Shaheen Afridi, Jess Jonassen and Tom Kohler-Cadmore signed by Welsh Fire in The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage

• Welsh Fire men’s and women’s teams sign eight players on busy night at The Shard 
• First Sophia Gardens double-header to be played on Sunday 28 July against Oval Invincibles
• For more information and to sign up for priority ticket access, visit thehundred.com   

Shaheen Afridi, Jess Jonassen and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were the big players of the night to join Welsh Fire at The Hundred Draft, powered by Sage. 

In the women’s competition, Jess Jonassen was chosen with the Fire’s first pick – joining Tammy Beaumont and Hayley Matthews in Cardiff – while Shaheen Afridi and Tom Kohler-Cadmore link up with Mike Hussey’s men’s team. 

Phoebe Franklin, Ella McCaughan, Claire Nicholas, Alex Griffiths and Jake Ball have also signed for Welsh Fire. 

Elsewhere in The Hundred Draft, Kieron Pollard went to Southern Brave, Meg Lanning to London Spirit and Beth Mooney to Manchester Originals.

England players Dawid Malan, Tom Banton, Lauren Filer and Ollie Pope were also on the move, as well as international superstars Andre Russell, Ashleigh Gardner, Chamari Athapaththu and Nicholas Pooran.

Mike Hussey said: ‘’I’m extremely excited by our work in The Hundred Draft this evening, adding some real quality to the squad with the dynamic Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who should fit nicely into our environment. Getting Shaheen back is incredible for us e’s absolutely world class and is exciting for the players, the management and most definitely the fans. We’re also very happy to get Jake Ball back to the Welsh Fire again, he is a quality person, knows the team and conditions well and brings a wealth of experience to the team which we’ll need to keep developing.’’

Alex Griffiths said: “I can’t wait to return to Welsh Fire for my fourth season. The team are on a real upward trajectory after making The Eliminator last year. I love playing in Cardiff and representing my home country in red. I’m really looking forward to seeing what impact I can make for Welsh Fire in this year’s tournament.”

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.     

Welsh Fire’s picks in The Hundred Draft 

Women’s:  Jess Jonassen, Phoebe Franklin, Ella McCaughan, Claire Nicholas, Alex Griffiths

Men’s:  Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shaheen Afridi, Jake Ball

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.