Dunkley powered a rapid chase. Rockets also survived a scare against Sunrisers Leeds, as detailed in our piece on how Rockets held off a Sunrisers fightback to win by five runs at Trent Bridge, a match in which Dunkley scored 56 and Annabel Sutherland finished unbeaten on 59.
Who else has led the Helix standings this season?
Manchester Super Giants briefly topped the combined Helix table earlier in the competition after an early men's win over Birmingham Phoenix in July, according to ESPN Cricinfo. That early lead did not hold, and Rockets ultimately pulled clear over the course of the tournament to secure the inaugural trophy.
How would a combined trophy look in other sports?
The concept of merging men's and women's standings raises an intriguing question for other competitions. Despite Manchester City winning the Women's Super League, Arsenal would top a combined 2025-26 Premier League and WSL table, edging ahead by three points thanks to a seven-point cushion over City in the Premier League. A combined Arsenal attack featuring Erling Haaland and Khadija Shaw would have scored 48 league goals between them last season. Chelsea, despite finishing 10th in the Premier League, would rank fourth overall due to a third-placed WSL finish, while West Ham would sit bottom of the crossover clubs with 58 combined points.
In rugby, France's men's Six Nations title in 2026 would carry over into a combined table too, with Les Bleus losing just two matches across both competitions to finish with eight wins and 21 points in each. England's unbeaten women's campaign would only be enough for second place overall because of a single win in the men's tournament, while Wales would finish bottom with 11 combined points after finishing last in both competitions.
Golf offers a similar thought experiment across two different years. Europe's two-point win in the 2025 Ryder Cup would not be enough to beat the United States in a combined table, with the Americans edging ahead courtesy of their three-point victory in the 2024 Solheim Cup.
What happens next?
With both Hundred finals now complete and the Helix trophy awarded, attention turns to how the format will be refined for future seasons. The finals day itself, played out at Lord's on 16 August 2026 with the women's final preceding the men's final, is expected to serve as the template for how the combined standings are calculated and presented going forward, according to the BBC's coverage of finals day.
Key Facts
- Trent Rockets won the inaugural Hundred Helix trophy with 60 combined points, 16 ahead of Sunrisers Leeds.
- Rockets won the women's final at Lord's on 16 August 2026 but lost the men's final to Manchester Super Giants.
- The Helix trophy rewards points from every match, including group games, at four points per win.
- The trophy's name was chosen by fans through an online vote.
- Manchester Super Giants briefly led the combined standings earlier in the tournament before Rockets pulled clear.
