The Hundred

The pace bowler has been integral to reviving the fortunes of the Cardiff-based side, who finished rock bottom last summer, and powered them to the top of the table with a nerveless hat-trick at the death to see off Birmingham Phoenix on Thursday night.

Ismail is a proven winner in the 100-ball format, having helped Oval Invincibles to the title in 2021 and 2022, but did not shrink from the challenge after being drafted by the struggling Fire and has thrown herself into the task.

The 34-year-old called an end to her South Africa career earlier this year but feels that doing her bit for the principality is helping her find her peak performance.

“When I moved I didn’t really realise it wasn’t just Welsh Fire the club, but Wales the country. I’m so proud to play in the Welsh colours,” she told the PA news agency.

“I’m calling myself an honorary Welshwoman, of course! I’m retired from internationals but I’m lucky that I still get to play for a country. To represent a nation, it almost feels like I’m back with South Africa at a World Cup. It makes me play with my heart on my sleeve and do well for them.

“I was nervous first of all coming into the team but it has been like a family, an amazing welcome. I always say I can only produce the goods and play to the best of my ability when I’m comfortable in the environment and here I know I can speak my mind with no drama, everybody trusts me.”

Ismail certainly had no problem finding her finest form when she conjured a classic finish to defeat the Phoenix in a nail-biter at Edgbaston. Defending four runs from the last three balls of the match she dismissed Tess Flintoff, Erin Burns and Issy Wong. More remarkable than the feat itself, though, was the fact that Ismail did not even realise she had done it.

“I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I told the team I wanted the last five balls. But I was so in the zone I didn’t even know I had a hat-trick,” she said.

“I just didn’t realise it was three in a row, in my head every wicket was a dot ball. I didn’t even hear the crowd initially, but it pumped me up when I did. I think we made the whole of Birmingham angry.”

Welsh Fire now find themselves in the unexpected position of leading the way after two years of under-delivering but, if that is a surprise to some, Ismail called it before a ball had been bowled.

“When I met Breesey (head coach Gareth Breese), I told him ‘we are going to win this’,” she said.

“I told him things will be different this year. He told me ‘baby steps, one at a time’ but I keep telling him we’ve got this. Now we all believe, we know we can do it.”

First, Narine starred with the ball after his Invincibles won the toss and elected to field first.

In his 20 balls, Narine took 2-14 to help restrict the Spirit to 131 from their 100 balls.

Adam Rossington led the way for the Spirit with 39 while Matthew Wade hit 37.

The Invincibles then reached 132-7 with only one ball to spare. Sam Curran hit 34 while Captain Sam Billings made 25.

Narine hit 13 from five balls including the winning runs. Daniel Worrall, Jordan Thompson and Nathan Ellis all took two wickets, each, for the Spirit.

Anderson, who took 704 wickets in 188 games for England, did not officially call time on his career and is now considering a return to the white-ball format. 

He recently joined the England coaching staff as a fast-bowling mentor following his retirement, and is helping Ben Stokes and the side ahead of their Test series with Sri Lanka next week. 

However, the 42-year-old is now pondering potential avenues for a return to the T20 Arena or even in next season's Hundred competition. 

Anderson has dedicated the last 10 years to red-ball cricket, not featuring in a 20-over game since 2014, but feels "still fit enough" to prolong his illustrious career. 

"I might be in a bit of denial because I'm well aware I won't play for England again, but I've still not made a decision on my actual cricket career," Anderson told the Press Association.

"There's definitely a bit of intrigue with the shorter formats because I've not played any franchise stuff before.

"Watching The Hundred this year, seeing the ball swing around, it makes me feel like I could do a job there.

"I know it's a while since I played it and my age will get brought up again but I really feel I'll be good enough to play that form of cricket."

Flintoff gradually returned to the limelight through cricket in the summer after a crash last December while filming a stunt for the BBC show Top Gear left him hospitalised with facial and rib injuries.

He is now set for his first head coach role and replaces ex-England wicketkeeper James Foster, who left the Superchargers last week after two years with the Headingley-based team.

The 45-year-old said in a statement: “I am excited to have been appointed head coach of the Northern Superchargers men’s team.”

The former England captain and 2005 Ashes hero will act as head coach for the Headingley-based side this summer, marking a formal return to cricket following some ad-hoc mentoring work with the national side this winter.

Superchargers finished bottom of the men’s table last year under Flintoff’s predecessor James Foster, meaning they have first pick this year as the teams fill their squads in an event being hosted at the Shard, with Birmingham Phoenix starting the women’s draft.

There are 75 places to fill across the men’s and women’s competitions, including a total of 26 spots for overseas talent.

Flintoff’s Superchargers have one of their top-tier £125,000 contracts up for grabs, as well as three lower-priced deals on offer.

The biggest foreign names on the table include Australia’s David Warner, New Zealanders Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell, Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies and Pakistan pair Babar Azam and Naseem Shah.

England’s 2019 World Cup winner Jason Roy, released by Oval Invincibles this year, is also available but has narrowed his field of options by setting a high reserve price of £100,000.

Given his expected participation in the American Major League Cricket, which has a minor scheduling clash with the Hundred, the hard-hitting opener may find himself unsold.

Dawid Malan – a former T20 world number one batter and the competition’s top run-scorer two years ago – is on the shelf at £50,000 and England’s Test vice-captain Ollie Pope comes in at a minimum of £40,000 after departing Welsh Fire.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore, currently tuning up for the Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals, was a winner in 2022 with Trent Rockets but is also waiting to find out where he will be plying his trade this time around.

The wicketkeeper-batter, who is hoping to nudge his case for England honours after a busy winter on the franchise circuit, told the PA news agency: “I’m looking forward to seeing where I go. I’ve always loved playing in the Hundred and the standard compares to anywhere I’ve played in the world.

“I feel like I’ll be coming back a better player from my experiences and the Hundred is a great benchmark to elevate yourself. We’ve seen guys getting picked by England based on their performances and I want to push myself forward.

“It’s best versus best and we know there’ll be three ‘gun’ overseas players in every team, so if you’re performing, you’re likely to get noticed.

“In the past I’ve played alongside great spinners like Adil Rahsid, Ish Sodhi, Tabraiz Shamsi and with batters like Joe Root, Alex Hales and Dawid Malan. The levels in training are so high and I can’t wait to find out who I’ll be joining up with this time.”

Amy Jones and Lauren Filer, who are both with England in New Zealand, are looking for new homes after leaving Birmingham Phoenix and London Spirit respectively.

Star names from the all-conquering Australia Women’s side are sure to attract plenty of interest, with Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland vying for attention alongside the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deandra Dottin, Chamari Athapaththu and Suzie Bates.

Representatives from last year’s winning teams, Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles, will be present at the Shard to make their picks, while others dial in remotely and make selections online during each 90-second window.

Key has been integral in offering the 2005 Ashes hero a path back from showbusiness to elite sport after the former captain suffered serious facial injuries in a car crash while filming Top Gear.

Flintoff accepted his friend’s invitation to anonymously attend games at last year’s Ashes series and has since accepted mentoring roles with England’s white-ball side as well as the England Lions and Under-19s.

He will further build his CV by leading Northern Superchargers in The Hundred this summer and has been inked in to assist Matthew Mott at the T20 World Cup in June.

With fans and players alike welcoming the return of one of the country’s most popular figures of recent times, he is already being spoken about as a possible successor and Key can see why.

“Without question, I think he would be an excellent head coach,” Key told the Daily Telegraph.

“He will be a worthy candidate going forward. When that time comes and whoever is in this job, and it might be outside of my time, they would be stupid not to look at him.

“For all the things he has done, cricket is always the thing he goes back to. Like all of us, it is the thing we know better than anything else and the thing we love.

“It is almost like he has no choice. It is what he thinks about the most after his family.”

Key praised Flintoff’s ability to understand the highs and lows of international cricket and sees him as a natural working with the the current crop.

“Flintoff is a leader like (Ben) Stokes. He is not going to need to learn leadership qualities,” said Key.

“He has those in abundance, which is what you need at the top level. He has that empathy that Stokes has as well as being a great player.

“He knows what it is like to nick off and to struggle. All these things as a leader, your interactions with people, mean you can impact people in a positive or negative way with everything you do. Fred is aware of that, and not many are aware of that, and he understands how to use that gift with people.”

Wyatt’s scintillating 59 from 38 balls meant she overhauled fellow England star Tammy Beaumont at the top of the standings with 295 runs in total.

Freya Kemp’s 31 and Georgia Adams’ 27 lent support as the Brave piled up 139 for six on a dry pitch, despite three for 21 for England seamer Kate Cross.

Jemimah Rodrigues, starved of strike for long periods, made 24 in the chase, but Kalea Moore returned three for 15 and Lauren Bell three for 21, while there were a trio of stumpings for Rhianna Southby as Superchargers were bowled out for 105.

It meant the Brave, bridesmaids in the first two finals, finally got their hands on the trophy, a fitting end to a glittering career for retiring skipper Shrubsole, who took the match-clinching wicket in England’s World Cup winning triumph against India at the home of cricket six years ago.

Much of the Brave’s success on the run to the final had been built on the triumvirate of Smriti Mandhana, Wyatt and Maia Bouchier, but after being put in, two were gone in the blink of an eye.

Mandhana dismissed the first ball of the match to the point boundary only to slice the next from Grace Ballinger to fly-slip, while Bouchier played too soon at one from Cross to leave the Brave eight for two.

However, Wyatt produced a gem of an innings as the England batter played shots all around the wicket, sweeping effectively and hitting inside out over the off-side in racing to 50 from 35 balls with nine fours. A glorious straight six followed as she and Adams added 84 in 63 balls.

A mix-up meant Cross’ underarm throw ended Wyatt’s knock prematurely and Adams, dropped earlier by Georgia Wareham, holed out to the same fielder for 27.

An extraordinary cameo from Kemp, including swinging the bat out of her hands, lifted the Brave above par before she and Chloe Tryon both fell in Cross’ excellent final set.

Marie Kelly was given out lbw to the first ball of the chase from Bell, only to be reprieved on review, but undeterred the England speedster bowled her off the pads with the second.

Phoebe Litchfield took up the chase with two dismissive early fours in a bid to overhaul Wyatt once more as leading runscorer.

She would though only get to 13 before swinging another Bell delivery to a catcher in the deep.

Rodrigues picked up five from a misdirected Tryon throw at the stumps, but only 28 came from the powerplay.

Wicketkeeper Southby then took centre-stage with two brilliant pieces of glovework to stump first Hollie Armitage and then England newbie Bess Heath, the latter having previously hit Bell over the ropes for six.

Shrubsole joined in the fun with a farewell wicket of Alice Davidson-Richards and once Rodrigues holed out in the increasingly desperate pursuit of boundaries, Brave were all but home.

Dottin’s unbeaten 37-ball 67 propelled Manchester Originals’ to 156-2 from their 100 balls.

Dottin, who recently retired from international cricket and Sophie Ecclestone, who made an unbeaten 36, were mainly responsible for MO’s winning total after they lost opener, Emma Lamb, for 35 and Lizelle Lee for just three.

Alex Hartley had the best figures for Welsh Fire with 1-17 from 20 balls while Annabel Sutherland took 1-33 from her 20-ball allotment.

Needing 157, Welsh Fire made a fist of it, scoring 145-3, thanks mainly to the efforts of openers Tammy Beaumont who scored 45 from 42 balls with five fours and Hayley Matthews, who smashed 69 from 41 balls, blazing 12 fours along the way.

Dottin dismissed Racheal Haynes for 11 and Sutherland for 0 as the Welsh Fire chase fizzled, to return figures of 2-21 from 15 balls.

Ecclestone who took the prized wicket of Matthews had figures of 1-27 from her 20 balls.

Dottin’s 30-ball 68 that included five fours and six sixes helped MO to 160-3 from the hundred balls. Opener Lizelle Lee's 27-ball 40 and Sophie Ecclestone’s 17-ball 24 were significant contributions to what seemed like a winning score.

However, Northern Superchargers recovered from 106-3 with 24 balls remaining to snatch victory at the death thanks to a whirlwind knock from Laura Wolvaardt, who smashed an unbeaten 90 from just 49 balls.

The South African batter clubbed 13 fours and two sixes to propel her side to what seemed like an unlikely victory.

Alyssa Healy contributed 28 from 18 balls and Hollie Armitage 24 from 20 also made useful contributions.

Dottin proved a tad expensive with the ball conceding 34 runs from 19 balls.

Kate Cross 1-26 from 20 balls and Emma Lamb 1-23 from 15 were MO’s best bowlers.

A congested schedule that has compressed five Tests into less than seven weeks is set to conclude at the Kia Oval on Monday, with the third edition of the 100-ball competition beginning the following day.

Ben Stokes did not feature at all last year and England’s Test captain mentioned in his pre-match press conference he would be going on holiday at the conclusion of the series against Australia.

Longstanding concerns about Stokes’ left knee – he is planning to have “serious conversations” about having an operation as England are not playing another Test until January – means the Northern Superchargers might not see their talismanic all-rounder for the entire four-week campaign.

Such an outcome would be a blow to the tournament that has faced questions over its long-term viability, although the England and Wales Cricket Board has publicly quashed any concerns, while none of the touring Ashes squad will feature this year.

Fast bowlers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes have also had injury niggles before and during the Ashes, so their availability for London Spirit and Birmingham Phoenix respectively could be impacted.

Another consideration is the fact the pair are crucial to England’s defence of their 50-over World Cup crown later this year, as is Jonny Bairstow, who plays for Welsh Fire but may be in need of rest after being an ever-present in England’s failed pursuit of the urn on his return from a horrific broken leg.

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Moeen Ali, who has been nursing a sore spinning finger throughout the Ashes, are the others unlikely to be thrust into duty in The Hundred straight away.

An ECB spokesperson said: “Players who have featured in the LV= Insurance men’s Ashes will be assessed at the end of the series and their availability for The Hundred decided accordingly.

“Assessments are made by the England science and medicine team, in consultation with the player.”

Lauren Bell will be absent for Southern Brave’s first two fixtures, as will Sophia Dunkley for new team Welsh Fire, but all other England players that were involved in the women’s Ashes series which finished last week are available from the off.

The men’s and women’s Hundred runs concurrently, with the group stage lasting until August 24, with the eliminator and the final taking place two and three days later.

The Originals, after being inserted by the Spirit, made 135-5 from their 100 balls thanks to 58 from Captain Phil Salt and 38 from Max Holden.

Pacers Richard Gleeson and Olly Stone took two wickets, each, for the Spirit while Andre Russell went wicketless while conceding only 14 from his 10 deliveries.

The Spirit then fell just short of their target, reaching 123-5 from their 100 balls.

Opener Keaton Jennings led the way with 61* off 50 balls while Hetmyer, batting at five, made 44 off 35 balls including three fours and a six.

Fazalhaq Farooqi took 3-24 from 20 balls for the Originals.

This result means the Spirit, like their opponents, have no chance to advance to the knockout phase of the tournament.

This was the Originals’ first win in six games while the Spirit have a similar record and are one spot above them in the eight-team table.

Consultations over changes to the ownership model are ongoing between the England and Wales Cricket Board, the 18 first-class counties and MCC, with a vote due in the new year.

The ECB currently owns all eight teams outright and rents the venues but is ready to transfer a controlling stake to the host counties, allowing them to sell shares to new investors and create a fresh income stream for both the competition and the wider domestic game.

Discussions have also taken place over the structure of the competition, with options including growing to 10 or 12 teams or involving all 18 teams by creating a second division.

Lancashire are keen to take control of Manchester Originals – who play at Emirates Old Trafford – but are against the two-division plan and have made it clear that The Hundred must not be given any more time in the calendar than the three weeks it currently has in August.

“I can confirm discussions have taken place between all first-class counties and the ECB regarding transfer of controlling interest in The Hundred teams to the host venues. As a board we are supportive of this,” Anson said in a statement on the club’s YouTube channel.

“It is in Lancashire Cricket’s best interests to have greater control of Manchester Originals.

“This would mean we can drive the team as a commercial entity. I was also very concerned about the level of central costs of the ECB associated with The Hundred: they were too high and we believe the operating model was sub-optimal.

“As a board we have clear preference for a way forward. We do support transfer of a controlling equity stake of Manchester Originals to Lancashire Cricket.

“We see Manchester Originals as separate to Lancashire and in no way as a replacement for Lancashire in the different formats.

“We would be very concerned that a two-tier Hundred would prevent Lancashire playing as the Red Rose during the month of August and this would not be acceptable.

“We would not accept any expansion to the window in the schedule allocated to the Hundred, even if the number of teams expanded.

“We therefore support a single division solution, with expansion only if it can fit into the existing time window.”

Durham chief executive Tim Bostock this week told the PA news agency that he was “100 per cent committed” to bringing a ninth Hundred team to the north east and would be ready to proceed in time for the 2025 season.

Matthews, who has been enjoying superb form for the Welsh Fire, was again on song, as she captured 4-14 in 20 balls to restrict Southern Brave to 103 before hammering an unbeaten 26-ball 35 to get her franchise across the line at 106-1 with 26 balls to spare. Captain Tammy Beaumont was also left unbeaten as she topscored with 59 off 40 deliveries.

With the win, Welsh Fire are now in a strong position, due to their superior net run rate, to finish in top spot and qualify automatically for the Hundred final at Lord's on Sunday. Oval Invincibles require a convincing win over Trent Rockets on Wednesday afternoon to leapfrog them.

Scores: Southern Brave 103 all out (100 balls); Welsh Fire 106-1 (74 balls)

“I think we've been really good. When you look at our line-up, we've got a lot of experience, and we've played on that really well,” Matthews said in a post-game interview.

“The bowlers have done a really good job at making sure we don't have to chase too big of a total. I think it's been a complete team performance, and that's where we've performed really well; everyone's been chipping in and playing their role,” she added.

After Beaumont inserted Southern Brave at the toss, Matthews dismissed the in-form Danni Wyatt (two), caught at deep midwicket, before Smriti Mandhana (one) departed four balls later to the pace of Shabnim Ismail to leave the Brave 15 for 2 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Whatever hopes Southern Brave had of repairing the damage were dashed when Jess Jonassen had Georgia Adams (six) stumped. Maia Bouchier (10) was Matthews’ second scalp, brilliantly caught by Phoebe Franklin in the deep, before Freya Kemp (two) knicked one behind to give Jonassen her second wicket.

Matthews got her third when she bowled Naomi Dattani (two) and then completed her allotment with the scalp of Kalea Moore (zero), as Southern Brave were in totters at 47 for 7.

Chloe Tyron was the only bright spark of the innings, as she posted an aggressive 38-ball 55, including seven fours and a solitary six at the backend, as she dominated a 52-run eight-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby (15).

Matthews’ haul was supported by Jess Jonassen (3-21) and Freya Davies (2-14).

Despite losing Sophia Dunkley (seven) to Lauren Bell early, the result was never in doubt for Welsh Fire, as Beaumont was especially strong on anything loose, working the field with sweeps and cuts, while Matthews picked the gaps behind square in a 72-run stand off a mere 54 balls.

Beaumont raised her half-century in just 31 balls in a knock that had 10 boundaries, while the Barbadian, Matthews, struck five boundaries in her knock as Welsh Fire continue to blaze heading into the business end of the tournament.

Matthews hit a 38-ball 65 including 13 fours to help the Fire post 165-3 from their 100 balls after being inserted by the Brave.

The Fire also got solid contributions from Georgia Elwiss (28) and Captain Tammy Beaumont (26).

Then, despite an opening partnership of 96 between Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt, the Southern Brave were restricted to 161-4 off their 100 balls.

Mandhana ended up 70* off 42 balls while Wyatt made 67 off 37 balls. Mandhana hit 11 fours while Wyatt hit 10 fours and two sixes.

Alex Griffiths took 2-26 from her 20 balls while Matthews took 1-35 from her 20 deliveries for the Fire.

The Spirit first posted 150-5 from their 100 balls after Fire captain Tammy Beaumont won the toss and put them in to bat.

Danielle Gibson led the way with the bat with a 25-ball 41 while Deepti Sharma made 39* off 26 balls in support.

Freya Davies took 2-19 from her 20 deliveries for the Fire while Beth Langston, Jess Jonassen and Georgia Davis shared the other three wickets.

Needing 151 off their 100 balls for victory, the Fire lost skipper Beaumont for 6 off the 11^th ball of the innings bringing Matthews to the crease.

The Bajan batted through the rest of the chase on her way to 78* off just 46 balls as the Fire reached 151-4 off 95 balls.

She hit 11 fours and two sixes in her 59 minutes in the middle. Sarah Bryce provided the most support for Matthews with 21 off 18 balls including three fours.

Danielle Gibson completed a good all-round performance with 2-28 off 15 balls.

This was the Fire’s second win in three games and moves them up to third in the eight-team table with four points, the same as the Spirit in second and the Oval Invincibles in first.

After winning the toss and batting first, the Rockets posted 126-8 from their 100 balls.

Openers Tom Banton and Adam Lyth gave the Rockets a good start with a partnership of 46 for the first wicket before both went in quick succession for 30 and 16, respectively.

A series of starts from Alex Hales (15), Joe Root (16), Rovman Powell (16) and captain Lewis Gregory (19) propelled the Rockets to their score.

Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers for the Brave with 3-22 from his 20 balls while Jofra Archer and Danny Briggs took two wickets, each.

The Brave then needed 99 balls to reach 127-8 and secure victory.

After a 43-run opening partnership between Alex Davies and captain James Vince, the Brave lost a cluster of wickets very quickly, eventually struggling at 78-6, needing 49 from 20 balls.

Kieron Pollard, who at that point has scored six off 14 balls, faced up to Rashid Khan in a crucial set of five to likely determine the outcome of the game.

The former West Indies captain then produced one of the most brutal displays of hitting of his career, belting Khan for five sixes in a row to put the Brave firmly in control, now needing 19 from 15 for victory.

The momentum continued in the way of the brave as the next set of five balls went for 10 runs to leave the Brave needing nine runs off 10 balls.

Pollard’s innings came to an end off the first ball of the next set for a 23-ball 45 including two fours and five sixes, bringing Jofra Archer to the crease to join Chris Jordan.

With the Brave eventually needing four runs off two balls, Jordan hit Lewis Gregory for four over square leg to secure the win.

Pollard will join the likes of Mark Wood and Glenn Maxwell for the Spirit in the 100-ball per team tournament.

His Trinidadian countrymen Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo will turn out for the Northern Superchargers and Oval Invincibles, respectively, while Andre Russell was the first selection for the Manchester Originals. All four West Indians were taken at the highest price range of 125,000 pounds sterling.

The second edition of the Hundred will run from August 3-September 3. The inaugural edition in 2021 was won by the Southern Braves.

Despite their power-hitting prowess and propensity for being on winning teams in T20 franchise cricket across the globe, neither player was considered to be good enough for any of the eight Hundred teams.

They were not the only big names to be overlooked as two of the best batters in the world - Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan – were also overlooked by the teams’ selectors.

However, Sunil Narine had much better fortune. He was picked up by the Oval Invincibles and is the only West Indian player in The Hundred for the third season.

The Brave, after winning the toss and electing to bat, posted 146-8 off their 100 balls thanks to a 22-ball 37 from former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard and cameos of 28 and 26 from Alex Davies and James Coles, respectively.

Callum Parkinson took 2-38 from his 20 balls of left-arm spin for the Superchargers.

The Superchargers then needed only 85 balls to reach 147-3 and secure their first win of the season.

Pooran than led the successful chase with 62 off 34 balls including four fours and five sixes while captain Harry Brook finished 34* off 20 balls including four fours and a six.

Opener Graham Clark also chipped in with 27.

Akeal Hosein took 1-19 off 15 balls for the Brave.

Full Scores:

Southern Brave 146-8 off 100 balls (Kieron Pollard 37, Alex Davies 28, James Coles 26, Callum Parkinson 2-38)

Northern Superchargers 147-3 off 85 balls (Nicholas Pooran 62, Harry Brook 34*, Graham Clark 27, Akeal Hosein 1-19, Jofra Archer 1-19)

The Northern Superchargers made the headlines by selecting Nicholas Pooran as their first pick, highlighting the team's strategic focus on acquiring top-tier talent. Pooran's exceptional batting prowess and aggressive style make him a formidable force on the field, adding depth and flair to the Superchargers' lineup.

London Spirit secured the services of two West Indian powerhouses, with Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer joining their ranks. Known for their ability to smash boundaries with ease, Russell and Hetmyer are expected to bring an exciting brand of cricket to the Spirit camp, captivating fans with their explosive stroke play.

Meanwhile, Southern Brave strengthened their batting lineup by acquiring the services of Kieron Pollard, adding the experienced all-rounder's firepower to their arsenal. Pollard's ability to turn the game on its head with his big-hitting prowess makes him a valuable asset for the Brave as they aim for glory in The Hundred.

Rovman Powell emerged as a top pick for Trent Rockets, further solidifying the West Indian presence in the tournament. Powell's aggressive batting style and knack for scoring quick runs make him a perfect fit for the Rockets' lineup, providing the team with a dynamic middle-order batsman capable of changing the course of a game single-handedly.

While the draft brought joy to these five West Indian stars, there was disappointment for Trinidad and Tobago's mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who went undrafted. Despite his absence from the draft, Narine remains a formidable force in the world of cricket, with his unique bowling skills and all-round abilities.