The Hundred draft: Everything you need to know
The England Cricket Board (ECB) came up with an announcement last year that a new format of the game would begin in 2020. Named The Hundred, the tournament is set to involve a 100-ball per side competition. The players draft was held on Thursday and we had England's best players being roped in by the eight city-based club tourney. Here's more.
Men's and women's Hundred: Teams and schedule
A total of eight teams that are set to take part in The Hundred are, Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire. Notably, besides the men's tournament, the women cricketers will also be part of the event. The men's and women's Hundred will run from July 17 to August 16, 2020.
Which teams will England's superstars play for?
England's summer hero Ben Stokes has been roped in by Northern Superchargers. Star fast bowler Jofra Archer will represent Southampton-based Southern Brave. England's Test captain Joe Root will play for the Nottingham-based Trent Rockets. Limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan will play for London Spirit, whereas, Jos Buttler will turn up for Manchester Originals. Jason Roy (Oval Invincibles) and Jonny Bairstow (Welsh Fire) will feature too.
'The best in the world are coming here to compete'
"This year has been monumental for cricket and we have seen achievements like never before," said Root to BBC. "The best players in the world are coming here to compete and we're going to get the chance to test ourselves against them once again."
What is The Hundred?
Eight teams based in seven cities will face-off for the new 100-ball tournament. There will be 32 league matches in total. The top team will automatically reach the final, with second versus third will vie for the other spot by playing a knock-out match. Teams will face each other once, apart from their paired 'rivals', whom they meet twice (home and away).
Main draft to be held on October 20
The main draft of the tournament will be held on October 20. Each team will have a 15-man squad and it will be filled via a full draft. Star international players such as West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and Australia duo David Warner and Steve Smith have made themselves available. Teams will be able to select a maximum of three overseas players.
There are seven set salary bands
Meanwhile, there are seven set salary bands, with up to two players to be picked at each of the following: £125,000, £100,000, £75,000, £60,000, £50,000, £40,000 and £30,000. Notably, captains will receive a bonus of £10,000.
