Press release -
Ben Stokes to feature in The Hundred
Ben Stokes will play in The Hundred this year, after the England Men v West Indies Men Test series is finished.
Stokes, the England Men's Test captain, missed last year's competition but will be available for four games for Andrew Flintoff's Northern Superchargers team this season.
The batters in England Men's Test squad - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith - will all be available for their teams in The Hundred immediately after the end of the third Rothesay Test match at Edgbaston, scheduled to start on Friday 26 July.
The availability of England Men's bowlers will be dependent on workload and international selection, but Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington are all likely to feature in The Hundred from the early rounds. Chris Woakes is expected to be available from Tuesday 6 August.
In addition, it is expected that England Men's players picked in the squad for the first Rothesay Test match against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday 21 August will be available for The Hundred Eliminator (Saturday 17 August) and The Hundred Final (Sunday 18 August), depending on player role and workload management.
England Women's players are available for The Hundred with their summer international commitments finished.
A number of replacement players have also been confirmed, covering England Men's international selection in the early rounds and injury. India's Deepti Sharma will now be a part of The Hundred, as will Australia's Kim Garth, as well as New Zealand duo Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner.
The Hundred returns on Tuesday 23 July for its fourth season, promising thrilling cricket alongside electric entertainment through a partnership with BBC Music Introducing, with Cat Burns performing at The Hundred Opener at Kia Oval, and Zara Larsson ready to wow fans at The Hundred Final taking place at Lord’s on 18 August.
Tickets are again selling fast after more than 500,000 attended last year's competition, including a record 310,000 in the women’s competition. The Hundred’s blend of high-quality sport and entertainment saw 41% of all tickets sold to families, 23% to juniors and 30% to women.
All games will again be live on Sky Sports and BBC broadcast and digital channels throughout the competition.
England Men's Player Availability and Player Replacements
Birmingham Phoenix
Tim Southee (New Zealand) will replace Naseem Shah for the duration of the competition
Louis Kimber (Leicestershire CCC) will replace Will Smeed for the duration of the competition
Chris Woakes (available from Tuesday 6 August)
Ben Duckett (available after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
Jamie Smith (available after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
London Spirit
Deepti Sharma (India) will replace Grace Harris for the duration of the competition
Erin Burns (Australia) will replace Deepti Sharma while she is on international duty
Zak Crawley (available after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
Ollie Pope (available after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand) will replace Zak Crawley while he is on international duty
Matthew Taylor (Gloucestershire CCC) will replace Ollie Pope while he is on international duty
Manchester Originals
Bethan Ellis (Central Sparks) will replace Mahika Gaur for the duration of the competition
Kim Garth (Australia) will replace Sophie Molineux for the duration of the competition
Northern Superchargers
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) will replace Daniel Sams for the duration of the competition
Harry Brook (available after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
Ben Stokes (available for four games after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
Dillon Pennington (first appearance tbc depending on workload management)
Matthew Potts (first appearance tbc depending on workload management)
Oval Invincibles
Harrison Ward (Sussex CCC) will replace Gus Atkinson while he is on international duty
Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) will replace Spencer Johnson for Oval Invincibles' first game on 23 July
Gus Atkinson (first appearance tbc depending on workload management)
Tash Farrant has been withdrawn from the competition
Trent Rockets
Joe Root (available after England Men's third Rothesay Test match v West Indies)
Riley Meredith (Australia) will replace Joe Root while he is on international duty
Welsh Fire
Beth Langston (Northern Diamonds) will replace Claire Nicholas for the duration of the competition