It will be a star-studded edition of the Hundred with some of the superstars in the shorter formats joining the bandwagon ahead of the 2025 season. West Indian players didn't find any takers due to a clash with the Caribbean Premier League, however, the Kiwis and the Australians were in demand following New Zealand's recent performance in the Champions Trophy while the domestic players and most of the England internationals apart from the veteran James Anderson and opener Jason Roy, who were the notable snubs.
David Warner will be reuniting for a second time this year as part of the same franchise in a franchise tournament after signing up with London Spirit. Warner and Williamson, who have played alongside each other for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, will also be turning out in the PSL for the Karachi Kings.
The Player of the Tournament at the Champions Trophy, Rachin Ravindra signed up for his maiden stint after being picked up by the Manchester Originals, who also handed the top bracket to Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad. Michael Bracewell was another top-bracket pick for ?200,000 by the Southern Brave, who also acquired the services of Reece Topley to add to their already enriching fast-bowling stocks.
Rehan Ahmed was picked by Trent Rockets as the leg-spin option after Rashid Khan went over to the Invincibles while the Northern Superchargers inked deals with the England trio of Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan and Dan Lawrence. The Rockets also picked David Willey as their top-bracket choice as he moved from Welsh Fire, who had named Chris Woakes as the bowling all-rounder central contract pick.
The fifth edition of the Hundred begins on August 5 with the final set to take place on August 31.
Squads
Birmingham Phoenix
Liam Livingstone, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Benny Howell, Dan Mousley, Will Smeed, Chris Wood, Aneurin Donald, Joe Clarke, Harry Moore, Tom Helm
Overseas: Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Tim Southee
London Spirit
Jamie Smith, Liam Dawson, Daniel Worrall, Richard Gleeson, Olly Stone, Ollie Pope, Keaton Jennings, Jamie Overton, Luke Wood, Jafer Chohan, Wayne Madsen
Overseas: Kane Williamson (c), David Warner,? Ashton Turner
Manchester Originals
Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Matthew Hurst, Scott Currie, Josh Tongue, Tom Hartley, Sonny Baker, Tom Aspinwall, Lewis Gregory, Ben McKinney, George Garton.
Overseas: Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad, Rachin Ravindra?
Northern Superchargers
Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Graham Clark, Pat Brown, Tom Lawes, Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper, Dawid Malan
Overseas: David Miller, Mitchell Santner, Ben Dwarshuis
Oval Invincibles
Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Tom Curran, Jordan Cox, Saqib Mahmood, Sam Billings, Gus Atkinson, Nathan Sowter, Tawanda Muyeye, Miles Hammond
Overseas: Rashid Khan, Jason Behrendorff, Donovan Ferreira
Southern Brave
James Vince, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, Leus Du Plooy, Craig Overton, Laurie Evans, Danny Briggs, James Coles, Reece Topley, Jordan Thompson
Overseas: Faf du Plessis, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell
Trent Rockets
Joe Root, Tom Banton, John Turner, Sam Cook, Sam Hain, Tom Alsop, Calvin Harrison, David Willey, Max Holden, Adam Hose, Rehan Ahmed
Overseas: Marcus Stoinis, Lockie Ferguson, George Linde
Welsh Fire
Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell, Luke Wells, Stephen Eskinazi, David Payne, Paul Walter, Saif Zaib, Josh Hull, Mason Crane.
Overseas: Steve Smith, Riley Meredith, Chris Green