The Hundred Draft Is Complete – Here’s Who Made the Cut

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David Willey (Credit Ben Sutherland via Wikipedia)

With a March chill still very much in the air and the one random weekend of warm spring weather now behind us, thinking ahead to August might bring a little comfort to some. It seems a long way away, but the 2025 competition of the Hundred will take place from the 5th to the 31st of August.

The draft took place last week, almost five months before the first ball will be bowled. This is a very significant step though, and gives us the first major clues as to the teams to look out for in 2025. In this article, we will look more closely at the draft, focussing on the players who could prove key to their side’s fortunes. We are looking solely at the men’s tournament here and will assess which teams had the best draft and how the squads are shaping up. We will also briefly look at the key dates and fixtures of the season ahead.

First Picks

The core of each team’s squad is already in place but the draft gives them the chance to add a little extra star quality to their line-ups. It also gives them a real chance to fill in any gaps, be that in the shape of a classy opening batter, a decent all-rounder, a top-drawer spinner or anything else. The first pick is where they can really prioritise and go all-out for the player they feel can make the biggest difference, and this is what happened.

  • Birmingham Phoenix – Joe Clarke
  • London Spirit – Jamie Overton
  • Manchester Originals – Noor Ahmad
  • Northern Superchargers – Zak Crawley
  • Oval Invincibles – Jason Behrendorff
  • Southern Brave – Michael Bracewell
  • Trent Rockets – David Willey
  • Welsh Fire – David Payne

Some of those named will be familiar to even relatively casual cricket fans, whilst others may not be. Let’s take a closer look at them all.

Birmingham Phoenix – Joe Clarke

The Phoenix had a nicely rounded squad prior to the draft so could afford to be flexible. They opted for Clarke first up and the English batter/wicketkeeper comes to the team having been Notts’ T20 Player of the Year last year. Birmingham needed a glovesman and Clarke brings a wealth of franchise-cricket experience too.

London Spirit – Jamie Overton

Overton is a familiar name and a player that exactly fits what Spirit needed. He can bring extra depth and pace to their bowling attack and some fast lower/middle-order runs.

Manchester Originals – Noor Ahmad

Ahmad will suit the turning wicket at Old Trafford and again looks a good fit in terms of what was needed. The Afghan left-arm wrist spinner will bring much-needed wickets and has decent experience, despite being just 20 (he was signed to play in the Big Bash at just 15!).

Northern Superchargers – Zak Crawley

Crawley looks an astute signing if he can rediscover his best form, with the Superchargers in dire need of fast runs at the top of the order. The England Test ace has the ability to give his side the sort of start they have lacked.

Oval Invincibles – Jason Behrendorff

Aussie left-arm quick Behrendorff seems a strange pick given the Invincibles appear to have a decent pace attack. However, the underrated New South Wales man will bring good experience to the table.

Southern Brave – Michael Bracewell

Kiwi Bracewell is part of a cricket dynasty but doesn’t look the most exciting first pick. The batting all-rounder did, however, have a good Champions Trophy recently.

Trent Rockets – David Willey

Willey looks a solid addition and his lower-order power with the bat may prove more crucial than his bowling, though as a left-armer he adds some variety.

Welsh Fire – David Payne

Left-arm quick Payne plays for the Fire once again and the Englishman is just what they needed. Strangely they let him – and indeed all their bowlers go. Re-signing him looks wise, even if the manner of the deal is decidedly odd.

Other Picks

David Warner
David Warner (Credit paddynapper via Wikipedia)

There were many other players added to the teams during the draft, with some really big names too. Aussie opener David Warner joined London Spirit and can expect a warm welcome at all away grounds. They also signed Luke Wood, Jafer Chohan, Wayne Madsen and Ashtor Turner, an Australian all-rounder.

Paul Walter left the Originals but was picked up by Welsh Fire, who also brought in Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith and his compatriot, all-rounder Chris Green, as well as Saif Zaib, a batter, Mason Crane, and Josh Hull. In turn, the Manchester side added all-rounder Lewis Gregory to their squad, quick George Garton, plus opener Ben McKinney, and have also added more fire to their batting with Kiwi Rachin Ravindra signing up.

Another classy Kiwi, quick Lockie Ferguson, joined the Rockets, whilst they also added South African spinner George Linde, batsman Adam Hose, spinner Rehan Ahmed and Max Holden. The Northern Superchargers add more England international batting quality to their group with the addition of Dan Lawrence. The Headingley-based franchise also brought in the powerful Michael Pepper to pep up their batting even further, as well as Dawid Malan.

Southern Brave seem to be focused very much on bowling and, in particular, speed. They have added Reece Topley and Jordan Thompson to their squad, which looks a little unbalanced to us. The Phoenix have brought in youth in the shape of 17 year Harry Moore, and a bit of pace thanks to Tom Helm. Champions the Invincibles added another all-rounder in Jordan Clark and big-hitting Miles Hammond.

What Can We Expect?

Limited overs at the Lords Cricket Ground
The Lords Cricket Ground (John Sutton / geograph.org.uk)

The Hundred gets underway on the 5th of August when we have the London derby between the Spirit and the Invincibles at Lord’s. It’s then virtually cricket every day until the end of the month, with the 29th a rest day between the end of the normal season and the knockout phase. The Eliminator takes place at The Oval on the 30th with the final a day later at Lord’s, back where it all started.

Following the draft, each team still has two places left in their squads, with those set to be filled through the Wildcard Draft in the weeks before the start of the tournament. As things stand there are clearly several strong squads, the draft system enabling the weaker teams to play catch up with the stronger ones.

Quite who has done the best from the draft is hard to tell, but Birmingham again look good, whilst Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers have added to their batting nicely. It is hard to see the Welsh Fire improving too much, whilst the Invincibles may again be the team to beat.