The ECB has announced the list of players who will be retained by franchises for this year's Hundred competition in August. The list includes four Middlesex players and one Sunrisers player, totalling 137 players retained.
In the Men's competition, Leus du Plooy, a new arrival from Middlesex, will represent Southern Brave in 2024. Stephen Eskinazi will feature for Welsh Fire in Cardiff, Max Holden has been retained by 2023 finalists Manchester Originals, and Tom Helm will again play for Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston.
Sunrisers star Mady Villiers is back for Oval Invincibles south of the river in the women's competition.
On Deadline Day ahead of the fourth year of the competition, The Hundred teams retained Rashid Khan, Ellyse Perry, Hayley Matthews, Jos Buttler, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Haris Rauf.
Men's teams can retain up to 10 players, while women's teams can retain up to eight.
In total, 137 players have been retained across both competitions, leaving 75 spots to be filled at The Hundred Draft powered by Sage.
The Hundred Draft powered by Sage takes place at The Shard on Wednesday 20 March and will be streamed live on thehundred.com, YouTube, and TikTok from 17:30. Each team will take turns selecting domestic and overseas players to complete their squads.
The Northern Superchargers men's team will have the first pick. They are under the new leadership of England legend Freddie Flintoff.
In the women's tournament, Birmingham Phoenix, who have retained Ellyse Perry and Sophie Devine, will have the first pick.
In both competitions, Amy Jones, Dawid Malan, and Jason Roy, as well as several international players, will be available for selection. The complete list of players eligible for signing in The Hundred Draft will be announced on Monday, March 4.
The fourth year of The Hundred begins at The Kia Oval on Tuesday, July 23, with a double-header between Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix. This marks the start of 68 games featuring world-class men's and women's sporting action, live music, and a range of family-friendly entertainment.
Last season, a record-breaking 580,000 fans attended The Hundred, with over 300,000 attending the women's competition. The Hundred's unique combination of high-quality sport and entertainment resulted in 41% of tickets being sold to families, 23% to juniors, and 30% to women.