Press release -
London Spirit sign England U19 duo and Tara Norris
London Spirit sign England U19 duo and Tara Norris
The first signings of the open market stage in The Hundred women’s competition have been confirmed with American bowler Tara Norris joining London Spirit at Lord’s.
The left-arm seamer, who made a name for herself in India’s Women’s Premier League earlier this year, will be joined by two members of England Women’s U19s team in Grace Scrivens and Niamh Holland.
Across the eight teams, 26 signings have been announced with Scrivens and Holland two of six stars of England Women’s U19 World Cup team among the list, as well as Australian all-rounder Erin Burns, two-time finalist Georgia Adams and Scottish leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood.
Through the retention window and The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage, held in March, each team signed eight players, leaving seven slots to fill in the Open Market Stage.
The final 30 signings in the women’s competition, including the final four members of the Spirit squad, will be confirmed alongside The Vitality Wildcard picks in the men’s competition, due to be announced 6 July/7 July.
London Spirit: Grace Scrivens, Tara Norris, Niamh Holland
Birmingham Phoenix: Abtaha Maqsood, Erin Burns, Chloe Brewer, Sterre Kalis
Manchester Originals: Liberty Heap, Phoebe Graham, Fi Morris
Northern Superchargers: Marie Kelly, Aylish Cranstone, Phoebe Franklin
Oval Invincibles: Eva Gray, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Kira Chathli
Southern Brave: Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Danielle Gregory
Trent Rockets: Josie Groves, Emma Jones, Naomi Dattani, Alexa Stonehouse
Welsh Fire: Alex Griffiths, Claire Nicholas, Sarah Bryce
Heather Knight’s London Spirit team will host neighbours Oval Invincibles on Wednesday 2 August, the day after a double-header at Trent Bridge on Tuesday 1 August kicks off the third year of The Hundred – 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.
More than 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 and are available here. Tickets this year remain great value in line with 2022 pricing, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 6-15, free for children five and under, and adults starting from £10.
Grace Scrivens said: “I’m delighted to be back at London Spirit. Playing at Lord’s in front of such a big crowd was so exciting last season and I can’t wait to do it again.
“I’m really happy to see a lot of the U19 team being announced. We really enjoyed the World Cup campaign and it’s great to see everyone continuing their professional progression in a world class competition like The Hundred.”
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.
To view all the players selected to play in The Hundred, please visit this link.
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
About The Hundred fixtures:
For all fixtures in The Hundred, follow this link.
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