English white-ball specialist Tom Abell and Australian short-format expert Tim David emerged as the top choices in the draught for the 2023 edition of The Hundred, England’s local limited-balls cricket tournament.
Around 30 male players were selected across eight teams in the draught held on Thursday night, with Welsh Fire bringing in Abell and David returning to Southern Brave via their Right-To-Match (RTM) card.
With new coach Michael Hussey taking over following a winless 2022 season, Welsh Fire greatly bolstered their roster by signing Pakistan’s speed combo Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, as well as England all-rounder David Willey.
Advertisement
Local players were in high demand while major international talents including as Pakistan captain Babar Azam, West Indies IPL icon Kieron Pollard, and Trent Boult of New Zealand went unsold, in some cases due to doubts over their availability for the entire season.
After the Vitality Blast group stages, each team will be allowed to recruit two more players as ‘wildcards,’ as well as any substitute players needed before the Hundred begins on August 1. Most clubs were able to keep the nucleus of their squads by keeping as many as 10-11 players.
Advertisement
Among the sought-after players were Australian stars Mitchell Marsh, who was picked by the London Spirit at the top price after shining as an opener in Australia’s ODI series triumph in India.
Marsh will join fellow Australians Glenn Maxwell and Nathan Ellis at Lord’s after both were retained ahead of the draught. Ashton Turner, the captain of the Perth Scorchers, has been picked by the Manchester Originals, returning to the team he represented in the 2022 season.
Kane Richardson, another Australian, was retained by the Birmingham Phoenix, while Sydney Thunder allrounder Daniel Sams was retained by the Trent Rockets.
Also Read: Top 10 Best Cricket Stadiums In the World (cricfiles.com)
Advertisement