Oval Invincibles snap up more stars as England’s Lauren Winfield-Hill signs up

• South African Rilee Rossouw, English spinner Danny Briggs and Australia’s Hilton Cartwright picked up for the men’s team in The Hundred Draft

• · Sign up to www.thehundred.com to grab your seats today!

• England star Lauren Winfield-Hill heads south to line up for the defending champions

• The Hundred announces more activities and food options inside grounds for the 2022 competition

Defending women’s champions Oval Invincibles have further strengthened their side with the signing of England batter Lauren Winfield-Hill.

Winfield-Hill, who has played nearly 100 times for England and joins from Northern Superchargers, will be joined at the Kia Oval by Aylish Cranstone and Emily Windsor who have moved from London Spirit and Trent Rockets, respectively. Eva Gray has agreed to stay with the side while Kira Chathli joins with one spot still to be filled.

In the men’s Draft, the side have moved to secure three overseas stars: re-signing West Indies spin bowler Sunil Narine, and adding South African batter Rilee Rossouw and Australian all-rounder Hilton Cartwright. A strong looking domestic line up will be further bolstered by the drafting of Danny Briggs and Matt Milnes, as the side look to reach the Final having narrowly missed out on reaching the knockouts last summer.

Lauren Winfield-Hill said, “It was a tough decision to leave Northern Superchargers but I‘m really excited to be joining Oval Invincibles. The team set the standard and I can’t wait to hopefully help the side defend their crown. Watching The Hundred get off to such amazing start at The Kia Oval last year was pretty special and I’m really looking forward to playing in front of those wonderful fans in what should be another exciting summer for women’s cricket.”

Sam Billings said, “I’m delighted to be captaining Oval Invincibles, and delighted with how the draft has shaped up. We’ve held on to some of the most exciting talent in the men’s game – Jason (Roy) with the bat and Saqib (Mahmood) with the ball, and we are also delighted to retain Sunil (Narine) as one of our overseas. We narrowly missed out on finals day last year, which gives us extra incentive to make it this year, and we definitely have the talent to go all the way.”

Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred said, “With a host of star players confirmed, The Hundred will have fans on the edge of their seats with world class sport, as well as bringing more family-friendly entertainment off the pitch. In the women’s competition we have the best players from across the world taking part including Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine and we are confident we will set a new benchmark for the women’s domestic game.

“On the men’s side, it’s great to see a mix of new overseas stars like Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell alongside returning stars such as Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine. It is also brilliant that some of the best domestic white ball players including Tom Banton and Joe Clarke have been recognised and picked up early. Get your tickets for The Hundred now so you don’t miss out.”

The Hundred proved a big hit with families and young people in particular relishing the mix of fast-paced cricket with music and family entertainment off the pitch which will only be bigger and better this year.

The Kia Oval will come alive with new concourse activities offering even more fun for all the family and a diverse range of great music acts through the continuing partnership with BBC Music Introducing. Year two of The Hundred will also offer a new range of merchandise to get the family kitted out in full Oval Invincibles colours.

Oval Invincibles men’s side start their campaign at The Kia Oval on Thursday 4 August against city rivals London Spirit. The three double header days with men’s and women’s fixtures are set for Thursday 11 August against Northern Superchargers, Sunday 14 August versus Southern Brave and Tuesday 23 August against Birmingham Phoenix.

Tickets

Get your seat now so you don’t miss out on the sport and entertainment event of the summer – anyone signed up to www.thehundred.com will be able to snap up their seats from today (5 April) with tickets going on general sale on 20 April.

The Hundred offers an affordable day out for the family, with U16 tickets priced at £5 and free for children aged five and under, and there are family-friendly stands in every ground.

Make sure you don’t miss out - tickets have already been selling fast after last year’s buyers were given first chance to get their seats for this year.