Stars may snub Hundred

FEARS are emerging that the Hundred’s inaugural season will lack A-list overseas talent amid struggles to secure Australia’s top players.

So far leg-spinner Adam Zampa is the only Aussie to have been confirmed on the eight teams’ lists ahead of Thursday’ s retention window closing. The ECB are desperate for their new 100-ball tournament to succeed but face doubts over whether fans will be allowed in time for the scheduled midsummer start.

And the availability of Australians like Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, David Warner and Mitchell Starc could be limited at best, with Australia in t he Caribbean for a white-ball tour until July 26, five days into the month-long tournament.

Should quarantine spells be necessary in the UK at that stage it would throw into question whether it would be financially attractive, with Hundred salaries slashed by 20 per cent since the original draft in 2019.