Where The Hundred stands at Match 16
Match 16 of The Hundred Men’s 2026 takes London Spirit (LNS) and Southern Brave (SOB) to Lord’s Cricket Ground in north-west London on Saturday, August 1, with the first ball at 7:00 PM IST, 1:30 PM GMT and a 3:30 PM local start. Both sides sit in the bottom half of the early table — Spirit in sixth after one win, Brave in seventh after one win — and the result matters more for momentum than for net run rate. Spirit are coming off a seven-wicket win over MI London, their first win after two straight defeats. Brave went 0-3 to open the season before edging Birmingham Phoenix by 12 runs in their previous outing.
Liam Livingstone captains London Spirit and will want to bank a second straight win at home before the schedule hands Spirit back-to-back away fixtures. Chris Jordan leads Southern Brave and has the same brief: convert a bottom-of-the-table win into a streak. There are no new injury concerns for either side ahead of the toss — both teams name their squads below.
Lord’s is a batting-friendly surface where 170 is the right first-innings target — and Pretorius is the fantasy captain who lives at the top of that chase.
Lord’s pitch read: batting-friendly, target 170
Lord’s is one of the most batting-friendly surfaces in England. The ball comes cleanly off the square once the early shine has gone, the outfield is genuinely quick, and the famous slope tends to reward bowlers who hold their line through the powerplay rather than the ones who try to over-angle. For fantasy cricket teams, the practical lesson is simple: pick batters who bat in the top six and bowlers who can take wickets in clusters, rather than chasing specialist support roles.
The first-innings average at Lord’s in The Hundred has settled just below 140 across the past two seasons. A 170 total on this surface is a genuinely competitive first-innings score, and Brave’s bowling depth gives them the best chance to drag Spirit under that mark. Toss call matters: captains who bowl first at Lord’s have historically done better, and the side that wins the toss on Saturday is likely to chase rather than set.
London weather for the slot is clear, with a kickoff temperature around 22°C and humidity sitting close to 36 percent. No rain is in the forecast for the three-hour window, and the ball should hold its colour through the innings. That profile rewards batters who attack the short-square boundaries early and spinners who can change their pace through the middle overs.
Probable XIs
The most likely starting combinations, based on the squads named for The Hundred Men’s 2026 and the combinations used in the opening rounds of fixtures:
London Spirit (LNS)
- Lhuan-dre PretoriusOpener
- Kiran CarlsonOpener
- James ColesTop order
- Liam Livingstone (C)All-rounder
- Dewald BrevisMiddle order
- James Rew (wk)Wicketkeeper
- David WilleyAll-rounder
- Jamie OvertonPace
- Adam MilnePace
- Adam ZampaSpin
- Tymal MillsPace
Southern Brave (SOB)
- Jamie Smith (wk)Wicketkeeper
- Ben McKinneyOpener
- Marcus StoinisAll-rounder
- Tristan StubbsMiddle order
- David MillerMiddle order
- Tom AbellTop order
- Chris Jordan (C)All-rounder
- Saif ZaibSpin all-rounder
- Adil RashidSpin
- Luke WoodPace
- Jofra ArcherPace
Captain picks and fantasy angle
The fantasy recommendation is Lhuan-dre Pretorius as captain and Liam Livingstone as vice-captain, and the case for both sits cleanly on top of the form table. Pretorius has scored 100 runs in three games for London Spirit and top-scored with 64 in Spirit’s previous outing against MI London. He opens the batting and gets the full powerplay, he fields at the boundary, and he is the highest-scoring batter in Spirit’s card by a margin. Livingstone offers the mirror role: a batting slot in the top six, off-spin through the middle overs against a Brave batting order that has left-handers in it, and a captain’s load that keeps him involved in every phase.
For fantasy cricket teams, that gives a clean two-pillar build on a flat Lord’s surface: Pretorius for his powerplay points and Livingstone for his middle-overs wickets. Multiplier points stack neatly for both. Differential options for the larger contests are Dewald Brevis, who has scored 98 runs in three games and is one of the more consistent boundary-hitters in Spirit’s middle order, and Jamie Smith at the top of the Brave order, who has piled up 88 runs across his four innings and is the best fantasy batting option on the Brave side of the card.
The shape of the fantasy line-up depends on contest size. For contests under 1,000 entries, captain Pretorius and lock the rest of the team around Livingstone, Brevis, Smith and one of the seamers on either side. For larger multi-entry contests, run three builds: a Pretorius captain build, a Livingstone captain build, and a Marcus Stoinis captain build. Stoinis has scored 70 runs and taken six wickets in three games, sits second only to Archer in Brave’s impact column, and offers a hedge if Spirit win the toss and bowl first, because his bowling value holds regardless of which innings is in play.
A note on the middle order: both sides carry depth. Spirit’s David Willey and Jamie Overton provide four overs of seam between them and bat high enough to chip in boundary points. Brave’s Tristan Stubbs has been their quiet run-maker, sitting close to 90 runs in the tournament without a big score yet, and he is the kind of player who breaks a contest silently. The wider risk for Spirit is Adam Zampa, who is their one specialist spinner against a left-hand-heavy Brave middle order. The wider risk for Brave is Jofra Archer’s workload after his opening burst of intense spells. Both will feature in fantasy builds; neither is a must-pick at small contest sizes.
Bowling match-ups that decide the middle overs
If the Lord’s pitch plays to its batting-friendly reputation, the match will be decided by bowling in two narrow windows: the powerplay and overs 11 to 16. Spirit have the seamers to attack the new ball — Jamie Overton, Adam Milne and Tymal Mills all bowl above 140 kph and all move the ball in the air. Their job is to pick up at least one Brave top-order wicket inside the first 30 balls. If they do, Pretorius and Livingstone chase a gettable target. If they don’t, Smith and McKinney at the top of the Brave order can carry the side to 160-plus on this outfield.
Brave’s middle-overs picture is the more interesting one. Adil Rashid has taken five wickets in the tournament at an economy of 6.22 and sits second behind Stoinis in Brave’s wicket chart. His match-up against Spirit’s right-handed top order is the one fantasy teams should note. Jofra Archer has been the most intense bowler on either side, and his new-ball spell alongside Luke Wood will decide whether Spirit get to a quick start or whether the chase slows from ball one.
Head-to-head between the two sides is level at two wins each in recent meetings, which is the right reminder that Lord’s can surprise. Spirit have struggled for form at home over the past three seasons; Brave’s batting depth gives them a longer tail of boundary-hitters than most opponents. Both captains know the script. The question, as ever, is who lands the first punch.
Predicted finish and what to watch
The form book and the pitch profile point to a London Spirit win, though the margin will be tight. Predicted finish: Spirit by 12 to 18 runs if they bat first and post 175; Spirit by 5 to 7 wickets if they bowl first and the chase fits around Pretorius’s powerplay. Brave’s bowling attack is strong enough to keep the match closer than the form table suggests, and a Stoinis spell of three middle-overs wickets would change the entire read.
Build the fantasy team around Pretorius, anchor with Livingstone, and let the differential choices decide the contest. The Hundred Men’s 2026 fantasy slate gets a clear lead-by-form pick on Saturday night, and Lord’s is the right stage to back it. The next Match 17 preview lands ahead of the Oval Invincibles fixture on Sunday.
For the full slate of The Hundred Men’s 2026 previews, captain-pick logs and Dream11 reads across every fixture, the Fantasy Cricket Newsroom desk publishes a fresh note before each match of the 2026 season. Browse the Fantasy Cricket newsroom for the full slate.
Match FAQ
What time does LNS vs SOB start on Saturday?
The first ball is scheduled for 7:00 PM IST on Saturday, August 1, 2026 at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London. That works out to 1:30 PM GMT and a 3:30 PM local start. The toss is usually 30 minutes before play begins.
Who are the captains of London Spirit and Southern Brave?
Liam Livingstone captains London Spirit. He bats in the top six and bowls off-spin in the middle overs. Chris Jordan captains Southern Brave. He is a right-arm seamer who bats in the middle order and leads the side’s pace group alongside Jofra Archer.
Who is the recommended fantasy captain pick for Match 16?
Lhuan-dre Pretorius is the recommended captain, with Liam Livingstone as vice-captain. Pretorius has scored 100 runs in three games for Spirit and is the highest-scoring batter on either side. Livingstone is the mirror pick: off-spin against Brave’s left-handed middle order and a top-six batting slot that picks up boundary points through the powerplay.
Are there any injury concerns for either side?
No players have been listed as unavailable for Match 16 at the time of writing. Both teams are expected to take the field with the probable XIs listed above, and fantasy teams can build their line-ups without holding a roster slot for an absentee.
How does the Lord’s pitch behave in The Hundred?
Lord’s is a batting-friendly surface. There is some early movement for the seamers under lights, but the ball comes cleanly off the square once the shine is gone and the outfield is one of the quickest in the country. A first-innings score between 165 and 180 is competitive, and a 170 total is the kind of mark the side batting first wants to clear to feel secure.
What is the best differential pick for a multi-entry contest?
Adil Rashid is the strongest differential pick. He is a wicket-taking leg-spinner who holds his value regardless of which innings is in play, because the surface is flat enough for spin to grip in the middle overs. For a batting differential, Dewald Brevis in Spirit’s middle order offers boundary-hitting that Brave’s seam attack has not yet consistently contained.
LNS vs SOB at Lord’s is a powerplay and middle-overs evening: the surface, the bowling match-ups and the form guide all point the same way. Spirit should win, but fantasy cricket rarely rewards the obvious call. Build around Pretorius, anchor with Livingstone, and let the differential picks decide the contest.