| Venue: Ageas Bowl, Southampton Date: 3 August Time: 19:00 BST |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two from 19:00 or Red Button and iPlayer from 18:30. Live BBC Radio 5 Live commentary on BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary and in-play clips. |
There is a Hundred again.
The opening match of the men's tournament will be broadcast live on TV on Wednesday.
Many of England's best players are set to go head-to-head with more international stars this year.
Everything you need to know is here.
The men's defending champion Southern Brave will play Welsh Fire on Wednesday.
Many of the women's players are competing in the Commonwealth Games so the women's competition starts a week later.
Last year, Covid-19 meant a number of big-name overseas players pulled out of the inaugural season, but this time some of the world's best will feature.
The men's competition will feature two players from the West Indies, one from Australia and one from the UK.
Many of Australia's World Cup winners are taking part in the women's competition this year, which makes it even stronger.
Meg Lanning is Australia's captain and she will play for Trent Rockets.
England's women and men's white-ball players will be available for all of the competition, as well as Buttler, who will play for Manchester.
The rules are the same as last year.
In The Hundred, a simpler and faster form of cricket which hopes to attract a more diverse audience to the sport, each team bats for 100 balls in a match, with the team who scores the most runs winning.
The Hundred has been dealt a blow by the withdrawal of two of England's top players.
The pair have pulled out of the Test series against South Africa in order to rest.
England's other Test players can play before they join the squad for the first South Africa Test.
Critics question the relevancy and impact of the tournament on the traditional formats of cricket.
The majority of tickets have been sold to women and under 16s.
The final of the group stage takes place on September 3rd at Lord's.
The teams that finish second and third will play each other in the eliminators on September 2nd.
Ten men's and eight women's, including both finals, will be shown live on BBC TV and the iPlayer.
Bastille will perform at the final of The Hundred, which will feature live music at all 34 games.
South Africa's Quinton de Kock, England's Chris Jordan, and Tymal Mills, as well as Australia's Marcus Stoinis, have signed with Southern Brave, a side that dominated the competition last year.
Trent Rockets have retained Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and any side with him will have a chance. Last year's runners-up, the Birmingham Phoenix, should not be discounted.
The Brave lost in the final of last year's women's competition, but they were the best for most of the year.
Brave have added two new players to their squad, Australia's Tahlia McGrath and England's Freya Kemp
The chances of the Invincibles going back-to-back will be dependent on whether the captain, Marizanne Kapp, and her partner are in the game.
South Africa's Kapp missed the Commonwealth Games due to personal reasons but the London-based side are hopeful that he will play a full part.
If not, the Phoenix or the Rockets, who have Lanning, Brunt and King, could challenge.
There will be a lot of coverage of The Hundred by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
There will be live TV and radio coverage as well as commentary on the website.
Five England internationals will be part of the commentary teams for the tournament.
Alex Hartley and Kate Cross are now rivals rather than team-mates after Hartley moved to Welsh Fire.
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