Big-hitting West Indians were all the rage and pugnacious 30-something openers very much out of fashion as the Hundred draft ended with Jason Roy and David Warner among the high-profile players to go unclaimed.
Roy followed a dismal average of 8.50 in 2022 with a figure of 17.11 last year, prompting Oval Invincibles to opt against retaining him, and with his participation in the tournament likely to be affected by his commitment to Major League Cricket in the US no other side considered him worth the risk. Warner had been signed by Southern Brave before the inaugural Hundred season in 2021 but after pulling out of that tournament went unsold in 2022 and proved no more popular on this occasion.
Last season the Hundred overlapped with the Caribbean Premier League, limiting the number of their players who were available, but with the CPL this year not starting until 28 August teams tucked in. Andrew Flintoff, the new coach of Northern Superchargers, who finished bottom last season, had the first pick and set the tone by using it on Nicholas Pooran, while London Spirit brought in Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Rockets signed Rovman Powell and Southern Brave picked Kieron Pollard and, later, another West Indian in the left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein.
Manchester Originals, runners‑up last year, made trend-bucking and comparatively leftfield picks in Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwean spin-bowling all‑rounder, and the Afghanistan seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, who a few hours earlier had been signed by Nottinghamshire for this year’s T20 Blast.
