Pakistan bowler Shaheen Afridi was picked by Welsh Fire and England bowler Kate Cross moved to Northern Superchargers in The Hundred draft.
Australia’s Tim David and Mitchell Marsh and Pakistan’s Haris Rauf were among other men’s signings.
Women’s signings included Cross’ move from Manchester Originals, England opener Sophia Dunkley to Fire and leg-spinner Sarah Glenn to London Spirit.
Babar Azam and Jemimah Rodrigues were among the international names unsold.
In total, 30 men’s players were signed for a total of £2,340,000, with 34 women earning deals worth a cumulative £753,750.
Each men’s squad now has 14 players, and they will add two wildcard picks closer to the tournament, while the women have eight players and will add seven more in an open market.
The 2023 tournament begins with a double-header between Trent Rockets and Southern Brave on 1 August, with the finals in both competitions taking place on 27 August.
England stars earn big but limited overseas availability
Welsh Fire needed to make significant changes to a team that finished winless in 2022.
Shaheen and Rauf were the headline names signed but they have also added further players with international experience experience in England seamer David Willey and New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips, alongside domestic players Stephen Eskinazi and Tom Abell, who is expected to captain the franchise.
Among other high-profile England players to move were Test opener Ben Duckett to Birmingham Phoenix for £125,000 and seamers Reece Topley and Olly Stone to Northern Superchargers and London Spirit respectively, both for £100,000.
The Hundred still faces challenges around player availability, with stars going unsold because of international clashes and other franchise competitions.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al-Hasan and Australia’s Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis were among big names left unsold.
There were some surprising domestic omissions, including England-capped Matt Parkinson and Jake Lintott, Matt Critchley and Fred Klaassen, but they still have an opportunity to be selected as wildcards.
Big omissions but familiar names remain
The Hundred women’s competition was dealt a blow on Wednesday with Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland dropping out, leaving Welsh Fire with just two players retained.
But the Cardiff-based franchise made strong signings in Dunkley, South Africa seamer Shabnim Ismail, England players Freya Davies and Georgia Elwiss, as well as retaining World Cup-winner Alex Hartley.
All of England’s contracted players have now been allocated teams, with Southern Brave keeping opener Danni Wyatt and Northern Superchargers holding off competition from London Spirit to keep Alice Davidson-Richards.
International moves included South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt switching from Northern Superchargers to Manchester Originals and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the 2022 tournament, being picked up by Trent Rockets.
Oval Invincibles retained Dane van Niekerk, who recently retired from international cricket, while Australia power-hitter Grace Harris will feature for the first time having joined London Spirit.
In 2022, the competition was strengthened by several Australia players but with a packed year now including the Women’s Premier League in India, many stars like Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney and Megan Schutt did not enter the draft.
Surprisingly, India players Rodrigues, Renuka Thakur and Richa Ghosh were unsold, as was Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu.
Spirit and Phoenix both have one overseas spot remaining though heading into the open market.
Source – BBC Sport
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