By Zainab Shafiq 
On Thursday, the Hundred draft took place and 30 men’s players were selected across eight teams. Welsh Fire, who had a winless season in 2022, made significant improvements by selecting Tom Abell as their first pick after Tim David returned to Southern Brave via their Right-To-Match (RTM) card. They also acquired the services of Pakistan’s pace duo Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, as well as the all-round skills of David Willey.
Domestic players were once again in high demand, with some leading overseas players such as Babar Azam, Kieron Pollard, and Trent Boult going unsold. This was due to concerns over their availability for the tournament.
Additionally, after the group stages of the Vitality Blast, each team will have the opportunity to sign two more players as ‘wildcards’, as well as any replacement players required before the start of the Hundred on August 1.
Welsh Fire
Retained: Jonny Bairstow (central contract), Joe Clarke, Ollie Pope, David Payne, Jake Ball, George Scrimshaw
Draft picks: Tom Abell, David Willey, Shaheen Afridi, Glenn Phillips, Haris Rauf, Roelof van der Merwe, Stevie Eskinazi, Dan Douthwaite
Southern Brave
Retained: Jofra Archer (central contract), James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Rehan Ahmed, Craig Overton, Finn Allen, George Garton, James Fuller, Alex Davies, Joe Weatherley
Draft picks: Leus du Plooy, Tim David, Devon Conway
Northern Superchargers
Retained: Ben Stokes (central contract), Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, Adam Lyth, Adam Hose, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, David Wiese, Wayne Parnell, Callum Parkinson
Draft picks: Reece Topley, Tom Banton, Michael Bracewell, Bas de Leede
Oval Invincibles
Retained: Sam Curran (central contract), Sunil Narine, Will Jacks, Jason Roy, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson, Danny Briggs, Nathan Sowter
Draft picks: Heinrich Klaasen, Ross Whiteley, Ihsanullah
Birmingham Phoenix
Retained: Chris Woakes (central contract), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Shadab Khan, Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Will Smeed, Kane Richardson, Tom Helm, Chris Benjamin, Dan Mousley
Draft picks: Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Miles Hammond
London Spirit
Retained: Mark Wood (central contract), Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Ellis, Liam Dawson, Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Jordan Thompson, Mason Crane, Adam Rossington, Chris Wood, Ravi Bopara
Draft picks: Mitchell Marsh, Olly Stone, Michael Pepper
Manchester Originals
Retained: Jos Buttler (central contract), Wanindu Hasaranga, Phil Salt, Jamie Overton, Tom Hartley, Richard Gleeson, Paul Walter, Josh Little, Wayne Madsen, Tom Lammonby, Mitchell Stanley
Draft picks: Laurie Evans, Ashton Turner, Josh Tongue
Trent Rockets
Retained: Joe Root (central contract), Rashid Khan, Dawid Malan, Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, Colin Munro, Sam Cook, Daniel Sams, Samit Patel, Matt Carter
Draft picks: Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sam Hain, Brad Wheal
Tim Douglas