Meg Lanning, Andre Russell and Ollie Pope signed by London Spirit in The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage

• London Spirit men’s and women’s teams sign 10 players on busy night at The Shard 
• First Lord’s double-header to be played on Saturday 27 July against Birmingham Phoenix
• For more information and to sign up for priority ticket access, visit thehundred.com   

Meg Lanning, Andre Russell and Ollie Pope were the big players of the night to join London Spirit at The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage. 

In the women’s competition, Australian superstar Meg Lanning was chosen with the Spirit’s first pick – joining Heather Knight and Grace Harris at Lord’s – while Andre Russell and Ollie Pope link up with Trevor Bayliss’ men’s team. 

Cordelia Griffith, Eva Gray, Hannah Jones, Niamh Holland, Shimron Hetmyer, Richard Gleeson and Michael Pepper have also signed for London Spirit. 

Elsewhere in The Hundred Draft, Kieron Pollard went to Southern Brave, Beth Mooney to Manchester Originals and Ash Gardner to Trent Rockets.

England players Dawid Malan, Amy Jones, Tom Banton and Lauren Filer were also on the move, as well as international superstars Shaheen Afridi, Chamari Athapaththu and Nicholas Pooran.

London Spirit Captain Dan Lawrence said: “It’s great to have so much quality joining the side – in Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer and Ollie Pope we’ve picked up three international stars who give us massive quality going into this season. The squad is shaping up really nicely, we’ve built a really strong side and I can’t wait to lead this team out in front of a full house of our fans at Lord’s.”

Meg Lanning said: "I'm so happy to be joining London Spirit. It'll be extra special to make Lord's home for a month. I've watched a bit of The Hundred over the last few years and it looks like a lot of fun, with some really good atmospheres. I can't wait to meet up with Heather and the rest of the squad in the summer, and hopefully help us towards some success on the field."

The opening game of The Hundred’s fourth year, sees Birmingham Phoenix travel to The Kia Oval on Tuesday 23 July to face Oval Invincibles – the first of 68 games that promise world class men’s and women’s sporting action, live music, and a host of family-friendly entertainment.     

London Spirit’s picks in The Hundred Draft 

Women’s:  Meg Lanning, Cordelia Griffith, Eva Gray, Hannah Jones, Niamh Holland

Men’s:  Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Richard Gleeson, Ollie Pope, Michael Pepper

A record 580,000 fans were in attendance across The Hundred last season, including over 300,000 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.    

There is currently an exclusive window open to buy tickets for fans who have previously attended The Hundred, until March 27.   

There will be a priority window open from 9-23 April for all fans who sign up in advance at thehundred.com. The general sale period begins from 25 April.  

Tickets are once again great value, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 3-15 (free for under 3s) and adults starting from £11.    

All games will again be 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, TikTok and YouTube.    

ENDS   

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.    

About The Hundred Draft powered by Sage:    

More information about all the moves from the The Hundred Draft powered by Sage is available here.   

About The Hundred fixtures:    

The Hundred fixtures are available here.