Test players guaranteed for Hundred teams
Every franchise in cricket’s new Hundred competition, which launches next summer, will be guaranteed at least one England Test player.
Telegraph Sport can reveal complete details of the inaugural player draft for the new competition, which will be held on the evening of Oct 20 ahead of the first season next summer. Player registration for the draft will open in the middle of next week. Hundreds of players – both from England and overseas – are expected to enter the draft.
By early October, shortly after England’s new central contracts are finalised, all eight teams will have chosen their England Test players, as well as up to two local players a team, in advance of the draft. At the same time, the draft order will be finalised after lots are drawn. Players will be chosen through a “snake” draft system, meaning a team with first pick in the first round would have last choice in the second round.
Cricketers who enter the Hundred draft will be obliged to go to whichever franchise selects them. Players are free to enter for a minimum price, meaning they are only eligible to be signed for at least this amount.
On draft night, each team will have 100 seconds to make their pick on an electronic tablet. Teams will have three representatives on their table in the draft room, with the draft – similar to the model used in US sports and the Indian Premier League auction – shown live on Sky Sports. A number of England players are expected to attend, with the draft held the day before England fly to New Zealand.
The women’s Hundred competition will use a different system. Instead of the draft, England-contracted players will be distributed to franchises, with that process expected to be completed by the end of September.
Non-England contracted players will then negotiate with teams rather than entering a draft, so they will have a say in where they end up.
The men’s tournament will clash with the England-Pakistan Test series next summer, so the availability of England’s Test players will be compromised. Players are still expected to be
available for the first three games and the final stages.
Competition organisers have agreed to the method by which England Test players are distributed. The team representing each region – so the franchise based at The Oval represents both Surrey and Kent, for instance – will be entitled to pick up one England Test player from their catchment area.
After they have done so, all other England Test players are put back into a pot, with teams who did not have a local Test player to choose from (or opted not to select one) getting the first right to select them.
This means that if the Leeds franchise opted to pick Ben Stokes – who, as a Durham player, would count as a local player – then Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root would go into the pot and could be selected to play by other teams.
Because of their limited availability, England Test players will not count towards the 15-man squads at each franchise. Each team will, in practice, have either 16 or 17 players, depending on whether they get one or two England Test cricketers.
Some England red-ball specialists may choose not to enter the draft.
Beforehand, each team will also be allowed to pick an extra two players within their catchment area. Their wages will depend on negotiations between the player and the team. Such players will effectively fill a berth in the draft – so if, say, the Lord’s franchise chose Eoin Morgan as a local player in one of the £125,000 slots, he would fulfil this position and the team would not be able to sign someone else in this position during the draft.
The salary bands for the draft have also been confirmed. Salaries will have a top band of £125,000 followed by £100,000, £75,000, £60,000, £50,000, £40,000 or £30,000. There will be two players in each category.
Each franchise is allowed three overseas players – as in the women’s Hundred – though they will be able to replace any overseas players who have to leave. There will be no limits on the number of players teams can sign from any county or country.
All teams will spend an identical amount on players – the payments for England Test players come from a central pot – in the hope of creating competitive balance.
Many county players will expect to earn double their annual salaries, with average county wages currently sitting at £45,000.
The organising committee has ruled that only players who have been with counties for at least a year will be eligible to be signed as local players. This is designed to prevent counties using the lure of a Hundred contract to boost their own recruitment.
After the draft, each team will retain one vacancy in their core 15-man squad. This will be reserved for a wild-card pick – selected approximately two weeks before the start of the Hundred on the basis of their form in the T20 Blast – who will earn a salary of £30,000.