- Oval Invincibles lifted the trophy in 2023 and could be the team to beat again
- Recommended bets:
- Oval Invincibles to win the tournament
- London Spirit to finish in the top three

The fourth season of The Hundred starts on Tuesday July 23 and eight franchises will be battling it out to reach the men's final at Lord's on Sunday August 18. 

Invincibles could go from strength to strength

Oval Invincibles had to dig deep in last year's final of The Hundred, having been reduced to 34-5 when batting first against Manchester Originals.

Tom Curran (67 not out) and Jimmy Neesham (57 not out) dragged them to a competitive total of 161-5 before their well-balanced bowling attack closed out a 14-run win at Lord's.

The Invincibles were worthy champions, having lost only one of their nine matches, and their squad looks primed for a successful title defence in 2024.

Openers Will Jacks and Dawid Malan are class acts at this level while Jordan Cox, Sam Billings and Sam Curran, the player of the tournament in England's 2022 T20 World Cup victory, form an exciting middle-order.

The Invincibles' bowling attack should give them the edge over their rivals. Gus Atkinson took 12 wickets in a sensational Test debut for England against the West Indies this month while the Curran brothers, Sam and Tom, and Australia left-armer Spencer Johnson are terrific operators.

Spinners Jacks and Nathan Sowter played key roles in last year's final at Lord's and the signing of Australia's Adam Zampa, a world-class T20 leg-spinner, is a major boost for the holders.

Back Oval Invincibles to win the tournament at 4/1 with LiveScore Bet

Spirit should be competitive in league stage

Oval Invincibles' main rivals are expected to be Manchester Originals, who have lost in the last two finals and have England's T20 openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler at the top of their order.

Originals all-rounder Jamie Overton, the player of the tournament last year, has made a timely return from a back injury but a more appealing bet is for London Spirit to finish in the top three. 

The top team in the league stage of the tournament goes straight into the final while the sides finishing second and third face each other in a play-off eliminator.

The Spirit have an underwhelming record in The Hundred, finishing bottom in 2021 and seventh out of eight last summer. However, they won five of their eight games in 2022 to finish third and their 2024 squad is packed with potential match winners.

England Test players Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence provide a classy core to the batting unit with Neesham and West Indian duo Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell adding serious power to the middle-order.

Russell, an icon of T20 cricket, helped Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL glory earlier this year and Australia's Nathan Ellis is another outstanding short-format fast bowler.

The Spirit have a host of in-form county players including Kent's Daniel Bell-Drummond, Essex's Michael Pepper and Matt Critchley, Middlesex's Ryan Higgins and Hampshire's ace spinning all-rounder Liam Dawson so a competitive campaign is expected.

Back London Spirit to finish in the top three at 7/4 with LiveScore Bet