Mathews overlooked Chamari picked in The Hundred draft
Angelo Mathews was overlooked but Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu was picked in England’s The Hundred draft.
David Warner was among a number of big names to miss out on selection at The Hundred draft.
But former Australia captain Meg Lanning will appear in the women’s competition for the first time after being drafted by London Spirit.
Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers took West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran with the first pick of the men’s draft.
Birmingham Phoenix picked England’s Amy Jones first in the women’s draft.
The 30-year-old wicketkeeper returns to Edgbaston on the maximum £50,000 women’s contract having rejected her retention offer to enter the draft.
England Test batter Ollie Pope was selected by Spirit, having played for Oval Invincibles in previous seasons.
He is replaced at Invincibles by Dawid Malan. The England white-ball star was part of the Trent Rockets side that won the men’s competition in 2022.
The 2024 tournament begins with a double-header between Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix on 23 July, with the finals in both competitions on 18 August at Lord’s.
Warner headlines the list of top-class internationals who missed out on selection after setting his reserve price at £100k.
The Australia opener, who recently retired from Test and one-day international cricket, was certainly not the only star to be passed over.
Pakistan star batter Babar Azam was a late addition to the draft but went unsold, alongside team-mate Mohammad Rizwan.
Big-hitting Australia all-rounder Tim David, a regular on the franchise circuit, also missed out, as did Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews, Sunil Narine of West Indies and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
England World Cup winner Jason Roy also went undrafted but could yet earn a spot as a wildcard.
It was a similar story in the women’s draft with India stars Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues also failing to attract interest.
Former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates, who led Oval Invincibles to victory in 2022, and ex-West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin missed out as well.
It was a good draft for West Indies players with Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer joining Spirit, Rovman Powell heading to Trent Rockets and Kieron Pollard signing with Southern Brave.
All were signed for the men’s maximum of £125k.
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah and English batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore also earned the top salary as they joined Phoenix and Welsh Fire, respectively.
The women’s draft saw a number of high-profile Australia players selected in the highest salary bracket of £50k.
Beth Mooney went to Originals with the second pick, Ashleigh Gardner was snapped up by Rockets and Superchargers took Annabel Sutherland.
Originals also picked up Australia spinner Sophie Molineux for £40k and England seamer Lauren Filer for £30k.
Smriti Mandhana returns to defending champions Brave, while Oval Invincibles have brought in Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu. (BBC / Colombo Gazette)
