Former Australia batter David Warner will play in The Hundred for the first time having been signed by London Spirit.
The 38-year-old was initially signed by Southern Brave for the first edition of The Hundred in 2020 before it was cancelled because of Covid-19, but had not been picked up since.
Meanwhile, former England seamer James Anderson went unsold, as did 16-year-old Rocky Flintoff, son of legendary all-rounder Andrew.
Anderson, 42, also entered the auction for this year’s Indian Premier League and did not earn a deal, but he hopes to play all formats for Lancashire this summer.
Other notable signings included England all-rounder Jamie Overton joining Warner at Spirit as he was signed in the highest price bracket of £200,000.
“Any competition with David Warner in it, benefits,” Oval Invincibles captain Sam Billings, who led his side to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, told BBC Sport.
“He is box office, it’s very different playing with him to playing against him! But I’ve learned a huge amount from him as a player and in terms of leadership. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
Warner’s fellow Australian Glenn Maxwell withdrew from the draft, but Southern Brave picked New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell, former England seamer David Willey joined Trent Rockets and Manchester Originals opted for Afghanistan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad as the other highest-paid players.
Fast bowler Reece Topley also joined Brave to form an exciting pace line-up with fellow England players Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan.
Originals selected Black Caps all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, who was player of the tournament at the recent Champions Trophy, while England Test batter Zak Crawley moved from Spirit to Northern Superchargers.
The Hundred starts on 5 August, and there will be a further wildcard draft in May where all teams can sign in-form players from the domestic circuit.
Source link : https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/c99n7zn8levo
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Publish date : 2025-03-12 18:15:37
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