The Hundred squads finalised in Vitality Wildcard Draft

The Vitality Wildcard Draft took place today with 32 players being drafted into The Hundred off the back of their stand-out form in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Vitality Blast.

It leaves all eight teams in The Hundred, across both the women’s and men’s competitions, with full squads with just under 50 days to go until the first game gets underway at The Kia Oval.

England Men’s Test bowler Ollie Robinson has been drafted by Trent Rockets, England Women’s World Cup winner Fran Wilson is heading to Edgbaston with Birmingham Phoenix and former England all-rounder Ravi Bopara is returning to London Spirit.

Other names signed in the Vitality Wildcard Draft include Western Storm’s Sophie Luff, Nottinghamshire quick Dillon Pennington, and a duo of leg-spinners in South East Stars Dani Gregory and Glamorgan’s Mason Crane.

Vitality Wildcard Selections:

Birmingham Phoenix

Fran Wilson, Lissy Macleod, Suzie Bates*, Emma Jones*, Aneurin Donald, Rishi Patel

London Spirit

Abbey Freeborn, Ellie Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Ryan Higgins

Manchester Originals

Danielle Gregory, Alice Monaghan, Sonny Baker, Matthew Hurst, Tom Aspinwall*, Scott Currie*

Northern Superchargers

Jodi Grewcock, Sophia Turner, Jordan Clark, Dillon Pennington

Oval Invincibles

Rachel Slater, Amara Carr, Laura Harris*, Marchant de Lange, Mark Watt

Southern Brave

Sophie Luff, Katie Jones, Charli Knott*, James Coles, Joe Weatherley

Trent Rockets

Aylish Cranstone, Natasha Wraith, Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Tom Alsop

Welsh Fire

Georgia Davis, Kate Coppack, Mason Crane, Ben Green

*denotes replacement player

Southern Brave's Sophie Luff said: "I'm really happy to have been drafted by Southern Brave. The Hundred is a great competition to be a part of, so I'm really happy to have been picked up and it's especially great to have been selected by Charlotte Edwards. I'm really looking forward to the competition and adding value where I can."

Six replacement players have been confirmed across both competitions. In the women's competition, Charli Knott will be available to play for Southern Brave in the first two games as an overseas replacement for Smriti Mandhana, while Laura Harris will be available to play in the first two games for Oval Invincibles as an overseas replacement for Chamari Athapaththu.

At Manchester Originals men's team, Fred Klaassen and Josh Tongue have been replaced by Tom Aspinwall and Scott Currie respectively.

New Zealand legend Suzie Bates will be available for Birmingham Phoenix’s first three games as an overseas replacement for Richa Ghosh, where Emma Jones has also replaced Ailsa Lister.

Bates’ Birmingham Phoenix side travel to The Kia Oval on Tuesday 23 July to face Oval Invincibles in the competition opener – 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.

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.

Tickets are selling fast, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 3-15 (free for under 3s) and adults starting from £13.

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.