After having made a good impression in IPL 2022, emerging South African cricketers Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs have now seemed to have found another big contract as both the youngsters have reportedly featured on The Hundred wildcard longlist for the second edition of the tournament later this year.

The youngsters are among the 257 men’s players who have registered for the ‘wildcard’ draft for overseas players in the Hundred 2022. The draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 9. In this event, all the eight participating teams will be adding the fourth foreign player to their respective squads that they had picked in April. Meanwhile, the wildcard overseas players are also set to earn big bucks as they will be paid £50,000 each.

Brevis has had an outstanding 2022 so far. He was the highest run-scorer for the Proteas in this year’s ICC U19 World Cup that was held in the Caribbean, having amassed 506 runs. Courtesy of this performance, he was roped in by the five-time champions Mumbai Indians for INR 3 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction in February. The 19-year-old enjoyed a good campaign as he finished with 161 runs at a strike rate of 142.47 in the seven matches that he got to play for the Rohit Sharma-led side.

Stubbs, on the other hand, was named MI’s replacement player after England pacer Tymal Mill’s tournament was cut short due to an injury. However, the budding cricketer could not make an impact in the two games that he got to play. While Stubbs could not do much in the IPL, he did make a tremendous impact in CSA’s T20 Challenge, which earned him an IPL recommendation in the first place.

Meanwhile, many of the overseas names who found no takers in the April draft have also expressed their interest through the wildcard draft. They include the likes of Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and David Warner.

The Birmingham Phoenix men’s franchise at The Hundred has announced Daniel Vettori as their head coach of the  team ahead of the second season of the tournament. The 43-year-old was associated with the team in the inaugural season as the assistant coach and took over Andrew McDonald’s role as the head coach on an interim basis.

He was given the position on a permanent basis after McDonald was named Australia’s head coach on Wednesday. Under Vettori’s guidance, Birmingham made their way into the finals of the one-of-its-kind event last year and played against Southern Brave in the summit clash.

Vettori has been a part of many other leagues like the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with Barbados Royals, the Big Bash League (BBL) with Brisbane Heat, the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Royal Challengers Bangalore, and the Vitality Blast’s Middlesex team. Vettori’s latest assignment was with Australia for their limited-over leg during the Pakistan series as he served the team as the spin-bowling consultant and assisted McDonald, the interim head coach.

We look an even stronger outfit than in 2021: Daniel Vettori

“I absolutely loved my time working with the Birmingham Phoenix squad as head coach last summer, so taking on the role on a permanent basis was a very easy decision,” Vettori told the Warwickshire’s website after his appointment.

“We made great strides in the first season and all coaches and players loved seeing the tournament develop, and we had such great support every time that we took to the field at Edgbaston. We want to go one better. It’s a tough competition, but we’ve retained well and recruited some excellent players through the draft,” he added.

“We look an even stronger outfit than in 2021 and hopefully we can continue to entertain the Birmingham Phoenix fans who get behind us,” he concluded.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam went unsold at The Hundred 2022 Draft on April 5 (Tuesday) in the United Kingdom (UK). Fans, along with cricket experts, were shocked to see the prolific batter not receiving a contract. However, a report has emerged now, stating that Babar was himself not keen to play due to Pakistan’s upcoming international assignments.

The Pakistani skipper was among the few players who placed themselves in the highest category of £125,000 for the Men’s Hundred 2022 Draft. To note, a total of eight teams participated in the draft, but no one signed the No. 1 T20I batter.

Babar Azam never applied for the NOC: Reports

According to reports, the right-handed batter never expressed his desire to be a part of The Hundred competition. Babar wished to stay fresh for international matches. As a result, none of the teams went for the prolific batter during the event.

“Babar Azam never applied for the NOC for the English summer. That means he is not interested despite being one of the few overseas who are bracketed among the top category,” a source told The News.

“He could have walked easily in any team as every English county was looking forward to luring him. Yet he preferred to stay away from hectic commitments more in order to concentrate fully on the national summer commitment,” the source added.

Talking about Babar’s numbers in T20I cricket, the right-handed batter has played 74 matches in which he has amassed 2686 runs at an excellent average of 45.53. The 27-year-old plays with a strike rate of almost 130 and has stroked 26 half-centuries and one century in the 20-over format.

Meanwhile, Pakistan recently hosted West Indies and Australia, apart from organizing the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The Men in Green are scheduled to play several international matches in the second half of the year as well. Pakistan will take on West Indies, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka in the upcoming months.

The Hundred 2022 draft was held on April 5 and it featured some of the renowned overseas cricketers, centrally contracted England players as well as the emerging county cricketers from the country. After the inaugural edition of The Hundred turned out to be a huge success last year, the 2022 season promises to be even better.

The retention window ran until the middle of February. As far as the draft system is concerned, all the eight participating teams made the most of their chances when it came to the picks. As per the rule, the team that had finished last in the previous season, which was London Spirit, made the first draft pick and it happened to be the big one as they welcomed West Indies power-hitter Kieron Pollard on board. According to reports by BBC, the “outcome of the draft will be revealed on 6 April, alongside a number of signings for the women’s Hundred”.

Meanwhile, The Hundred 2022 will also see some of the best foreign players making a mark for their respective franchises, and these eminent names include the likes of Pollard, Faf du Plessis, Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, Nicholas Pooran, to name a few.

The Hundred Men 2022 retained players and new signings

London Spirit

Retained: Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan (£100k), Mason Crane, Dan Lawrence (£60k), Adam Rossington, Ravi Bopara (£40k), Blake Cullen, Brad Wheal (£30k), Zak Crawley, Mark Wood (England Test contracts)

Draft Picks: Kieron Pollard (£125,000 ), Liam Dawson (£125,000 ), Riley Meredith (£75,000),  Jordan Thompson (£75,000)

Welsh Fire

Retained: Ben Duckett (£100k), Jake Ball (£75k), David Payne (£60k), Leus du Plooy (£50k), Ryan Higgins, Matt Critchley (£40k), Josh Cobb (£30k), Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope (England Test contracts)

Draft Picks: Joe Clarke ( £125k), Adam Zampa (£100,000), David Miller ( £75,000), Naseem Shah (£60,000), Sam Hain (£50,000) and, Jacob Bethell (£30,000)

Manchester Originals

Retained: Phil Salt (£100k), Matt Parkinson (£75k), Jamie Overton (£60k), Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby (£50k), Colin Ackermann, Wayne Madsen (£40k), Fred Klaassen, Calvin Harrison (£30k), Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson (England Test contracts)

Draft Picks: Andre Russell (£125,000), Wanindu Hasaranga (£100,000), Daniel Worrall (£75,000), Sean Abbot (£60,000), Laurie Evans (£125,000)

Northern Superchargers

Retained: Adil Rashid (£125k), David Willey, Faf du Plessis (£100k), Harry Brook (£75k), Brydon Carse (£60k), Matty Potts, John Simpson (£50k), Adam Lyth (£40k), Callum Parkinson (£30k), Ben Stokes (England Test contract)

Draft Picks: Adam Hose (£60,000), Dwayne Bravo (£125,000), Wahab Riaz (£75,000), Roelof van der Merwe (£40,000)

Oval Invincibles

Retained: Jason Roy (£125k), Sam Billings, Tom Curran (£100k), Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood (£75k), Reece Topley (£60k), Jordan Cox, Nathan Sowter (£30k), Sam Curran, Rory Burns (England Test contracts)

Draft Picks: Sunil Narine (£125,000), Rilee Rossouw (£60,000), Danny Briggs (£50,000), Hilton Cartwright (£50,000), Matt Milnes (£40,000),  Jack Leaning (£40,000)

Birmingham Phoenix

Retained: Liam Livingstone (£125k), Moeen Ali (£100k), Adam Milne, Benny Howell (£75k), Tom Abell (£60k), Will Smeed (£50k), Chris Benjamin, Miles Hammond (£40k), Henry Brookes (£30k)

Draft Picks Matthew Wade (£125,000), Olly Stone (£100,000), Kane Richardson (£ 60,000), Matthew Fisher (£50,000), Graeme van Buuren (£30,000)

Trent Rockets

Retained: Rashid Khan (£125k), Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory (£100k), Marchant de Lange, Luke Wood (£60k), Samit Patel, Matt Carter (£50k), Steven Mullaney, Sam Cook (£40k), Tom Moores (£30k), Joe Root, Dawid Malan (England Test contracts)

Draft Picks: Tom Kohler-Cadmore (£125,000), Ian Cockbain (£75,000), Colin Munro (£75,000),  Luke Fletcher (£30,000)

Southern Brave

Retained: Marcus Stoinis (£125k), James Vince, Tymal Mills (£100k), Chris Jordan, George Garton (£75k), Alex Davies, Jake Lintott (£60k), Tim David (£50k), Ross Whiteley, Craig Overton (£40k), Jofra Archer (England Test contract)

Draft Picks: Quinton de Kock (£125k), Rehan Ahmed (£50,000), Joe Weatherley and Dan Moriarty (£ 30,000)

The Hundred Women 2022 new signings

London Spirit

Beth Mooney (Welsh Fire), Amelia Kerr (Southern Brave), Megan Schutt, Sophie Luff (Welsh Fire)

Welsh Fire

Tammy Beaumont (captain, London Spirit), Rachael Haynes (Oval Invincibles), Annabel Sutherland (Trent Rockets), Fran Wilson (Oval Invincibles), Alex Hartley (Manchester Originals), Fi Morris (Southern Brave), Sarah Bryce (Oval Invincibles)

Manchester Originals

Deandra Dottin (London Spirit), Amy Satterthwaite, Ami Campbell (Northern Superchargers), Phoebe Graham (Northern Superchargers), Grace Potts

Northern Superchargers

Jenny Gunn, Lucy Higham (Trent Rockets)

Oval Invincibles

Lauren Winfield-Hill (Northern Superchargers), Aylish Cranstone (London Spirit), Emily Windsor (Trent Rockets), Eva Gray (Retained), Kira Chathili

Trent Rockets

Meg Lanning (Welsh Fire), Mignon du Preez (Manchester Originals), Bryony Smith (Welsh Fire), Alana King, Marie Kelly (Birmingham Phoenix), Sophie Munro (London Spirit), Alexa Stonehouse, Georgia Davis (Retained)

Birmingham Phoenix

Sophie Molineux (Trent Rockets), Sterre Kalis (Northern Superchargers)

Southern Brave

Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Adams (Oval Invincibles), Jo Gardner (Oval Invincibles), Freya Kemp (Retained), Ella McCaughan (Retained)

Trevor Bayliss has been named the interim head coach of the London Spirit men’s team following the death of Shane Warne. The legendary leg-spinner mentored the franchise in the inaugural season of The Hundred last year. He was set to don the coach’s hat for the 2022 season as well but a suspected heart attack meant Warne breathed his last in Thailand last month.

His demise has certainly left a great void in the cricket world as he was an active coach and commentator even after retirement. As the Australian great is no more, London Spirit has roped in Bayliss, who was Team England’s mentor during their triumph in the 2019 World Cup. Bayliss will now reunite with England captain Eoin Morgan and the franchise would hope their combination would do wonders once again.

It is an honour to try and build on the work Shane Warne started: Trevor Bayliss

While Bayliss acknowledged his appointment has been a result of unfortunate circumstances, the Australian is determined to take the side to glory. “It is obviously very bittersweet to take the role given the circumstances,” said Bayliss  in a statement.

“It is an honour to try and build on the work Warnie started. The side knew what he and Eoin were trying to build and I hope we can do that this year,” added the experienced coach, who will take charge for one year initially,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bayliss comes in with a plethora of experience as many teams have thrived under his mentorship. He was in charge of the Sri Lankan team from 2007 to 2011. As far as franchise cricket is concerned, he coached Sydney Sixers to the inaugural 2011/12 title in the Big Bash League. Under him, Kolkata Knight Riders also won a couple of Indian Premier League (IPL) titles.

Hence, the Spirit would have high hopes from the Australian, who has a one-season contract initially. Meanwhile, the London-based team endured a hard time in the inaugural season as they finished last in the team standings. Nonetheless, they must back themselves to go all the way this time around with the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence and Mark Wood in the ranks besides Morgan.

David Lloyd has urged for the dissolution of The Hundred tournament ahead of its second term, arguing that the T20 Blast is “the event to beat all tournaments” and that there is “no place” for the 100-ball tournament.

Lloyd feels that even though the newest format grabbed attention and was great fun, the T20 Blast should be focused upon by the ECB and the board should work on promoting it instead of The Hundred. He believes that the ECB is wasting the money behind the newly articulated franchise cricket tournament.

“Last year’s inaugural season was great fun and it was fantastic to see so many families having a ball in the stands. The bottom line, however, is that there is no place for it. This competition doesn’t fit. It’s an extra jigsaw puzzle piece in English cricket that we don’t need.

“Nobody else in the world plays the format, it disrupts everything else we do, including the cherished County Championship and yet millions of pounds have been spent on it and broadcasters are falling over themselves for it because it’s short and fits both attention spans and schedules,” he told Daily Mail.

T20 Blast has stood the test of time, says Lloyd

“Well, let me tell you. We already have the product. It’s called the Twenty20 Blast. Its 20th season opens in two months, and we can confirm it’s stood the test of time. It’s the tournament to beat all tournaments for me. Since a chap called Stuart Robertson invented T20s after the turn of the century, the Blast’s been like a runaway train and the standard remains as good as anything around the world. And the daftness appeals to English audiences,” he further added.

With just a few months remaining for the start of The Hundred 2022, a total of 534 players have already been drafted for the second season, of which 284 are said to be foreign players and 250 domestic ones. Big names like Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Babar Azam, and David Warner are also a part of the draft.

“Look at the Hundred. Celebrity coaches. Really? What can they do? What do they do? The ECB are throwing away money. Nobody is interested in who is in charge of the Doncaster Dipsticks,” Lloyd concluded being clear on his thoughts about the tournament.

The inaugural edition of ‘The Hundred’ was a massive hit among the fans, particularly because of its unique format. The 100-ball cricket event enters its second edition in 2022, with the Draft being scheduled for April 5, Tuesday. Several high-profile names in the form of David Warner, Andre Russell are a part of the upcoming draft, and will be eyeing lucrative deals.

A bunch of new signings will also be made in the women’s side of the competition on the same day. London Spirit, who finished at the bottom of the points table in the last season, will have the first pick in the draft. The eight franchises will have an opportunity to bring back their former players to the side, as they can exercise their right-to-match cards.

Southern Brave, who claimed the men’s competition title last year, will surely look to buy back the likes of David Warner and Andre Russell in the Draft. Just like domestic T20 tournaments around the globe, all franchises have already made a couple of retentions. Only up to a combined total of 42 players can be picked in the upcoming draft, which includes 17 overseas players and 25 domestic players.

List of 534 players in the upcoming Draft

As many as 534 players have submitted their entries for the upcoming Hundred Draft, which includes a total of 250 domestic players. Babar Azam, Chris Gayle, David Warner and Andre Russell are some of the big names in the overseas list with a reserve price of £125,000 (Rs 1.25 crore).

English batter, Joe Clarke, is the highest domestic entrant, with a reserve price of £60,000 (Rs 59 lakh). Adam Wheater, Joe Denly are among the other domestic entrants with a high reserve price.

Full List of 534 Players in the Hundred 2022 Draft:

£125,000 reserve price (Rs 1.25 crore)

Babar Azam, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Marsh, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Tabraiz Shamsi, David Warner

£100,000 reserve price (Rs 99 Lakh)

Shakib Al Hasan, Quinton de Kock, Jhye Richardson, Andre Russell

£75,000 reserve price (Rs 75 lakh)

Mohammad Amir, Dwayne Bravo, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Shadab Khan, Evin Lewis, Riley Meredith, David Miller, Haris Rauf, Imran Tahir, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

£60,000 reserve price (Rs 60 lakh)

Sean Abbott, Finn Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Lamichhane, Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Glenn Phillips, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Santner, Odean Smith, Will Young, Adam Zampa

£50,000 reserve price (Rs 50 lakh)

Kyle Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Martin Guptill, Simon Harmer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Shoaib Malik, Ben McDermott, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Mohammad Nabi, James Pattinson, Josh Philippe, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rilee Rossouw, Sherfane Rutherford, Dan Sams, Naseem Shah, D’Arcy Short, Logan Van Beek, Matthew Wade

£40,000 reserve (Rs 40 lakh)

Qais Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Matt Henry, Josh Inglis, Chris Lynn, Shan Masood, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Dasun Shanaka, Romario Shepherd, Lendl Simmons, Dane Vilas, Imad Wasim

No Reserve

Marques Ackerman, Mark Adair, Asghar Afghan, Wes Agar, Noor Ahmad, Fawad Ahmed, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Qasim Akram, Anwar Ali, Asif Ali, Fabian Allen, Adithya Ashok, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Danish Aziz, Cameron Bancroft, Ashen Bandara, David Bedingham, Farhaan Behardien, Hamish Bennett, Minod Bhanuka, Joshua Bishop, Michael Bracewell, Carlos Brathwaite, Neil Broom, Ryan Burl, Amad Butt, Curtis Campher, Hilton Cartwright, Dinesh Chandimal, Johnson Charles, Dan Christian, Ben Cutting, Joshua Da Silva, Shahnawaz Dahani, Junior Dala, Litton Das, Colin De Grandhomme, Tony De Zorzi, Gareth Delany, Cameron Delport, Niroshan Dickwella, George Dockrell, Dominic Drakes, Jacob Duffy, Ben Dunk, Ben Dwarshuis, Fidel Edwards, Lasith Embuldeniya, Rayad Emrit, Sarel Erwee, Fazal Farooqi, Avishka Fernando, Binura Fernando, Donavon Ferreira, Andre Fletcher, Cam Fletcher, Bjorn Fortuin, Dean Foxcroft, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Chris Green, Asela Gunarathne, Danushka Gunathilaka, Mohammad Hafeez, Mir Hamza, Aaron Hardie, Keon Harding, Mohammad Haris, Mackenzie Harvey, Mohammad Hasnain, Hamid Hassan, Peter Hatzoglou, Dushan Hemantha, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Beuran Hendricks, Abu Hider, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Ilyas, Colin Ingram, Arshad Iqbal, Tamim Iqbal, Muhammad Irfan, Karim Janat, Akif Javed, Shahidullah Kamal, Nick Kelly, Lewis Kennar, Hayden Kerr, Ali Khan, Imran Khan, Sajid Khan, Sohail Khan, Zahir Khan, Azam Khan, Khary Khary, Brandon King, Heino Kuhn, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, George Linde, Josh Little, Nic Maddinson, Wesley Madhevere, Lahiru Madhushanka, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Janneman Malan, Pieter Malan, Sohaib Maqsood, Waqas Maqsood, Kyle Mayers, Nathan McAndrew, Mitchell McClenaghan, Obed McCoy, Dustin Melton, Ramesh Mendis, Usama Mir, Senuran Muthusamy, Blessing Muzarabani, Gulbadin Naib, Izhar Naved, Muhammad Nawaz, Michael Neser, Lungi Ngidi, Pathum Nissanka, Ashley Nurse, Robbie O’Donnell, Max O’Dowd, Duanne Olivier, Azmat Omarzai, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Kurtis Patterson, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Dale Phillips, Mathew Pillans, Rovman Powell, Dwaine Pretorius, Migael Pretorius, Usman Qadir, Rumman Raees, Shabbir Rahaman, Kasun Rajitha, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Sikandar Raza, Raymon Reifer, Ryan Rickelton, Michael Rippon, Grant Roelofsen, Tom Rogers, Alex Ross, Jeavor Royal, Hamish Rutherford, Waqar Salamkheil, Lakshan Sandakan, Tanveer Sangha, Soumya Sarkar, Jayden Seales, Tim Seifert , Abdullah Shafique, Yasir Shah, Hasmat Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Sharjeel Sharjeel, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Shehzad, Usman Shinwari, Henry Shipley, Sayed Shirzad, Matt Short, Simi Singh, Lutho Sipamla, Jon-Jon Smuts, Jacques Snyman, Ish Sodhi, Haris Sohail, Paul Stirling, Hussain Talat, Ansh Tandon, Harry Tector, Oshane Thomas, Donald Tiripano, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ashton Turner, Isuru Udana, Naveen Ul-Haq, Hardus Viljoen, Tobias Visee, Hayden Walsh, Jake Weatherald, Tion Webster, Jon Wells, David Wiese, Kesrick Williams, Lizaad Williams, George Worker, Amir Yamin, Najibullah Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Zahoor Khan, Ghamai Zadran

Domestic Entrants

£60,000 reserve (Rs 60 lakhs)

Joe Clarke

£50,000 reserve (Rs 50 lakhs)

Adam Wheater

£40,000 reserve (Rs 40 lakhs)

Joe Denly, Will Rhodes

No reserve

Rehan Ahmed, Toby Albert, Ben Allison, Tom Alsop, Martin Andersson, Jamie Atkins, Gus Atkinson, Tom Bailey, Josh Baker, Sonny Baker, Gary Balance, Ethan Bamber, Tom Banton, Ed Barnard, Ed Barnes, George Bartlett, Aaron Beard, Will Beer, George Bell, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Dominic Bess, Jacob Bethell, Ben Birkhead, Alex Blake, Jack Blatherwick, Scott Borthwick, James Bracey, Danny Briggs, Justin Broad, Jack Brooks, Pat Brown, Nathan Buck, Sol Budinger, Michael Burgess, Will Buttleman, Eddie Byrom, Harry Came, Jack Campbell, Kiran Carlson, Jack Carson, Oliver Carter, Zak Chappell, Ben Charlesworth, Graham Clark, Jordan Clark, Ben Coad, Ian Cockbain, Kyle Coetzer, Michael Cohen, James Coles, Sam Conners, Chris Cooke, Joe Cooke, Paul Coughlin, Ben Cox, Joe Cracknell, Henry Crocombe, Steven Croft, Matthew Cross, Tom Cullen, Ben Curran, Scott Currie, Brett D’Oliveira, Anuj Dal, Josh Davey, Steve Davies, Will Davis, Liam Dawson, Josh Dell, Chris Dent, Sean Dickson, Aneurin Donald, Dan Douthwaite, George Drissell, Harry Duke, Ned Eckersley, Stevie Eskinazi, Laurie Evans, Joey Evison, Tom Fell, Adam Finch, Steven Finn, Matthew Fisher, Luke Fletcher, Ben Foakes, Will Fraine, James Fuller, Ben Gibbon, Nathan Gilchrist, Richard Gleeson, Brandon Glover, Lewis Goldsworthy, Dom Goodman, Ben Green, Gavin Griffiths, Nick Gubbins, Brooke Guest, Sam Hain, Haseeb Hameed, Olly Hannon-Dalby, James Harris, Jack Haynes, Frederick Heldreich, Tom Helm, James Hildreth, Lewis Hill, Michael Hogan, Max Holden, Ian Holland, Luke Hollman, Alex Horton, Adam Hose, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Alex Hughes, Sean Hunt, Liam Hurt, Dan Ibrahim, Lyndon James, Keaton Jennings, Manraj Johal, Michael Jones, Rob Jones, Rob Keogh, Louis Kimber, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Lamb, Matt Lamb, George Lavelle, Joe Leach, Jack Leaning, Michael Leask, Dominic Leech, Alex Lees, Archie Lenham, Ned Leonard, Jake Libby, Arron Lilley, Dan Lincoln, David Lloyd, Calum MacLeod , Jacob Maltz, Jamie McIlroy, Conor McKerr, Mattie McKiernan, Lewis McManus, Ben Mike, Craig Miles, Gus Miller, Matt Milnes, Dan Moriarty, Jack Morley, Charlie Morris, Dan Mousley, George Munsey, Tawanda Muyeye, Adrian Neill, Aron Nijjar, Sam Northeast, Marcus O’Riordan, Rishi Patel, Ryan Patel, Liam Patterson-White, Dillon Pennington, Michael Pepper, Toby Pettman, Jack Plom, Harry Podmore, Ed Pollock, Jamie Porter, Ollie Price, Tom Price, Matt Quinn, Ben Raine, Delray Rawlins, Luis Reece, Matty Revis, Jamal Richards, Ollie Robinson, Toby Roland-Jones, Billy Root, Ollie Sale, Andrew Salter, Ben Sanderson, Dane Schadendorf, George Scott, George Scrimchaw, Tom Scriven, Safyaan Sharif, Josh Shaw, Jack Shutt, Dom Sibley, Ryan Sidebottom, Jas Singh, Ajeet Singh-Dale, Prem Sisodiya, Ben Slater, Jamie Smith, Ruaidhri Smith, Tom Smith, Shane Snater, Mitch Stanley, Cameron Steel, Scott Steel, Darren Stevens, Grant Stewart, Olly Stone, Mark Stoneman, Josh Sullivan, Harry Swindells, Jonathan Tattersall, Callum Taylor, Jack Taylor, Matt Taylor, Tom Taylor, Jordan Thompson, Alex Thomson, Josh Tongue, Liam Trevaskis, John Turner, Graeme Van Buuren, Timm Van Der Gugten, Roelof Van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Matthew Waite, Roman Walker, Max Waller, Paul Walter, Harrison Ward, Jared Warner, Mark Watt, Joe Weatherley, James Weighell, Nick Welch, Luke Wells, Riki Wessels, Tom Westley, James Wharton, Graeme White Robbie White, Chris Wood, Tom Wood, Daniel Worrall, Luke Wright, Rob Yates, Saif Zaib

The Hundred draft scheduled to be conducted on March 29 has been delayed by a week due to its clash with Australian veteran spinner Shane Warne’s state funeral. The legendary spinner breathed his last on March 4 while he was in Thailand. Warne will be given a public farewell at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 30, with 50,000 free tickets available in a public ballot.

The Hundred draft was expected to take place on March 29, with the results announced the next day. However, It will now be conducted on April 4, with the picks to be revealed on April 5. New signings and player trades for the women’s Hundred will also be announced on the same day.

According to ESPNCricinfo, the event will take place behind closed doors just like the previous year as several team head coaches will be involved in 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). To note, the first players draft in October 2019 was broadcast live in London. However, it was held remotely last year as well.

Shane Warne was the coach of London Spirit in the inaugural season

Legendary spinner Shane Warne was the coach of London Spirit’s men’s team during the first season of the Hundred in 2021. However, the leg-spinner missed most part of the competition after coming out Covid-19 positive. Warne was due to return for a second stint in 2022.

To note, London Spirit will make the first pick in the draft, with the coach Warne suggesting shortly before his sudden death that Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh could be the first pick for the team in the draft.

London Spirit’s general manager Fraser Stewart also released an official statement from the side after Warne’s death describing him as “a true icon”. The Spirits are yet to name a replacement as head coach. David Ripley and Dimitri Mascarenhas who have been serving as assistant coaches in last year edition are the strong candidates to take over the role.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday (January 27) released the schedule for The Hundred 2022. The inaugural edition of the competition took place last year and fans were entertained thoroughly. As the title suggests, 100-balls per-side matches are on display with an over comprising of 10 deliveries. Either a bowler can deliver 10 balls on the trot or can get switched after five balls.

Under James Vince’s leadership, Southern Brave became the inaugural winners of the men’s competition. While the Brave would like to add another title in their cabinet, the other seven teams would also be eyeing to get the glory. Meanwhile, the tournament days underway on August 3 with the final taking place on September 3 at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Save the dates! 😏 #TheHundred

— The Hundred (@thehundred) January 27, 2022

Like the previous seasons, all teams will cross swords in eight league-stage matches and the top three will advance to the next stage. While the top-placed team will directly advance to the final clash, the second and third-placed team will battle it out in the Eliminator clash with a place in the summit encounter being at stakes.

Teams can retain a maximum of 10 players

Speaking of how the squads will be formed, each team can retain 10 members from their 15-player squad last season. These retentions can either be domestic or overseas players. The retention window is now live until the middle of February. Notably, no team may retain more than two England contracted players.

While the likes of Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Adil Rashid and Jason Roy have central contracts, they can be retained as domestic players by their respective franchises. The squads will be finalized in the draft.  Selection will take place in a draw order, with each team taking it in turns to complete their squads. Notably, all sides must leave one of their slots open for the Wildcard Draft, which would allow teams to make one more addition near to the start of The Hundred 2022.

The Hundred Schedule: 
Wednesday,3 August – Southern Brave v Welsh Fire
Thursday,4 August – Oval Invincibles v London Spirit
Friday,5 August ­– Manchester Originals v Northern Superchargers
Saturday,6 August – Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix
Sunday,7 August – Welsh Fire v Oval Invincibles

Monday,8 August – London Spirit v Manchester Originals
Tuesday,9 August – Northern Superchargers v Trent Rockets
Wednesday,10 August – Birmingham Phoenix v Southern Brave
Thursday,11 August – Oval Invincibles v Northern Superchargers
Friday,12 August – Southern Brave v London Spirit
Saturday,13 August – Manchester Originals v Trent Rockets
Saturday,13 August – Welsh Fire v Birmingham Phoenix
Sunday,14 August – Northern Superchargers v London Spirit
Sunday,14 August – Oval Invincibles v Southern Brave

Monday,15 August – Birmingham Phoenix v Trent Rockets
Tuesday,16 August – Manchester Originals v Welsh Fire
Wednesday,17 August – Trent Rockets v Oval Invincibles
Thursday,18 August – Southern Brave v Manchester Originals
Friday,19 August – Birmingham Phoenix v Northern Superchargers
Saturday,20 August – Trent Rockets v London Spirit
Sunday,21 August – Northern Superchargers v Manchester Originals

Monday,22 August – Welsh Fire v Southern Brave
Tuesday,23 August – Oval Invincibles v Birmingham Phoenix
Wednesday,24 August – London Spirit v Welsh Fire
Thursday,25 August – Southern Brave v Trent Rockets
Friday,26 August – Welsh Fire v Northern Superchargers
Saturday,27 August – London Spirit v Oval Invincibles
Sunday,28 August – Birmingham Phoenix v Manchester Originals

Monday,29 August – Trent Rockets v Welsh Fire
Tuesday,30 August – London Spirit v Birmingham Phoenix
Wednesday,31 August – Northern Superchargers v Southern Brave
Wednesday,31 August – Manchester Originals v Oval Invincibles

Friday,2 September – Eliminator (The Ageas Bowl)
Saturday,3 September – Final (Lord’s)

Former Australian batter Darren Lehmann has resigned from his role as the head coach of Northern Superchargers, the Headingly-based team in The Hundred. Lehmann served the team in the inaugural edition of the competition, which took place in 2021. However, he won’t be available for the 2022 season. Notably, Lehmann, who is one of the most prominent catches going around, suffered a heart attack on his 50th birthday in early 2020.

He has been stepping back from his coaching commitments since then. Ahead of the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2021-22, he stepped down as the head coach of Brisbane Heat and moved to a role of an assistant. He has now left the Superchargers ahead of the second season of the Hundred.

I have taken the decision with a heavy heart: Darren Lehmann

“It’s with a heavy heart that I have taken the decision to step down as men’s head coach at the Superchargers . As for many people, the continuing uncertainty around Covid-19, quarantining and restrictions begins to play a part in your decisions. I loved my time with the Superchargers. Last season, despite all the challenges of Covid, was up there with one of my coaching highlights,” Lehmann said in a statement.

“The UK public got behind the new competition and I see it going from strength to strength. I thank the Northern Superchargers supporters, my coaching staff and the players and wish them all well,” he added. The chairman of the Superchargers, Heather Jackson confirmed that Marcus North, Durham’s director of cricket, would be taking on lead cricket responsibilities in the franchise.

He will also be responsible for appointing a new head coach for the team, along with Andy Dawson, their general manager. Meanwhile, the Northern Superchargers, under David Willey’s leadership, couldn’t do much in the inaugural edition of the tournament. They lost three of their eight games in the competition while one encounter got washed out due to rain.

Hence, the side would like to put up a better show this time around. Meanwhile, the 2022 edition of The Hundred is scheduled to start in early August.