Ahead of the 2025 Hundred Draft on March 12, the eight teams have released many renowned England players from their squad.
After missing the previous year’s Hundred due to a finger injury, Zak Crawley lost his spot as London Spirit’s designated centrally contracted player. Crawley has struggled for form of late, managing 88 runs in eight innings in his SA20 stint with Sunrisers Eastern Cape last month before being dropped from the side. The Spirit have also released Mark Wood along with Dan Lawrence, who will be replaced by Kane Williamson as their captain.
Jamie Overton, who played for Manchester Originals in the men’s Hundred last year, was expected to be retained at £200,000 but the franchise reportedly offered him a £120,000 contract. Hence, the all-rounder opted to leave.
Trent Rockets, the champions in the 2022 season, have undergone wholesale changes, releasing Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, Alex Hales and Rashid Khan, among others.
Steve Smith is set to represent Welsh Fire in the next edition of The Hundred.#TheHundred #Cricket pic.twitter.com/BEOiSYmewd
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 25, 2025
Reece Topley wasn’t re-signed by Northern Superchargers, while Rehan Ahmed and George Garton are leaving Brave and Oval Invincibles have let go off Dawid Malan.
Also read: Hundred 2025 draft: Full list of retained players and direct signings after Deadline Day
The retention list for the fifth edition of The Hundred was released on Tuesday, with each men’s and women’s team allowed to keep up to 10 players from the previous year’s squads.
Spirit, however, strategically managed to retain 11 from the title-winning women's team from last year. They haven’t officially re-signed their captain Heather Knight but she is expected to occupy their available £65,000 slot in the draft. If another team attempts to sign her, they can opt for the right-to-match (RTM) option.
In the Women's Hundred, Issy Wong, Emma Lamb and Paige Scholfield Welsh Fire are some of the renowned names released, while Fire is expected to resign Sophia Dunkley via the RTM.
The fifth edition of the Hundred will be played between August 5 and 31.
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