Here are eight players, all aged 24 or under, who stood out in the inaugural edition.

Harry Brook – Northern Superchargers

Coming into The Hundred on the back of 485 runs at 80.83 in the group stage of the T20 Blast, Brook continued his excellent form for the Superchargers, finishing as his side’s leading run-scorer. Able to score all around the ground, Brook has firmly established himself as one of the best young white-ball batsmen in the country.

Will Smeed – Birmingham Phoenix

A powerful presence at the top of the Phoenix order, Smeed had to wait for his side’s fourth match of the competition to land an opportunity, and he made it count. Trent Rockets were on the end of a 13-ball 36 and Smeed backed that knock up with subsequent scores of 45 (28 balls) and 65* (38).

Chris Benjamin – Birmingham Phoenix

Wicketkeeper-batsman Benjamin was virtually unknown when he began the tournament, having made his professional T20 debut for Warwickshire just days before the opening game. He went on to reel off two brilliant knocks as his side’s finisher: a 15-ball 24* on debut secured a win over London Spirit and he was even more impressive against Oval Invincibles, navigating a chase of 173 with a 16-ball 37*.

George Garton – Southern Brave

The left-arm quick really came to the fore at the backend of the tournament. In the Eliminator against Trent Rockets, he knocked over a top three of Dawid Malan, Alex Hales and D’Arcy Short to set up a crushing win; in the final he removed David Bedingham for a two-ball duck before putting in a livewire performance in the field.

Sophia Dunkley – Southern Brave

After impressive maiden Test and ODI innings for England against India, Dunkley continued her fine summer run in The Hundred, finishing the women’s tournament as the third-highest run-scorer with 244 runs at an average of 40.66 and thoroughly imposing strike rate of 141.86. She was the star in a side that secured seven wins out of eight in the group stage.

Alice Capsey – Oval Invincibles

Just 16 when the tournament began, Capsey caught the eye with both bat and ball: she hit a match-winning 41-ball 59 against London Spirit in the early stages of the tournament and her off-breaks returned 10 wickets at an average of 12.20 for the eventual winners.

Kirstie Gordon – Birmingham Phoenix

Left-arm spinner Gordon has fallen down the England pecking order in the last couple of years but The Hundred provided a reminder of her talents – only Tash Farrant took more wickets than the 23-year-old whose 15 wickets were delivered at an average of 14.13.

Lauren Bell – Southern Brave

The tall 20-year-old quick impressed from the get-go, taking four wickets across her first two matches and she didn’t let up: she closed out the tournament with figures of 2-24, her slower ball to bowl Capsey particularly impressive. She finished as Brave’s second-highest wicket-taker, taking 12 scalps at an average of 15.91.