Welsh Fire now confirmed their squads as the Vitality Wildcard selections for both the men’s and the women’s competition have been announced today.
Vitality Blast stars Mason Crane and Ben Green will join Mike Hussey’s Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens this summer after excellent performances in the T20 format. Crane will feel at home at Cardiff having featured for Glamorgan across the Vitality County Championship and Vitality Blast while Green will return to Welsh Fire having featured alongside county teammate and Welsh Fire captain Tom Abell in 2023.
Kate Coppack and Georgia Davis both return to Welsh Fire once again under Tammy Beaumont having been included in the 2023 squad.
Both teams kick off their competitions on Thursday 25th July, at Emirates Old Trafford against Manchester Originals before returning to Cardiff for their first home game at Sophia Gardens on Sunday 28th July against Oval Invincibles.
Vitality Wildcard Selections:
Birmingham Phoenix
Fran Wilson, Lissy Macleod, Suzie Bates*, Emma Jones*, Aneurin Donald, Rishi Patel
London Spirit
Abbey Freeborn, Ellie Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Ryan Higgins
Manchester Originals
Danielle Gregory, Alice Monaghan, Sonny Baker, Matthew Hurst, Tom Aspinwall*, Scott Currie*
Northern Superchargers
Jodi Grewcock, Sophia Turner, Jordan Clark, Dillon Pennington
Oval Invincibles
Rachel Slater, Amara Carr, Laura Harris*, Marchant de Lange, Mark Watt
Southern Brave
Sophie Luff, Katie Jones, Charli Knott*, James Coles, Joe Weatherley
Trent Rockets
Aylish Cranstone, Natasha Wraith, Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Tom Alsop
Welsh Fire
Georgia Davis, Kate Coppack, Mason Crane, Ben Green
*denotes replacement player
Six replacement players have been confirmed across both competitions. In the women's competition, Charli Knott will be available to play for Southern Brave in the first two games as an overseas replacement for Smriti Mandhana, while Laura Harris will be available to play in the first two games for Oval Invincibles as an overseas replacement for Chamari Athapathtu.
At Manchester Originals men's team, Fred Klaassen and Josh Tongue have been replaced by Tom Aspinwall and Scott Currie respectively.
New Zealand legend Suzie Bates will be available for Birmingham Phoenix’s first three games as an overseas replacement for Richa Ghosh, where Emma Jones has also replaced Ailsa Lister.
Bates’ Birmingham Phoenix side travel to The Kia Oval on Tuesday 23 July to face Oval Invincibles in the competition opener – the first of 68 games that promise world class men’s and women’s sporting action, live music, and a host of family-friendly entertainment.
A record 580,000 fans were in attendance across The Hundred last season, including over 300,000 in the women’s competition. The Hundred’s blend of high-quality sport and entertainment saw 41% of all tickets sold to families, 23% to juniors and 30% to women.
Tickets are selling fast, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 3-15 (free for under 3s) and adults starting from £11. The Early Bird Deadline ends at 11.59pm on Thursday, 27 June so buy now for the cheapest price.
All games will again be live on Sky Sports and BBC broadcast and digital channels throughout the competition.
To stay up to date with the latest news, buy tickets or to sign up for priority access, visit thehundred.com or follow The Hundred, and the eight teams, on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.