Hundred franchises publish retained lists
ENGLAND trio Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jofra Archer have been retained by their Hundred franchises for the 2023 season.
The trio missed last year’s edition with Stokes and Bairstow citing their heavy workload following a packed summer of Test cricket while Archer was on his way back from a long-standing elbow issue.
On Thursday, Hundred teams confirmed their retained list ahead of the draft on March 23 and Welsh Fire kept hold of Bairstow, Stokes will remain with Northern Superchargers and Archer is still part of the Southern Brave.
England batter Sophia Dunkley will be up for grabs in the first women’s draft after Southern Brave opted to let her move on, with Danni Wyatt and Kate Cross also involved in the draft where Tammy
Beaumont’s Welsh Fire will have first pick.
Dunkley said: “It’s very exciting to be in the draft. It’s a different emotion not knowing where you’ll be playing your cricket, but you look across the eight teams and there’s so much quality across the competition.
“I’m looking forward to seeing where will become home next season, and I can’t wait to play in the third year of the Hundred - it’s already done great things for women’s cricket and I can’t wait to be a part of it again.”
Last week Dunkley was picked up by Gujarat Giants for just over £60,000 in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.
Her England teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt went for a six-figure deal of around £320,000 to Mumbai Indians and unsurprisingly Trent Rockets have retained her services.