London Spirit unveil rebuilt squad and coaching line-up ahead of Hundred season
Most valuable franchise in the competition begin their season with ‘renewed energy and perhaps a bit of pizzazz’. Jamie Overton reported to Lord’s last Friday for the start of the new Hundred season and found himself the only player remaining from the men’s squad of 2025, joining a team under an entirely new coaching structure.
When Jamie Overton reported to Lord’s last Friday for the start of the new Hundred season, he experienced something that, even in the often head-spinning world of franchise cricket, was extraordinary, potentially unique. Returning to a team he played for in 2025, he would have looked around the dressing room and seen none of his former teammates. He is the only survivor of the men’s squad from last year, part of a team that will be led by a new head coach, assisted by new coaches for batting, fielding, spin and pace bowling.
Overton’s arrival highlighted the scale of the overhaul at London Spirit; the playing group and support staff have been substantially refreshed ahead of the campaign. The shift means the club enters the competition with a composition unlike the roster that featured during the previous season. The replacement of nearly the entire men’s squad reflects a deliberate reset at all levels of the set-up.
At coaching level the change is comprehensive. The side will be operating under a new head coach and will receive specialised input from newly appointed coaches covering batting, fielding, spin and pace bowling. Those appointments have reshaped the environment players encountered when they came together for pre-season work at Lord’s.
The club’s early-week assembly at Lord’s underlines both the logistical and cultural adjustments inherent in such a rebuild. With Overton the sole holdover from 2025’s men’s team, dressing-room leadership and on-field combinations will have to be re-established. The reconstituted squad and staff will weigh the challenge of rapid cohesion against the opportunity a fresh group offers.
“It definitely does feel like a different competition this year, because every team is effectively different,” he says. “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.’”
The Spirit have begun their season with visible change across personnel and structure, hoping the new configuration will deliver improved results. How quickly the revamped squad and coaching team gel at Lord’s and beyond will determine whether this reset translates into on-field progress.