[ad_1]
The Hundred will return for its third season with the first women’s player draft in a major UK sport.
Running alongside the men’s draft, it will see at least 32 domestic and overseas players drafted in 2023.
The 100-ball competition involves eight teams from around England and Wales.
“The draft represents another landmark moment for women’s sport in this country as The Hundred continues to break new ground,” said Beth Barrett-Wild, head of the women’s competition.
“The impact of The Hundred on the women’s game after just two editions of the competition has been enormous, generating unprecedented levels of visibility, making household names of our brilliant female players, and driving performance standards.”
England captain Heather Knight played for London Spirit in the first two editions of the competition.
“It is brilliant news that The Hundred will be holding the first-ever draft in the women’s game, and it’ll be fascinating to see who is first pick,” said the 31-year-old batter.
“We’ve already talked about it as a playing group – it’s really exciting and I think we’ve seen in the men’s game that drafts really get people discussing and debating selection, so it’s great that the women’s competition will be part of that conversation.”
How will it work?
The women’s 2023 player selection process will run in three stages: retention, draft and open market.
Before the draft, teams will be able to retain up to four players from their 2022 squads during the retention window, which opens in December.
At this point, each team can only retain a maximum of three ‘marquee players’ (England central contract/overseas), with no more than two England or two overseas players.
The draft itself will see teams select a minimum of four players, with them following the reverse order of this year’s standings, so Welsh Fire will pick first and the champions Oval Invincibles last.
Players will be selected consecutively in categories set by salary bands; both the women’s and men’s salaries will stay the same as 2022.
Teams will then complete their squads by signing their remaining seven players on an open market basis.
Across the three stages, each team is allowed to sign a maximum of three England central contract and three overseas players.
