Lauren Filer joins London Spirit alongside Matt Critchley and Daniel Bell-Drummond in Vitality Wildcard Draft

London Spirit have confirmed their final squads for the 2023 edition of The Hundred, with a host of big-name stars heading to Lord’s.

Their women’s squad is bolstered by England’s newest pace star Lauren Filer, who burst onto the international scene with a brilliant Test performance in the Ashes. She is also joined by Indian wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh, a 19-year-old who has already played 50 international games for her country.

Completing the Spirit women’s squad is all-rounder Alice Monaghan, who returns after being part of the set-up last year, and keeper-batter Chloe Hill.

On the men’s side they have added two established talents via the Wildcard Draft, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Matt Critchley, while Matthew Wade and Daryl Mitchell have replaced Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell.

Bell-Drummond played four times for Spirit last season, including a Player of the Match performance against Southern Brave where he scored a brilliant 46. He has been in sparkling form in 2023, was the top scorer in the season’s T20 Blast, and recently scored a magnificent triple hundred in the County Championship. He was signed on Right to Match.

Leg-spinning all-rounder Matt Critchley has been a stand-out performer on the T20 circuit for several years. He starred for Welsh Fire last year, and has also represented the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash, as well as being a stalwart of the Essex side in the T20 Blast.

Spirit begin our campaign at Lord’s on 2 August against London rivals Oval Invincibles.

New signings announced today:

Birmingham Phoenix: Davina Perrin, Abbey Freeborn, Charis Pavely, Jacob Bethell, Henry Brookes

London Spirit: Richa Ghosh*, Lauren Filer, Chloe Hill, Alice Monaghan, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Matt Critchley, Matthew Wade*, Daryl Mitchell*

Manchester Originals: Ami Campbell, Amara Carr, Mahika Gaur, Laura Jackson, Max Holden, Fred Klaassen, Usama Mir*

Northern Superchargers: Georgie Boyce, Lucy Higham, Grace Ballinger, Grace Hall, Leah Dobson*, Ollie Robinson, Saif Zaib, Matthew Short*

Oval Invincibles: Sophia Smale, Beth Langston, Cordelia Griffith, Claudie Cooper, Lizzie Scott*, Tawanda Muyeye, Zak Chappell, Tom Lawes*, Adam Zampa*

Southern Brave: Kalea Moore, Seren Smale, Ellie Anderson, Mary Taylor, Jafer Chohan, Matt Fisher

Trent Rockets: Jo Gardner, Fran Wilson, Nat Wraith, Cassidy McCarthy*, John Turner, Tom Moores

Welsh Fire: Emily Windsor, Ella McCaughan, Georgia Davis, Kate Coppack, Luke Wells, Chris Cooke

*denotes replacement player

Trent Rockets and Southern Brave will go head-to-head on Tuesday 1 August, the opening matchday of the third year of The Hundred. The double-header is the first of 34 matchdays that promise high-octane men’s and women’s sporting action, live music, and a host of family-friendly entertainment. 

Over half a million people attended games during The Hundred’s second year in 2022, including a record-breaking 271,000 watching live women’s fixtures across the competition and more families buying tickets than in 2021. 

Tickets are selling fast for this season, and remain great value, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 6-15, free for children five and under, and adults starting from £12.    

Daniel Bell-Drummond said: “I’m really happy to have been signed in the Vitality Wildcard Draft. It’s great to have a mechanism that rewards form in the Vitality Blast and links up the competitions and I’m hoping to take some of my form into The Hundred. Lord’s is a great place to play cricket, we’ve got a great squad and I can’t wait to be involved.” 

Lauren Filer said: “I absolutely can’t wait to play at Lord’s in The Hundred for London Spirit. It will be great to link up with Heather Knight, and it’s obviously so special to play at the home of cricket. It’s just a brilliant competition, with some of the best players in the world, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.” 

Over 14.1 million people tuned in to watch The Hundred action in 2022 and games will again be broadcast live on Sky Sports and BBC broadcast and digital channels throughout the competition.  

To stay up to date with the latest news, buy tickets or to sign up for priority access, visit thehundred.com or follow The Hundred, and the eight teams, on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

About The Hundred:  

The Hundred is an action-packed, unmissable cricket competition that fuses world-class cricket with blockbuster entertainment.  

Combining a short, fast format of cricket, with each game lasting less than three hours, and incredible entertainment beyond the sport, The Hundred is making cricket more accessible and reaching a broader audience. It’s simple: 100 balls per team, most runs wins, so every ball counts.   

The Hundred features eight teams from seven cities, with men’s and women’s competitions taking place side by side:  Welsh Fire (Cardiff), Southern Brave (Southampton), Northern Superchargers (Leeds), London Spirit, Trent Rockets (Nottingham), Oval Invincibles (London), Manchester Originals and Birmingham Phoenix. Each teams features some of the best international and domestic cricketers from around the world, including England Men’s & Women’s World Cup winners.  

Highlight statistics from The Hundred 2022:  

• More than 500,000 people attended games across the course of the competition  
• The Hundred continued to take cricket to new audiences with more women (28%), children (22%) and families (41%) attending than in the first year  
• 2022 once again set a new global record for total attendance at a women’s cricket competition, with 271,000 people attending   
• All eight venues broke their previous best for domestic women’s attendances 
• Of the Sky and BBC TV coverage, 42% hadn’t watched any other ECB cricket in 2022 prior to The Hundred, resulting in 5.9m new viewers 
• Women (31%) and children (14%) made up a significant share of the TV audience