"I think the competition is going to be massive,” says Manchester Originals' Sophie Ecclestone of The Hundred, which begins today with a tussle between her team and Oval Invincibles. “Not just for women's cricket but women's sport in general.”

The left-arm spin bowler is sure to be one of The Hundred's biggest stars, according to Southern Brave Women's head coach Charlotte Edwards, who knows her side will have their work cut out when they face Originals in August.

“That girl is going to break every record if she continues to play for another 10 years,” says Edwards, who captained England 220 times. “She's the number one T20 bowler in the world, she's taken a huge number of wickets and has only just turned 22.”

“We've always known that she was going to be very good but she has probably exceeded where we thought she was going to be at this point in her career.”

That point is the eve of a brand-new game-changing tournament that promises to be more entertaining than anything we've seen before.

“It's massive that this is the first time we've had a competition that's level pegging with the men,” adds Ecclestone. “With double headers and the first game of The Hundred [being a fixture between two women's teams].”

Ecclestone and her Originals teammates face Oval Invincibles on BBC2 and Sky Sports Main Event at 6pm.