The Men's 2026 One Day Cup campaign begins tomorrow, and the race for the trophy is on - let's take a look at some of the contenders.
This preview consists of all eight teams that Essex Men will face in the group stage: Derbyshire, Durham, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.
Captain: Tom Westley
2025 finish: 4th (Group A)
2025 leading run-scorer: Tom Westley (561)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Charlie Bennett & Matt Critchley (12)
Why they can win the competition: Momentum. Essex won their last five games in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last season, so are clearly on a roll, albeit after an interval of a year. The squad is largely unchanged and has since added experience and depth.
Player to watch: Tom Westley – the experienced captain enjoyed a purple patch in the competition a year ago with two centuries and 561 runs at an average of 70. Having sat out the Vitality T20 Blast he will be fresh and raring to go.
Young gun: Mitchell Killeen – the 21-year-old seamer has not broken into the first team yet since his move from Durham. But the 50-over competition could provide him with the opening he requires to kickstart his Essex career.
Final thought: It’s not just a development competition for players. For the second year, Essex entrust head-coach duties to batting coach Tom Huggins to enhance his education. Last season he oversaw five victories at a time when Essex couldn’t buy a win.
Captain: TBC
2025 finish: 8th (Group A)
2025 leading run-scorer: Caleb Jewell (438)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Ben Aitchison (13)
Why they can win the competition: Although they have lost white ball whirlwind Aneurin Donald and Matthew Montgomery to The Hundred, Derbyshire still have an experienced squad to choose from with Wayne Madsen's one-day skills and nous bolstering a strong batting line-up.
Player to watch: England's Shoaib Bashir. The 22-year-old off-spinner is keen to play white-ball cricket and will bring international pedigree to the bowling unit. On dry pitches, his ability to get bounce from a high action makes him a potential match-winner.
Young gun: Rory Haydon made his mark in last year's competition and the right-arm pace bowler has made impressive progress this season in red-ball cricket. He challenges the batters with his ability to combine a consistent line with late movement.
Final thought: After an underwhelming Vitality T20 Blast campaign, Derbyshire will be out to show they can be contenders in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup format. But to turn promise into prosperity, they have to perform better in pressure moments to get over the line.
Captain: Kasey Aldridge
2025 finish: 6th (Group B)
2025 leading run-scorer: Will Rhodes (429)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Will Rhodes (14)
Why they can win the competition: Durham haven’t hit the heights in limited-overs cricket in recent seasons, the Vitality T20 Blast included, but they’re in such a good position at the top of Division Two in the Rothesay County Championship and can give this competition the full monty.
Player to watch: Former England Test captain Ben Stokes is available for this competition having retired from international cricket last month. All-rounder Stokes, a star of the 2019 50-over World Cup triumph, will be an invaluable learning tool for Durham’s up and comers.
Young gun: Possibly the time for left-arm quick James Minto to break through in senior cricket. Limited first-team exposure since debuting aged 16 in 2024 but has just enjoyed a productive five-wicket return for England U19s in an ODI series win against South Africa.
Final thought: South African batter David Bedingham is registered as an overseas but is unlikely to feature. His compatriot fast bowler Duanne Olivier will fill that role. Emilio Gay is available prior to the start of next month’s Rothesay Test series against Pakistan.
Captain: TBC
2025 finish: 9th (Group A)
2025 leading run-scorer: Asa Tribe (401)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Zain ul Hassan & Ned Leonard (6)
Why they can win the competition: This is a competition that has brought success for Glamorgan, with two titles in the past five years. With five players missing, they will be hindered by The Hundred more than ever before, but their youthful talents might cause a few upsets.
Player to watch: Andy Gorvin. Despite just 79 career matches, at 29 years of age Gorvin will be one of the most experienced players in the side. His white-ball, box-of-tricks skillset provides that unpredictable but reliable bowler you want in your side.
Young gun: Romano Franco. Glamorgan will likely have at least six under-23s playing but Franco is the most likely to stand out. With Mason Crane and Ben Kellaway absent, the 19-year-old slow-left-armer already has a year of this tournament under his belt.
Final thought: Hopes might not be too high for this year’s edition with Glamorgan currently coach and captain-less, but what it will bring is a chance to see who announce themselves next, as Asa Tribe and Tom Norton did last year.
Captain: Nick Gubbins
2025 finish: Runners-up
2025 leading run-scorer: Nick Gubbins (707)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Eddie Jack (13)
Why they can win the competition: Hampshire have reached the knockout stage in each of the past four years – losing the final twice. Their XI will be full of dependable know-how, plus an exciting Indian overseas in Ashutosh Sharma.
Player to watch: Nick Gubbins was the competition’s leading run scorer last year and will be targeting a similar return. He and Ali Orr consistently set the tone with the bat in 2025, while his captaincy has matured over the past four campaigns.
Young gun: Experience is the name of the game for Hampshire, but 19-year-old Oliver Williams could get some game time. The right-arm quick is tall, skilful and has shown good promise in the Second XI this season.
Final thought: Will it be the struggling Rothesay County Championship Hampshire or the consistently great Vitality T20 Blast Hampshire that turns up in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup? After two silver medals in three years, expectations are high that it’ll be the latter.
Captain: Ben Geddes
2025 finish: Quarter-finals
2025 leading run-scorer: Sam Robson (502)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Henry Brookes (17)
Why they can win the competition: Middlesex made huge strides in this competition last year winning six group matches to make the knockout stages, demonstrating an ability to win games from unfavourable positions. They’re a different beast in 50-over cricket compared to the Vitality T20 Blast.
Player to watch: Luke Hollman – the leg-spinning allrounder, Middlesex’s top performer in the Blast, recently expressed his disappointment at missing out on selection for The Hundred. Don’t be surprised if this combative cricketer takes the opportunity to showcase himself to the franchise market.
Young gun: Naavya Sharma – the 20-year-old seamer built on his Lions’ call-up with impressive performances at the back end of the VitalityT20 Blast. If he can transfer the powerplay and death overs skills he exhibited to the longer white-ball format, he’ll be a match-winner.
Final thought: Even with young stars Caleb Falconer and Sebastian Morgan on The Hundred duty there’s reason for optimism. Middlesex might be a batter light but if the top five fire, the bowling resources are there to spearhead a challenge.
Captain: Jack Carson
2025 finish: 5th (Group B)
2025 leading run-scorer: Tom Clark (339)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Henry Crocombe (11)
Why they can win the competition: If what will be a predominantly young squad follow the lead of new skipper Jack Carson and experienced players perform, like as Tom Haines and Tom Clark – who should return after a spell out with a knee injury – Sussex could get on a roll to the final.
Player to watch: Charlie Tear is an emerging keeper-batter who has international experience with Scotland and scored 159 in this competition against Northants last season. The 22-year-old played in the second half of the Vitality T20 Blast and shaped up well.
Young gun: Nantes Oosthuizen is a 20-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler developed under former Sussex captain Chris Adams at Seaford College. Bowling coach James Kirtley describes him as "raw, but with huge potential who can bowl deliveries that can get anyone out".
Final thought: With no overseas, several players at The Hundred and a new captain Sussex will consider getting to the knockout stages as progress having added three players from their Academy - right-armer Ollie Kirtley (son of James), all-rounder Freddie Price and left-armer Toby Munt - to their squad.
Captain: Jake Libby
2025 finish: Winners
2025 leading run-scorer: Jake Libby (479)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Ben Allison (19)
Why they can win the competition: They know how to. They won it last season by playing some excellent cricket to reach the final and then showing the strength and skills to win a very tight final with the pressure on.
Player to watch: Fateh Singh. Left out for most of the Blast due to the Rapids signing overseas spinners Sikandar Raza and Usama Mir, Singh took three for 17 when given his belated chance after Raza departed on international duty. He will be mustard keen to send a message or two to the team-selectors.
Young gun: Dan Lategan. Not yet UK-qualified, the 20-year-old opening batter was omitted from the Blast team as the overseas slots went to the spinners. Will be looking to pile up runs to go into the red-ball resumption with momentum high.
Final thought: Last season’s triumph at Trent Bridge was one of the most emotional in county cricket history, a success in tribute to Josh Baker who tragically passed away in 2024. Josh’s legacy lives on through the JB33 Foundation – retaining the trophy would again be very special.
Captain: TBC
2025 finish: Semi-finals
2025 leading run-scorer: Imam-ul-Haq (688)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Matt Milnes (15)
Why they can win the competition: They bossed Group B last year and lost only two games all competition, including the semi-final against Hampshire at Scarborough. They’ve been excellent in the Vitality T20 Blast as well this term, really building up that limited overs rhythm.
Player to watch: Will Luxton is a young batter who has shown a significant amount of promise across all formats and will be one of Yorkshire’s key batters in this competition. If he gets going, it will be fun to watch.
Young gun: Academy fast bowler Bradley Sylvester is somewhat of a wildcard. Has just been on England Under 19s duty against South Africa and probably won’t play every game. But the 19-year-old is expected to make his senior debut at some point.
Final thought: The ‘why they can win the competition’ section provides the glass half full view. The glass half empty view is that they have lost both last season’s leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker, Imam-ul-Haq and Matt Milnes. Could be a problem.
