England stars among 54 players retained by Hundred franchises ahead of delayed tournament

The ECB have announced the retention of 54 players by teams in The Hundred competition, including England stars Jonny Bairstow remaining with Welsh Fire and Jason Roy with Oval Invincibles.

The squads are currently being reshuffled after the inaugural edition of the tournament was delayed by a year last summer because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A draft was held in October 2019 but changes to players’ values and availability means that teams have until February 4 to retain or release players. After that, there will be another mini-draft to fill the remaining slots.

Bairstow lost his England Test contract last year so slots into the top pay bracket (£100,000 for the season, down from £125,000 due to belt-tightening after Covid-19) in Cardiff, meaning one of Australian duo Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc will either have to take a paycut or leave the team. Availability of all-format Aussie internationals is still being worked on.

Bairstow will be joined by Ben Duckett, Tom Banton and Ollie Pope in an exciting-looking batting lineup.

Another player whose circumstances have changed is Dawid Malan. He was picked up by Nottingham-based Trent Rockets for £40,000 in 2019 but his value has since risen so he has moved up a couple of bands. Other teams were interested in Malan, but he has opted to stay in Nottingham.

Roy is retained by Oval Invincibles, along with Sunil Narine, Nathan Sowter and Alex Blake in the men’s competition. In their Women’s team, they have South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp, Rhianna Southby, Megan Belt and Eva Gray.

Across London at Lord’s, London Spirit have confirmed the retention of Mohammad Amir from Pakistan and Mohammad Nabi from Afghanistan, as well as Jade Dernbach, Luis Reece and Adam Rossington. In the Women’s competition, London Spirit have Amara Carr, Aylish Cranstone, Danielle Gibson, Susie Rowe and the Proteas’ Chloe Tryon.

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