Aussie duo among the top-tier stars in draft for The Hundred
A TOTAL of 570 players have put their names forward to be drafted for the inaugural season of The Hundred, with Australian pair Steve Smith and David Warner among those with the heftiest price tags.
The eight franchises have already filled three positions in their squad - one centrally contracted England Test player and two local ‘icons’ apiece - and will choose another 12 during Sunday’s televised draft.
Of those, a maximum of three can be overseas players - meaning just 24 are due to be picked up out of 239 foreign stars who have thrown their names into the hat.
Only six carry the top tier £125,000 reserve, with Ashes adversaries Smith and Warner joined by compatriot Mitchell Starc, big-hitting West Indian batsman Chris Gayle, Sri Lanka veteran Lasith Malinga and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Another 17 have entered at a minimum of £100,000 with further brackets between £40,000 and £75,000 and a large field carrying no reserve at all. No Indian players will be involved in the draft.
There are 331 domestic players hoping to land a deal, 19 of whom have set a base price.
World Cup winning seamers Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett are available at £60,000 and £50,000 respectively, with Liam Livingstone, Samit Patel and Joe Denly joining Wood in the higher bracket.
Head coaches will have 100 seconds to make each selection, recruiting two names per round until the rosters are complete. The order of the day’s first picks has already been set, with Nottinghambased Trent Rockets getting first choice and Birmingham Phoenix up last.