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Australian legends Steve Smith and Meg Lanning will participate in The Hundred this summer having joined the tournament on deadline day.
This year’s tournament allowed teams to directly sign one men’s and one women’s player each rather than going through the Hundred draft.
Tuesday’s retentions and signings saw 148 places confirmed across the squads, with Smith and Lanning among a smattering of new faces to join the competition.
Smith has joined Welsh Fire while Lanning is heading to the Oval Invincibles. Fellow Australian’s Megan Schutt and Marcus Stoinis, who recently retired from international duty, are heading Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets respectively.
Elsewhere, Afghanistan’s limited overs specialist Rashid Khan is heading to the Oval Invincibles and New Zealand seamer Trent Boult joins Schutt in Birmingham.
Smith told the England and Wales Cricket Board: “I’m delighted to be joining Welsh Fire later this summer.
“I was due to be involved with The Hundred at the beginning of the competition so it’s great to finally be able to make it to Wales. I’ve watched The Hundred from afar and I can’t wait to be involved. It looks a lot of fun and obviously the cricket is world class, with talent at every team.
“I’m looking forward to trying out a new format and hopefully playing my part for (head coach) Mike Hussey and the rest of the boys.”
As for England’s centrally contracted players, Jos Buttler (Manchester Originals), Joe Root (Trent Rockets), Harry Brook, Adil Rashid (both Northern Superchargers), Nat Sciver-Brunt (Trent Rockets) and Sophie Ecclestone (Manchester Originals) have all been retained.
However, there is no place in the tournament for England’s test captain Ben Stokes who will rest up ahead of the winter’s Ashes series down under.
It had been previously reported that Stokes would not play in the tournament as he manages his fitness levels through a busy summer with test matches scheduled against Zimbabwe and India from May to August.
The 33-year-old all-rounder tore his hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred last August and was out of action for three months after aggrevating the injury during the December test series with New Zealand.
68 places are yet to be filled across the various Hundred squads and the draft to determine who will be chosen takes place on March 12. A final chance to make add to the squads comes at the Wildcard Draft in May, where teams can add two men’s and women’s players, rewarding stand-out performers in domestic cricket.
