London Spirit begin the new Hundred season with a substantially changed men’s squad and a renewed sense of ambition, while the women’s side also arrive with a new captain and a leaner core of familiar faces. The competition’s most valuable franchise enter 2026 with new ownership, a new logo, a new sponsor and a new kit producer, and both teams start the campaign at Lord’s this week.
When Jamie Overton reported to Lord’s last Friday for the start of the new Hundred season, he found something extraordinary, and potentially unique, even by the standards of franchise cricket: every one of his former men’s teammates from 2025 had gone. He is the only survivor from last year’s squad, which now has a new head coach and new coaches for batting, fielding, spin and pace bowling.
The scale of the change has altered the feel around the side, Overton said, even if the challenge remains the same.
“It definitely does feel like a different competition this year, because every team is effectively different,” he says. “Oval Invincibles were the best side over the last three or four years, but that’s spread out a little bit now and every side you look at them and go: ‘Oh yeah, they’ve got a good team.’
“It’s going to be a tough competition, and I’m going to be biased, but I’m backing this squad. We’ve got a lot of firepower, a lot of wicket-taking potential and we’ve got a hell of a lot of experience. We’ve just got to go out and perform well.”
The Spirit women’s squad is twice as settled, in that among the playing group they have two veterans of 2025: Charlie Dean, who has taken over as permanent captain having stood in for the injured Heather Knight (now the general manager) in 2025; and Grace Harris.
“It’s a little bit weird, but it’s not that bad,” Harris says.
“It’s only bad if you miss friends. I really enjoyed playing with Sarah Glenn [now at Southern Brave] and with Danny Gibson [now captaining Sunrisers Leeds]. I enjoyed playing with a few of the London Spirit girls that were around last season, but it’s not like they’ve completely gone missing. They’re going to be playing for other teams so we’ll still see them around.”
London Spirit are not one of the three Hundred sides who come into this season with a new name, but they do have a new logo, a new sponsor and a new kit producer. They also have relatively new co-owners in the Tech Titans, the consortium of entrepreneurs, a deal announced in January 2025 and completed last July, making them the competition’s most valuable franchise.
Andy Flower, the new men’s coach, says the changes will bring “renewed energy and perhaps a bit of pizzazz”, as well as new ambitions. The women’s team has reached, and won, one of the five previous finals, but the men have come last or second-last in four years out of five and have never finished in the top two.
There is no reason, though, for them to be defined by results achieved by different people in a different era, and Flower arrives with a strong Hundred and IPL record. He has won the Hundred, with, as well as the past two Indian Premier League titles with .
He says his job now that the squad has been assembled is to help players feel clear and confident.
“looking to get people feeling as confident and clear as possible … to make them feel confident and clear and free to go and make decisions for themselves”
Overton, who worked with Flower as a young player when he was Lions coach and later reunited with him at Gulf Giants in the ILT20, says he already knows how the new coach operates.
“I’ve known him quite a long time and I know how he works,” Overton says.
“He’s very different now than he was, but franchise cricket is very different to younger players trying to play for England. You’re on a journey in that phase of your life, whereas in franchise cricket you probably know where you want to be.
“He’s developed, like all good people do. But he’s very direct in how he wants to play the game. He’ll do all the one percenters, find the small margins.”
The women’s team is also being led for the first time by a former England coach in Jon Lewis and will begin their season against Manchester SuperGiants on Thursday afternoon, with the men’s teams meeting in the evening.
The arrival of private ownership has added to the atmosphere around the franchise, Harris said, but she does not believe it changes the standards on the field.
“Since it’s been privatised there’s a bit more of a buzz, just about what changes might happen,” Harris says. “But we can’t be any more professional than what it’s been over the past three seasonsI’ve been involved.
“If there’s more money in the game maybe they pay for an ice bath now or we get better access to off-field facilities or more clothing to wear. Our team room’s been done up quite well at the hotel, so that’s good fun. But I don’t think your on-field expectations should change that much.
“You can only do so much as a human being. You can try harder, but if you haven’t been trying up until that point then where have you been?”
Entertainment between the games at Lord’s on Thursday will be provided by Tinie Tempah. Rap may always feel slightly incongruous at the home of cricket, but his most recent chart single, 2020’s Top Winners, has an obvious fit with the mood around London Spirit.
“It’s about a winners’ mindset and mentality, about striving to achieve more and continuing to do better for yourself,” he says.
Ambition, though, is the easy part. Top Winners peaked at No 64.
Key Facts
- Jamie Overton is the only survivor from London Spirit’s men’s squad from 2025.
- Andy Flower is the new men’s coach, while Jon Lewis leads the women’s team for the first time.
- Charlie Dean has become permanent women’s captain after standing in for the injured Heather Knight in 2025.
- London Spirit’s co-owners, the Tech Titans, completed their deal in July 2025, making the franchise the competition’s most valuable.
- London Spirit women begin against Manchester SuperGiants on Thursday afternoon, with the men’s teams meeting in the evening.
