The Hundred returns to Utilita Bowl next week, with Southern Brave once more among the many leading contenders in each the lads’s and girls’s competitions.
Few teams can match the success Southern Brave have enjoyed for the reason that competition launched in 2021.
The boys’s side were crowned inaugural champions, lifting the title within the tournament’s first season, while the ladies followed suit by becoming champions in 2023.
More recently, Southern Brave Women continued to set the usual by becoming the primary team within the competition’s history to finish an unbeaten league-stage campaign in 2025 before eventually falling agonisingly short in the ultimate.
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Star power across each squads
That track record has established Utilita Bowl as one in every of the competition’s great venues, with packed crowds and a repute for producing a few of The Hundred’s most entertaining cricket.
As ever, Southern Brave have assembled a number of the biggest names in world cricket.
The boys’s group features England stars Jofra Archer, Jamie Smith, Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan, alongside Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, powerful wicketkeeper-batter Michael Pepper and exciting all-round talent Nikhil Chaudhary.
Jemimah Rodrigues adds flair and superstar quality to the ladies’s squad, while South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt brings proven world-class talent at the highest of the order.
England internationals and Hampshire Cricket stars Lauren Bell and Maia Bouchier provide further strength in a team that has consistently challenged for silverware throughout the competition’s history.
The mix of international stars, England regulars and emerging domestic talent means Southern Brave look well equipped to challenge on each fronts once more.
PICTURE: Southern Brave
A quick start the priority
Setting the tone early will prove crucial in a contest where every match carries significant weight.
Southern Brave begin the season at home against Welsh Fire on Wednesday 22 July, with Utilita Bowl expected to supply a vigorous backdrop as each squads look to put down an early marker for the remaining of the tournament.
With just eight group-stage matches before the knockout rounds, momentum can quickly define a season. Southern Brave’s recent history suggests they know higher than most the way to construct that momentum and switch it into title challenges.
Home fixtures at Utilita Bowl
- 22 July: Southern Brave v Welsh Fire
- 27 July: Southern Brave v MI London
- 30 July: Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix
- 8 August: Southern Brave v Manchester Super Giants
Away fixtures
- 25 July: Sunrisers Leeds v Southern Brave – Headingley
- 1 August: London Spirit v Southern Brave – Lord’s
- 3 August: Welsh Fire v Southern Brave – Sophia Gardens
- 10 August: Trent Rockets v Southern Brave – Trent Bridge
Knockout phase
- Eliminator: Friday 14 August – Kia Oval
- Final: Sunday 16 August – Lord’s
Fresh leadership for 2026
Southern Brave enters the 2026 campaign with recent captains on the helm.
England white-ball star and Southern Brave stalwart Chris Jordan takes charge of the lads’s side, having been a part of the franchise since their title-winning campaign in 2021.
On the ladies’s side, Australian international Sophie Molineux will lead a squad full of world-class talent and experience.
The leadership change is complemented by an evolved coaching structure across each teams.
For the lads, head coach Hemang Badani is supported by assistant coach Ian Bell, with Shane Burger joining as bowling coach, former India international Mohit Sharma appointed to the coaching group and ex-Ireland international John Mooney taking up fielding duties.
The ladies’s team is under the leadership of head coach Jonathan Batty and assistant coach Anya Shrubsole, with Tharindu Perera appointed batting coach and former England international Jenny Gunn joining as fielding coach.
The result’s a training set-up boasting elite international experience across all areas of the sport.
READ MORE: Southern Brave name Sophie Molineux and Chris Jordan as captains
