ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani duo of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf (both picked by Welsh Fire) were some of the big names snapped up at The Hundred players draft.
Haris Rauf said: “I’m very excited about being picked by Welsh Fire. The Hundred is a really good competition and I’m looking forward to getting to Cardiff and working with Mike Hussey.
It looks like we’ve built a good squad, and I'm excited about meeting the rest of the team and helping us win games of cricket.”
Young pacer Ihsanullah has been picked up by Oval Invincible. Sophia Dunkley and Tom Abell were the first picks of the men’s and women’s competitions, both for Welsh Fire, where Abell will be joined by Afridi and Rauf, who will both be making their first appearances in The Hundred.
The women’s competition was staging a draft for the first time, with Laura Wolvaardt moving to Manchester Originals, Kate Cross crossing the Pennines to Northern Superchargers and Sarah Glenn signing for London Spirit three of the other stand-out stories of the day.
The Hundred Draft saw 64 spots filled across the men’s and women’s competitions, with the eight teams taking it in turns to select players – the order for selections is based on last year’s finishing positions.
The open market process will see the remaining 56 places filled in the women’s competition, while 16 spots remain up for grabs in the men’s competition by virtue of The Vitality Wildcard Draft, which will be held in the week commencing 3 July.
Across the men’s and women’s competitions, the following players were signed: Birmingham Phoenix: Sophie Devine, Hannah Baker, Eve Jones, Katie Levick, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Miles Hammond.
London Spirit: Grace Harris, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Munro, Sophie Luff, Mitchell Marsh, Olly Stone, Michael Pepper.
Manchester Originals: Laura Wolvaardt, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Kathryn Bryce, Katie George, Laurie Evans, Ashton Turner, Josh Tongue. Northern Superchargers: Kate Cross, Georgia Wareham, Alice Davidson-Richards, Reece Topley, Tom Banton, Michael Bracewell, Bas de Leede.
Oval Invincibles: Suzie Bates, Dane Van Niekerk, Mady Villiers, Paige Scholfield, Heinrich Klaasen, Ross Whiteley, Ihsanullah.