HUGE! Sam Curran absolutely smashes it for the first six in the men's competition. He really gave that a good whack!

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport at The Oval

There’s something about the neon fireworks and the famous old pavilion…

An appeal for lbw first up! Spinner Tom Hartley bowls a quick delivery and it strikes Jason Roy on the pads. The ball would not have gone on and hit the stumps and the umpire gives it not out.

Annette Taylor: Ready to watch The Hundred - really enjoyed the women’s match last night. Brilliant to see the youngsters enjoying the game and a great way to get them into cricket.

James Anderson
England bowler on BBC Two

I like seeing Sam Curran high up the order. He's batted lower down the order for England but he's always had that ability to bat higher. He's a match-winner.

Away side Manchester Originals make their way through the entrance to a mild round of applause, with pyrotechnics blasting up either side.

And now come the batters, Jason Roy has dyed his hair bleach-blonde in a nod to England footballer Phil Foden.

Cue the colourful fireworks lighting up The Oval sky. Here we go!

Image source, Reuters

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport at The Oval

New tournament but you can’t keep fancy dress away from the cricket. I can see Super Mario and a group of lads in what I think are chicken outfits.

As Matt mentions, tonight's musical act is Buckinghamshire-born Jack Garratt, a previous winner of BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year.

The multi-instrumentalist has has 2 studio albums under his belt: 'Phase' and 'Love, Death & Dancing', and his best known track to date is 'Worry'.

Jack is supported by BBC Music Introducing in Three Counties and will take centre stage at The Oval tonight.

Image source, Getty Images

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport at The Oval

The stage is set for Jack Garratt later…

And here's our Carlos warming up for tonight's match...

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Carlos Brathwaite is a man of many talents.

Yesterday, the West Indies allrounder was part of BBC TV's punditry team for the opening game of the competition.

Today, he has swapped the microphone for a Manchester Originals jersey as he plays in the first men's fixture.

Brathwaite has also been telling us his five key players to watch out for in the competition, including a man who he calls the 'Jamie Vardy of cricket'.

Image source, Getty Images

Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Two

I'm most looking forward to seeing Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, they're up there with the best in the world and we might see the first hundred of the Hundred!

Oval Invincibles are full of cricketing superstars.

Brothers Tom and Sam Curran went from playing in their garden to starring for England at international level.

Jason Roy won the World Cup with England and, like Buttler, can smash the ball to all parts of the park.

West Indies allrounder Sunil Narine has a wealth of experience, while fast bowler Saqib Mahmood is packed with talent and recently starred for England.

You can find out more about Oval Invincibles in this guide.

Image source, The Hundred

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport at The Oval

Many of the BBC commentators for this tournament are also players - Heather Knight last night, Alex Hartley tonight and there will be others later in the competition too.

To lessen the chance of them picking up Covid they have been given their own commentary room which no-one else is allowed in. Alex is currently in there all on her own.

It’s all very serious, as the sign on the door shows…

So how good are Manchester Originals?

Well, captain and England World Cup winner Jos Buttler is arguably one of the biggest hitters in the game. He can strike a cricket ball ridiculously far. Phil Salt - who will probably open the batting with Buttler - is an explosive batter in his own right. So you can expect some fireworks when they get together.

England spinner Matt Parkinson will look to bamboozle opposition batters, while New Zealand bowler Lockie Ferguson is absolutely rapid and can bowl at over 90 miles per hour. He can also grown an unreal moustache - thick, bushy and rolled up at the ends.

You can find out more about Manchester Originals in this guide.

Image source, The Hundred

GOT A TEXT... Former Love Island star Chris Hughes is part of the TV coverage today. He's played at county level in his younger days, so knows his cricket as well as he knows Casa Amor.

I can't promise there won't be more Love Island references from me every time he's on screen.

Manchester Originals captain Jos Buttler: "I think chasing a score at The Oval is generally successful but also it's a new format so bowling first gives us a chance to see how it works."