Over 150 men's and women's players from 2021 have been retained by their team; 28 centrally contracted England players and 19 international names confirmed so far; Heather Knight, Jos Buttler, Sophia Dunkley, Joe Root, Kate Cross and Moeen Ali among the England stars confirmed
Wednesday 23 February 2022 06:06, UK
The players being retained for this summer's second edition of The Hundred, live on Sky Sports, have been announced.
Tuesday's Deadline Day has seen more than 150 men's and women's players from 2021 retained with 28 centrally contracted England players confirmed including Heather Knight, Jos Buttler, Sophia Dunkley, Joe Root, Kate Cross and Moeen Ali.
Nineteen international names including Ellyse Perry, Lizelle Lee, Marcus Stoinis, Smriti Mandhana, Rashid Khan, Alyssa Healy, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell are already confirmed for 2022.
Current men's champions Southern Brave retain 10 players with Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills and James Vince all returning for year two along with Jofra Archer, who was signed last year but unable to play because of injury. The women's squad have retained England trio Anya Shrubsole, Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley as well as Smriti Mandhana.
Women's title holders Oval Invincibles retain most of their side including captain and last year's Most Valuable Women's Player Dané Van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp, England stars Tash Farrant and Mady Villiers, and 2021 breakthrough star Alice Capsey. Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood and the Curran brothers are also staying put this year.
Birmingham Phoenix welcome back England star Moeen Ali, Tom Abell and the biggest hitter of last year's competition in Liam Livingstone, to their men's squad. As they have nine players retained they will be looking to fill five spots in The Draft.
The women's side have announced 12 retained players including a few of those who couldn't make it last year due to Covid-19 restrictions. Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine will join Phoenix playing alongside Amy Jones, Kirstie Gordon and Issy Wong.
London Spirit have kept on England Women's captain Heather Knight as well as breakout star Charlie Dean and England teammate Freya Davies. The women's side will be looking to sign seven more players to complete their team whereas the men's have six spots to fill in The Draft. Eoin Morgan will again lead the Lord's home-side with a star-studded dressing room including Ravi Bopara and Aussie batter Glenn Maxwell.
The world's top ranked women's IT20 bowler, Sophie Ecclestone, will remain with the Manchester Originals along with recently England-capped Emma Lamb and South African batter Lizelle Lee. The men's team have a wealth of homegrown talent staying with them in Phil Salt and Matt Parkinson as well as England keeper Jos Buttler.
Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Faf du Plessis and Harry Brook are just a few names that have signed with Northern Superchargers for 2022. The women's side welcomes back the top individual runscorer of the women's competition, Jemimah Rodrigues, who stole the show with a stunning 92 not out against Welsh Fire at Headingley last year.
England duo Nat Sciver and Katherine Brunt are sticking with Trent Rockets alongside England teammate Sarah Glenn. Meanwhile, the men's side have retained England Test captain Joe Root, Afghanistan superstar Rashid Khan and Dawid Malan.
Welsh Fire have re-secured England stars Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball and Ollie Pope and the women's squad will see the return of West Indian all-rounder Hayley Matthews, Katie George and Claire Nicholas, who returns in 2022 after opting out of the 2021 competition following the birth of her second child.
A number of big names have been released including Liam Plunkett, Jimmy Neesham and Kieron Pollard (Welsh Fire), David Warner, Quinton de Kock and Andre Russell (Southern Brave), Carlos Brathwaite, Kagiso Rabada and Lockie Ferguson (Manchester Originals), Aaron Finch, Olly Stone and Dane Vilas (Northern Superchargers) and Kane Williamson and Imran Tahir (Birmingham Phoenix).
Each team has a minimum of one England Test-contracted player and up to three overseas stars, while anyone who is not retained goes into The Hundred Men's Draft on March 30.
The men's teams could retain up to 10 members of their 2021 squad and assign them across seven wage bands, while women's teams were able to retain as many players as they wished.
Sky Sports will show every game of The Hundred live this summer, starting with the opening match on Wednesday August 3 between defending men's champions Southern Brave and Welsh Fire at The Ageas Bowl.
The women's competition begins a week later on Thursday August 11 following the conclusion of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, as Oval Invincibles take on Northern Superchargers.
Men: Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Adam Milne (O), Benny Howell, Tom Abell, Will Smeed, Chris Benjamin, Miles Hammond, Henry Brookes.
Women: Amy Jones, Sophie Devine (O), Ellyse Perry (O), Georgia Elwiss, Kirstie Gordon, Issy Wong, Eve Jones, Emily Arlott, Gwen Davies, Abtaha Maqsood, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin.
Men: Zak Crawley, Mark Wood, Glenn Maxwell (O), Eoin Morgan, Mason Crane, Dan Lawrence, Adam Rossington, Ravi Bopara, Blake Cullen, Brad Wheal.
Women: Heather Knight, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Amara Carr, Naomi Dattani, Grace Scrivens, Alice Monaghan.
Men: Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Matt Parkinson, Jamie Overton, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Colin Ackermann, Wayne Madsen, Fred Klaassen, Calvin Harrison.
Women: Sophie Ecclestone, Lizelle Lee (O), Kate Cross, Emma Lamb, Ellie Threlkeld, Cordelia Griffith, Hannah Jones, Georgie Boyce, Laura Jackson.
Men: Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Faf du Plessis (O), Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, John Simpson, Adam Lyth, Callum Parkinson.
Women: Jemimah Rodrigues (O), Alyssa Healy (O), Laura Wolvaardt (O), Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Hollie Armitage, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Bess Heath, Kalea Moore, Liz Russell.
Men: Sam Curran, Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Saqid Mahmood, Reece Topley, Jordan Cox, Nathan Sowter.
Women: Dané van Niekerk (O), Marizanne Kapp (O), Natasha Farrant, Shabnim Ismail (O), Mady Villiers, Alice Capsey, Danielle Gregory, Grace Gibbs, Emma Jones.
Men: Jofra Archer, Marcus Stoinis (O), James Vince, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, George Garton, Alex Davies, Jake Lintott, Tim David (O), Ross Whiteley, Craig Overton.
Women: Danni Wyatt, Smriti Mandhana (O), Sophia Dunkley, Anya Shrubsole, Amanda-Jade Wellington (O), Maia Bouchier, Lauren Bell, Carla Rudd, Tara Norris, Paige Scholfield.
Men: Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Rashid Khan (O), Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Marchant de Lange (O), Luke Wood, Samit Patel, Matt Carter, Steven Mullaney, Sam Cook, Tom Moores.
Women: Nat Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Kathryn Bryce, Abbey Freeborn.
Men: Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Jake Ball, David Payne, Leus du Plooy, Matt Critchley, Ryan Higgins, Josh Cobb.
Women: Katie George, Hayley Matthews (O), Claire Nicholas, Georgia Hennessy, Alex Griffiths, Hannah Baker, Lauren Filer, Nicole Harvey.
(O) = Overseas player
England fast bowler Chris Jordan was part of Hundred title success last year, as the Southern Brave beat the Birmingham Phoenix in the final.
Looking ahead to another experience of The Hundred this summer, the 33-year-old was full of praise for the tournament as a concept.
"It was extremely exciting. It was everything it more or less said on the tin: it was fast-paced, it was electrifying, exciting," Jordan told Sky Sports News on Tuesday.
"We were able to connect with a new audience as well, and every single game was more or less packed.
"It was a nice climax with the final being at the home of cricket [Lords] as well, and for us being first-time champions. I can't wait to get going again.
"Tactics and stuff will be involved a year on. Everyone was in the same boat last year, but you will probably see the skill level and the whole dynamic of the tournament go to a new level.
"We have to understand that having been the champions, instead of doing the hunting we'll be the hunted now.
"We'll have to show respect to the opposition and try and win games for Southern Brave, simple as that."
Teams will now turn their attention to planning which new players they want to snap up to strengthen their line-ups this year.
The men's squads will fill their remaining slots at The Hundred Draft on 30 March, where they will take turns to pick from the hundreds of domestic and international cricketers expected to sign up in search of earning a place in the competition. London Spirit will have the first pick followed by Welsh Fire and Manchester Originals. Welsh Fire will be the busiest side during The Draft, with seven slots to fill, including three overseas spots.
New signings, both domestic and overseas, will be announced by the women's side on the same day, including any England women's stars who have signed for a new team in 2022.
For the first time, both men's and women's sides will be able to select an additional fourth overseas player for their squad in an overseas Wildcard Draft in June. Teams will still only be able to field three overseas players in their playing XI.
The women's teams will be finalised through the open market signing process, which concludes at the end of June, giving domestic players plenty of motivation to catch the eye during the Charlotte Edwards Cup. The men's squads will be finalised in early July with the domestic Wildcard Draft pick.