The Cricketer selects the best XI from the 2023 Men's Hundred...
Jos Buttler (Manchester Originals)
10 matches, 391 runs at 43.44, 143.35 strike rate, three half-centuries
England's white-ball captain is approaching the upcoming World Cup in decent nick. He topped the run-scoring charts by 151 runs as the only player to pass fifty three times in the tournament.
His fireworks took Manchester Originals to the final, belting Southern Brave for the highest Hundred run-chase at The Oval, before falling to Danny Briggs in the final. No one hit more fours or sixes in the men's competition.
Phil Salt (Manchester Originals)
10 matches, 232 runs at 23.20, 194.95 strike rate, one half-century
Not many of Buttler's opening partners have ever made him look pedestrian, but Salt had a remarkable tournament, striking at 194.95 through 10 games, facing only 119 balls in the process.
That approach led to four single-figure scores in his first five games before lighting the blue-touch paper with 86 off just 32 balls in half an hour against Trent Rockets. That was his only fifty-plus score, but his 17-ball 47 in the eliminator – with 44 of those in boundaries – set Manchester Originals up for their final berth.
Will Jacks (Oval Invincibles)
9 matches, 227 runs at 25.22, 154.42 strike rate, one half-century
No century this time around for the Oval Invincibles allrounder but a valuable, consistent competition, nonetheless.
He finished as the fifth-highest run-scorer and, although used sparingly with the ball, was effective with his off-spin. His economy rate of just six runs per set: his spell in the final – 2 for 11 in 15 balls, including the wickets of Laurie Evans and Paul Walter – was quietly key to Invincibles' win.
He top-scored with 68 in the two-run win over London Spirit.
Jos Buttler was the leading run-scorer in the tournament (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Harry Brook (Northern Superchargers)
8 matches, 238 runs at 47.60, 196.69 strike rate, one century, one half-century
Fresh from missing out on England's World Cup squad, the Yorkshireman smashed a remarkable century for Northern Superchargers against Welsh Fire.
Over the course of the month, he scored 238 runs at a strike rate of 196.69 – only Buttler and Finn Allen were more prolific, though Brook only batted seven times.
His unbeaten 105 was perhaps the knock of the tournament, with Superchargers only making 158 for 7; just one other batter reached double figures.
Heinrich Klaasen (Oval Invincibles)
7 matches, 189 runs at 31.50, 178.30 strike rate, one half-century
The 32-year-old has emerged as one of the top T20 hitters in the world in recent times, and his seven-game stint with Oval Invincibles proved that theory.
Klaasen only hit six fours in seven matches, instead dealing mostly in sixes – 17 in all in just 106 deliveries.
Shortly before joining up with Invincibles, he whacked 110 for Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket, and he brought that form to The Hundred. He hammered 60 against Manchester Originals before twice hitting 46 against Northern Superchargers and London Spirit. He departed ahead of the final.
Jamie Overton (Manchester Originals)
10 matches, 202 runs at 40.40, 181.98 strike rate, one half-century, 3 wickets at 38, 8.04 economy
The fast-bowling allrounder would rather have had the title on Sunday night, but his performances meant that on Sunday night he was presented as the tournament MVP, mainly on account of his displays with the bat.
Overton tailed off as the tournament wore on, but his unbeaten 83 against Northern Superchargers – off just 30 balls – after coming to the crease at 73 for 4 was one of the competition highlights.
There were only three wickets in 17 sets for the Surrey man, and he was unable to drag Manchester Originals over the line in the final, but he had done plenty to get them there in the first place.
Harry Brook made 105 not out for Northern Superchargers against Welsh Fire (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Tom Curran (Oval Invincibles)
5 matches, 175 runs at 175, 176.76 strike rate, one half-century, 9 wickets at 16.44, 8.88 economy
Overton won the MVP prize, but the older Curran brother had a strong case of his own.
Injuries restricted his overall involvement, as has been the case in recent years for the Surrey allrounder, with Curran playing just five times for Invincibles.
But he averaged 175 with the bat as a supreme finisher, saving his best until last, when he arrived at the crease with Invincibles 34 for 5 and staring down the barrel of humiliation at the last until he and Jimmy Neesham saved the day. By then, he had already rescued a tie against Welsh Fire with a similarly spectacular cameo.
Still a bowler first and foremost, Curran took nine wickets in 20 sets, nailing his death-skills in the final.
Chris Jordan (Southern Brave)
6 matches, 107 runs at 53.50, 201.88 strike rate, one half-century, 9 wickets at 14.33, 8.50 economy
As with Curran, missed some of the tournament through injury but excellent when he played.
His unbeaten 70 against Welsh Fire dragged Southern Brave from 76 for 8 to the most improbable win of the competition, only for a muscular tweak to rule him out for a fortnight.
But he was terrific with the ball when he returned, taking a wicket every 10.1 deliveries and generally finding some of his best form at the death. Josh Tongue's injury means that he is back in England's T20I squad.
Adil Rashid (Northern Superchargers)
8 matches, 11 wickets at 17.36, 7.53 economy
The tournament's leading spinner, a fit and firing Adil Rashid was one of the best things that England could have wished to come from The Hundred.
Rashid had missed Yorkshire's T20 Blast campaign and hadn't played at all since the early stages of the Indian Premier League, so his form ahead of the upcoming World Cup would have been on the list of Buttler and Matthew Mott as among the things they were hoping to see.
Rehan Ahmed was also excellent, as was Oval Invincibles leggie Nathan Sowter, who a year ago wasn't sure whether he would still be in the professional game at this point.
Tymal Mills was the highest wicket-taker (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Adam Milne (Birmingham Phoenix)
7 matches, 10 wickets at 13.60, 8.16 economy
A joy to watch in full flight, hooping the new ball at proper pace and forming a formidable new-ball partnership with Chris Woakes.
He ran through London Spirit's top order and posed similar problems to Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles, making the most of a ball that by all accounts swung more than the competition's opening batters would have liked.
Dan Worrall performed a similar new-ball job for London Spirit, albeit at a slightly slower pace, and he had a terrific tournament as a late call-up, but the added theatre of Milne's pace gets him in.
Tymal Mills (Southern Brave)
9 matches, 16 wickets at 13.06, 7.83 economy
Left out of England's T20I squad for the next fortnight against New Zealand, but showed his full range of skills in a fine Hundred.
The leading wicket-taker by three, taking a wicket every 10 balls and with a superb economy rate, particularly given his role primarily as a death bowler.
Part of the attack that was taken down by Buttler and Salt, yet overall an excellent showing from Mills.
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