London Spirit are captained by Eoin Morgan
(Picture: Getty Images)London Spirit will overhaul their squad for the men’s Hundred this year, having freed up six spots at the draft on March 30, when they will have the first pick.
The ECB today announced player retentions for the second edition of the competition. Men’s salaries were cut for the first season due to Covid-19 but original payment has been reinstalled, ranging from £125,000 for the month-long competition to £30,000.
Women’s salaries for the competition have doubled for 2022, ranging from a top band of £31,250 to the lowest of £7,500.
Spirit look set for an overhaul of their men’s squad, which is coached by Shane Warne and captained by Eoin Morgan, having finished last in 2021. They have left themselves six spots to fill at the draft, including both places in the top bracket. Having retained Glenn Maxwell, they have two further overseas slots to fill.
While changes to women’s squads were unlimited, men’s teams were able to release a maximum of 10 players. Welsh Fire have the most spots to fill at the draft, seven, while Trent Rockets and champions Southern Brave have just four. There are a total of 40 spots to fill across the eight teams.
A host of global stars, pending international availability, are set to enter the draft, with the most eye-catching English talent including Tom Banton, Laurie Evans, Joe Clarke, Liam Dawson and Pat Brown.
Oval Invincibles have also freed up six spots in their squad, although they are mainly in the lower salary bands. Will Jacks, star of the recent Bangladesh Premier League, has received a pay rise, but Evans has entered the draft.
Following the main draft, teams will wait until after this summer’s Vitality Blast to complete their squad with a “wildcard pick”.
For the first time, both men’s and women’s teams will be able to select a fourth overseas player in a special overseas Wildcard Draft in June. However, teams will still only be able to field three overseas players at a time.
London Spirit have given themselves seven spots to fill in the coming weeks, while inaugural champions Oval Invincibles have six. They have held on to young starlet Alice Capsey. Spirit have three spots in the top two salary bands as well as all three overseas positions available.
