Image Credit- ECB
Following the confirmation of player retention for the
eight teams, Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, and Amy Jones are among the English
players who will be selected in the 2024 Hundred draft that takes place next
month.
Among those who were released, Roy was the most well-known because he had
assisted Oval Invincibles in winning the men’s competition the previous year.
Roy had an average of 17.11 and a strike rate of 128.33. It’s probable that
some of this was due to his anticipated participation in Major League Cricket,
which will pit him against the Hundred in 2024. Additionally, the Invincibles
decided not to keep two of their foreign players—Sunil Narine and Heinrich
Klaasen—who both participated in the MLC’s inaugural season.
Despite their involvement in the US, Rashid Khan
(Trent Rockets), Finn Allen (Southern Brave), Haris Rauf (Welsh Fire), Adam
Zampa and Spencer Johnson (both Oval Invincibles), and other names likely to
appear in the final draft list, which will be confirmed on Monday, will all be
retained for this summer, meaning there will be talent overlap at the Hundred
and MLC.
Among the Trent Rockets’ highest earners were Malan and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who
will both return to the pool together with Tom Banton, who was let go by the
Northern Superchargers. Welsh Fire decided not to keep Ollie Pope, who has an
ECB red-ball central contract.
In the women’s competition, there will be seven slots
available in the top £50,000 bracket, with the three highest pay bands having
experienced a large increase. Birmingham Phoenix released Jones, England’s
first-choice wicketkeeper, while the Rockets and Southern Brave now have
openings due to the retirements of Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole,
respectively.
Among the international players returning are Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine (both
Phoenix), Marizanne Kapp (Invincibles), Phoebe Litchfield (Superchargers),
Hayley Matthews, and Shabnim Ismail (both Fire).
A total of 137 players have been kept on the roster;
men’s teams may keep up to 10 players and women’s teams up to 8; the remaining
75 spaces will be filled through the draft on March 20. Birmingham Phoenix will
open the women’s selection, while Northern Superchargers, who placed last in
2023, will select first in the men’s draft.
Each team will be given one Right-to-Match card, which will let them sign a
player from the previous season again as long as their salary matches that of
the opposing side bidding in the draft.
The Hundred will begin with a doubleheader at The Oval on July 23 and last for
four weeks, concluding on August 18 at Lord’s.