After the much-awaited ICC T20 World Cup 2020, another highly-anticipated league is soon to take place. It is none other than The Hundred. The latest pool of overseas players has been confirmed for the upcoming competition this summer. The five players have been named which include three of Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning squad.
As per the rules, each of the eight teams in The Hundred can have three overseas players in their 15-member squad. The recent announcement confirmed the rest of the international signings which took the side to 18. However, only two teams have filled up their allocation so far while the rest of the six teams still have one overseas space left in each.
Welsh Fire is one of those sides who have finished their job early. Beth Mooney, who has recently received the award of the ‘Player of the Series’ in the T20 World Cup after scoring a whopping 259 runs at an average of 64.75 will play for Wales with her fellow Aussies teammates Jess Jonassen and Meg Lanning. Notably, Mooney is currently the number one ranked batter in T20I.
The Hundred
Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and fast-bowler Nicola Carey are the other two players who have been signed by Birmingham Phoenix and Northern Superchargers respectively. On the other hand, South African all-rounders Marizanne Kapp will play for Oval Invincibles, and the hard-hitter Chloe Tryon has picked up by London Spirit. With this, the list of overseas players confirmed today.
Apart from Welsh Fire, the Invincibles are the only other team who have completed their list of international players with the signing of Kapp. She will join in south London alongside Dane van Niekerk and Australia’s vice-captain Rachael Haynes. Notably, all the other sides still have places left for overseas players.
While Gardner is the second overseas player after New Zealand’s destructive player Sophie Devine, Carey joins her Australian teammate, Alyssa Healy, at the Superchargers and Tryon will play for the Spirit along with West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin.
The Hundred
Ben Sawyer, Head Coach for Birmingham Phoenix women’s team, said: “Ashleigh is a very versatile cricketer who can come in early in a powerplay and showed in the ICC T20 World Cup that she can also come in at the end of an innings, with the field spread, and clear the ropes because she’s so strong. She also adds a huge amount with the ball.
“We’ve got one more international spot to fill, which is a pretty good place to be, having watched the World Cup so closely with Australia to see who would suit our style of play. I’m really happy with our position and the current make-up of our squad.”
The other three teams for the competition, the Manchester Originals, Southern Braves and Trent Rockets, did not announce an overseas player in this recent round and still have one place left each to fill before the competition begins on July 22 when the Phoenix will take on the Originals at New Road in Worcester.
The Hundred
Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred – Women’s Competition, shared: “It’s fantastic to see five more international stars signing up to play in The Hundred this summer. The competition is really building momentum, and it’s very exciting to see the growing list of world class talent involved across the eight teams.
“We’ve now confirmed the names of 18 overseas players who will compete in the women’s competition, including the likes of Meg Lanning, Suzie Bates, Stafanie Taylor and Lizelle Lee; with six still to go, the standard of cricket is set to be very high,” he added.
The other international players who will play alongside Gardner and Devine at Birmingham Phoenix for The Hundred are England players Amy Jones, Georgia Elwiss and Kirstie Gordon along with the local Warwickshire players Marie Kelly, Issy Wong, Ria Fackrell and Eve Jones.
