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Match 3 | The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026 | Lord’s Cricket Ground, London | July 23, 2026
Josh Tongue heads into Thursday’s Lord’s opener as both squads’ most proven wicket-taker, fresh off a 2025 campaign where he led the competition with 14 wickets at an economy of 8.08. London Spirit counter with a pace and spin group that’s never played together in Hundred colours, since none of last year’s leading bowlers were retained. Lord’s itself tends to ease for batting after the tenth over, which puts extra weight on how each side’s quicks use the new ball.
Tongue arrives as Manchester Super Giants’ most proven wicket-taker on this stage. His 2025 season with Manchester Originals produced 14 wickets from six matches at an economy of 8.08, comfortably the competition’s best return that year in the men’s tournament. His career numbers across every Hundred edition stand at 21 wickets from 11 matches with a bowling average of 13.33, figures that put him among the format’s most consistently effective seamers rather than a one-season outlier.
There’s no 2026 in-tournament form to draw on yet since this Lord’s fixture opens the season for both sides. What carries over is his method: disciplined length in the middle overs backed by a slower-ball variation that kept his economy down even as totals climbed around the format. That combination is exactly what a chasing side wants defending a total at Lord’s once the pitch settles into the middle overs.
London Spirit go into this one with a bowling group that looks almost entirely different from last season. Tymal Mills, Adam Milne and Matthew Fisher carry the pace options, while Mason Crane and Adam Zampa handle the spin, and Jamie Overton, David Willey and James Coles add further variety as bowling allrounders. Olly Stone, Daniel Worrall and Richard Gleeson, who did the heavy lifting in 2025, are all absent from this year’s squad.
That turnover means last season’s numbers carry limited weight here, but the personnel upgrade is real. Mills brings genuine yorker skill at the death, Milne offers extra pace and bounce, and Zampa arrives as an experienced wrist spinner used to bowling under pressure in franchise cricket around the world. It’s a squad built for control rather than a single standout name.
The slope at Lord’s has always been a bowler’s friend, and it shows early in Hundred matches here. Across 23 men’s fixtures at the ground, teams have scored 6,290 runs at a strike rate of 166.5 for 297 wickets, working out to an average of roughly 137 runs per innings, though a realistic competitive total sits closer to 160 to 170 once conditions ease.
Seamers typically find swing and movement in the first third of an innings before the surface flattens out for batting through the middle, with spin becoming effective again as the ball gets older. Batting first has won close to 54 percent of matches across all formats at the venue, a trend both captains will weigh heavily if they win Thursday’s toss under the lights.
Both sides will lean on different plans once the innings reaches its final stretch. Manchester Super Giants can turn to Tongue alongside Gus Atkinson and the raw pace of Sonny Baker, giving them three genuinely quick options to close out an innings. London Spirit counter with Mills as a recognised yorker specialist, Milne’s extra bounce, and Overton’s pace as a third option.
Neither side has any 2026 in-tournament data to lean on yet, since this fixture opens the season for both. Tongue’s economy of 8.08 through the middle overs last year is the clearest reference point available, and how he and Mills compare at the death across three overs apiece could decide where this match is won.
The clearest snapshot of what each attack showed last season sits in the numbers below, drawn from the most recent Hundred campaign for every bowler involved in Thursday’s match.
| Bowler | Team (2026 Campaign) | Economy Rate (2025) | Wickets Taken (2025) |
| Josh Tongue | Manchester Super Giants | 8.08 | 14 |
| Tymal Mills | London Spirit | 6.80 | 16 |
| Adam Milne | London Spirit | 7.90 | 3 |
| Gus Atkinson | Manchester Super Giants | 7.40 | 11 |
| Noor Ahmad | Manchester Super Giants | 7.15 | 12 |
| Mason Crane | London Spirit | 8.12 | 9 |
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How many wickets did Josh Tongue take in the Hundred last season?
Tongue finished 2025 with 14 wickets in six matches for Manchester Originals, the competition’s leading tally. His economy of 8.08 was strong too, with a career total of 21 wickets in 11 matches.
Who are London Spirit’s key bowlers for the 2026 Hundred?
Tymal Mills, Adam Milne and Matthew Fisher lead the pace attack, with Mason Crane and Adam Zampa handling spin. Jamie Overton and David Willey add further depth as bowling allrounders this season.
What is a good score at Lord’s in the Hundred?
A competitive total at Lord’s sits around 160 to 170 in the 100-ball format. The raw historical average is lower at roughly 137 per innings, skewed by early low-scoring matches.
Who captains Manchester Super Giants this season?
Aiden Markram leads Manchester Super Giants into the 2026 campaign, his first season in charge of the franchise. The South African brings experience from franchise leagues worldwide to a squad built around express pace bowling.
What time does the London Spirit vs Manchester Super Giants match start?
The match begins at 6:30 pm UK time on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at Lord’s. That’s 11:00 pm IST, with the women’s fixture at the same venue starting earlier at 3:00 pm.
