Jamie Overton is the only survivor of London Spirit’s men’s squad from last year, highlighting a dramatic overhaul for the most valuable franchise in The Hundred as they begin their season with renewed energy and ambition.
New Squad, New Coaches, New Ambitions
When Jamie Overton reported to Lord’s last Friday for the start of the new Hundred season, he experienced something extraordinary: returning to a team he played for in 2025, he saw none of his former teammates. He is the only survivor of the men’s squad from last year, part of a team led by a new head coach, assisted by new coaches for batting, fielding, spin, and pace bowling.
“It definitely does feel like a different competition this year, because every team is effectively different,” Overton said. “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.’”
Women’s Squad More Settled
The Spirit women’s squad is twice as settled, with two veterans of 2025: Charlie Dean, who has taken over as permanent captain, and Grace Harris. “It’s a little bit weird, but it’s not that bad,” Harris said. “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.”
New Ownership and Investment
London Spirit are not one of the three Hundred sides with a new name, but they have a new logo, sponsor, kit, and kit producer. They have relatively new co-owners in the Tech Titans, the consortium of entrepreneurs who paid £144m for a 49% stake, 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 they will bring “renewed energy and perhaps a bit of pizzazz” and 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 never been in the top two.
Flower’s Experience and Approach
Flower has won the Hundred with Trent Rockets in 2022 and the past two Indian Premier League titles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He summarises his role as “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 worked with Flower when he was Lions coach and more recently at Gulf Giants in the ILT20. “He’s very different now than he was, but franchise cricket is very different to younger players trying to play for England,” Overton said. “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.”
Women’s Team Under New Leadership
The women’s team is also being led for the first time by a former England coach, Jon Lewis, and will start their season against Manchester SuperGiants on Thursday afternoon, with the men’s teams meeting in the evening. “Since it’s been privatised there’s a bit more of a buzz, just about what changes might happen,” Harris said. “But we can’t be any more professional than what it’s been over the past three seasons I’ve been involved.”
Harris added: “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 and Ambition
Entertainment between the games at Lord’s on Thursday will be provided by Tinie Tempah. His most recent chart single, 2020’s Top Winners, sounds apposite. “It’s about a winners’ mindset and mentality, about striving to achieve more and continuing to do better for yourself,” he said. But ambition is the easy bit; Top Winners peaked at No 64.
