MI London

Last updated

MI London
MI London official Logo.png
Personnel
Captain
Coach
Overseas players
  • TBA
  • (women)
  • TBA
  • (men)
OwnerSurrey Cricket Club 51%, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited 49%
Team information
Colours  
Founded2019;7 years ago (2019)
Home ground The Oval
Capacity25,500
History
No. of titles5
Men's titles wins3 (2023, 2024, 2025)
Women's titles wins2 (2021, 2022)
Official website Oval Invincibles
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The Hundred kit

Cricket current event.svg Current season

MI London, formerly known as Oval Invincibles, is a 100-ball cricket franchise based in South London. The team represents the historic counties of Surrey and Kent in The Hundred competition, [1] which took place for the first time during the 2021 English cricket season. Both the men's side and the women's side play at The Oval.

Contents

History

Logo used from 2019 to 2025 Oval Invincibles logo.svg
Logo used from 2019 to 2025

By 2019, it had been announced that there would be a Hundred franchise affiliated to Surrey and Kent. The home ground was also established as the Oval, despite rumours that Surrey's decision to vote against the Hundred's new playing conditions had led Colin Graves to threaten to take away their hosting rights. [2]

However, as late as May 2019, the franchise's name was still undecided. After previous speculation that teams would have no geographical element, [2] it was now suggested the Oval franchise would contain the word "London", like the Lord's-based London Spirit. [3]

In June, The Times contradicted this rumour, reporting that the team would be called the Oval Greats, after several other ECB proposals – London Fuse, London X, London Union and London Rebels – had been rejected. [4] All such notions were disproved in July when the team's name was announced as the Oval Invincibles. [5]


In August 2019, the side announced that Australian coach Tom Moody would be the men's team's first coach, while former England Women player Lydia Greenway was appointed coach of the Women's team. [6]

The inaugural Hundred draft took place in October 2019 and saw the Invincibles claim Sam Curran as their headline men's draftee. He was joined by Surrey and England teammates Tom Curran and Jason Roy, along with five other Surrey players. Laura Marsh was the women's marquee signing, alongside Fran Wilson. [7]

The first season did not take place until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The women’s team immediately achieved success by winning the first women’s Hundred title. They retained the title the following year, beating Southern Brave in the final for the second consecutive time.

Having finished in mid-table for the first two seasons, the men's side saw a significant change of fortune in 2023. They won their first title in their third season, beating Manchester Originals in the final. They retained the title in 2024 with victory over Southern Brave, and won it a third time in 2025 by defeating Trent Rockets. Remarkably, this run of success means either the women's or men's team have won a title in every edition of the Hundred to date.

As part of the 2025 Hundred sale, the ECB granted Surrey County Cricket Club a 51% stake in the franchise, with the remaining 49% sold through an auction process. Reliance Industries Limited acquired the 49% share through their subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited, while Surrey County Cricket Club retained its stake.

The sale of the Invincibles was completed in December 2025, with both parties agreeing to rebrand as MI London from the 2026 season. [8] [9] For Reliance, the purchase adds to their "MI" portfolio, which also includes teams in India, South Africa, the UAE, and the US. [10]

Ground

Both the men's and women's teams play at the home of Surrey, The Oval, in the Kennington area of London.

The women's side had been due to play at the County Ground in Beckenham, one of the outgrounds of Kent County Cricket Club, but both teams were brought together at the same location as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Honours

Men's honours

The Hundred

Women's honours

The Hundred

Current squads

Women's side

No.NameNationalityDate of birth (age)Batting styleBowling styleNotes
Batters
Danni Wyatt-Hodge Flag of England.svg  England 22 April 1991 (age 34)Right-handedRight-arm off break England central contract
All-rounders
Wicket-keepers
Pace bowlers
Spin bowlers

Men's side

No.NameNationalityDate of birth (age)Batting styleBowling styleNotes
Batters
All-rounders
9 Will Jacks Flag of England.svg  England 21 November 1998 (age 27)Right-handedRight-arm off break
58 Sam Curran Flag of England.svg  England 3 June 1998 (age 27)Left-handedLeft-arm fast-medium Captain;
England central contract
Wicket-keepers
Pace bowlers
Spin bowlers

    Seasons

    Women's team

    SeasonGroup stagePlayoff stageRef.
    PldWLTNRPtsPosPldPos
    2021 8430192nd2 [a] 1st [11]
    2022 65100101st1 [b] 1st [12]
    2023 8340175thDid not progress [13]
    2024 85210112nd1 [c] 3rd [14]
    2025 8260086thDid not progress [15]

    Men's team

    SeasonGroup stagePlayoff stageRef.
    PldWLTNRPtsPosPldPos
    2021 8430194thDid not progress [16]
    2022 8440085thDid not progress [17]
    2023 86110131st1 [d] 1st [18]
    2024 86200121st1 [e] 1st [19]
    2025 86200241st11st

    Notes

    1. Oval Invincibles women qualified for the eliminator in 2021. They played two matches, winning the playoff for the final against Birmingham Phoenix by 20 runs, winning the final against Southern Brave by 48 runs.
    2. Oval Invincibles women qualified for the final in 2022. In the final they played against Southern Brave, winning by 5 wickets.
    3. Oval Invincibles women qualified for the eliminator in 2024. They played 1 game, losing the eliminator against London Spirit by 8 wickets.
    4. Oval Invincibles men qualified for the final in 2023. In the final they played against Manchester Originals, winning by 14 runs.
    5. Oval Invincibles men qualified for the final in 2024. In the final they played against Southern Brave, winning by 17 runs.

    See also

      References

      1. "The Hundred: Team-by-team guides, coach details and venues". Sporting Life. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
      2. 1 2 "The inside story of The Hundred". The Independent. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
      3. Macpherson, Will (28 May 2019). "Exclusive | Lord's Hundred team set to be named London Spirit". The Standard. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
      4. Ammon, Matt Hughes, Elizabeth (25 June 2019). "Oval Greats agree franchise name to join the Hundred". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 12 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
      5. Macpherson, Will (28 May 2019). "Exclusive | Lord's Hundred team set to be named London Spirit". The Standard. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
      6. "Tom Moody recruited by Oval franchise for The Hundred". The Cricketer. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
      7. "The Hundred: Central contract and local icon 'drafts' explained". ESPNcricinfo. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
      8. "ECB finalises deals with strategic partners in The Hundred, unlocking hundreds of millions of pounds for game-wide growth". ECB. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
      9. "Surrey and Reliance Industries Limited announce partnership in Oval Invincibles franchise in The Hundred". Surrey CCC. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
      10. "Oval Invincibles rebrand as MI London as Hundred deal is finalised". ESPNcricinfo. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
      11. "The Hundred Women's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
      12. "The Hundred Women's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
      13. "The Hundred Women's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
      14. "The Hundred Women's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.
      15. "The Hundred Women's Competition 2025". espncricinfo.com.
      16. "The Hundred Men's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
      17. "The Hundred Men's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
      18. "The Hundred Men's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
      19. "The Hundred Men's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.

      Further reading