four more England players will represent london spirit in this year’s inaugural season of The Hundred with Mark Wood, Joe Denly, Freya Davies and Mason Crane all signing up for the Lord’s-based side.
They will be joined by Australian star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell as well as Somerset and Netherlands spinner Roelof Van Der Merwe, who was part of the historic MCC tour of Pakistan last year
London Spirit has also retained three domestic players with all-rounder Charlie Dean, spinner Hannah Jones and seamer Sophie Munro staying with the team.
One of eight new teams taking part in The Hundred, a new 100-ball competition that is designed to throw open cricket’s doors to everyone, London Spirit men’s and women’s teams will be captained by Eoin Morgan and Heather Knight respectively.
Boasting world class men’s and women’s players, The Hundred will take place this summer and feature eight city-based teams from Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton and two in London. It will be screened live by Sky and the BBC.
For the men’s side, today marks the final group of players being retained from the 2020 squad. The remaining two slots in the London Spirit men’s squad will now be selected at a draft later this month. The women’s squads will continue being unveiled until June.
"It’ll be great to work with Eoin and the guys and we’ve got the makings of a strong side"
Maxwell, who has made almost 5,000 runs in one-day cricket for Australia, said: “I’m over the moon to be staying at London Spirit. It’ll be great to work with Eoin and the guys and we’ve got the makings of a strong side. The Hundred promises to be a thrilling competition and I can’t wait to get involved.”
Davies was recently named in the England squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand. She said: “Lord’s is a fantastic place to play and it’ll be really special to play there for London Spirit this summer. The Hundred is a fantastic competition for the women’s game and is another important step in us growing the sport.”
In total, another 56 players have today been confirmed as having signed up for the action-packed 100-ball competition. The remaining picks for all eight men’s sides will be unveiled on 23 February, with 35 spaces up for grabs in the Men’s Draft.
Wood, who was part of the England team that won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at Lord’s, said: “Lord’s holds some special memories for me and playing in The Hundred at the Home of Cricket is something that would excite any cricketer.
"The competition is new and exciting and should be great fun to be a part of. We are building a strong team and hopefully we can have a great first season.”
London Spirit players announced today:
Mason Crane, Charlie Dean, Freya Davies, Joe Denly, Hannah Jones, Glenn Maxwell, Sophie Munro, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Mark Wood.
Previously announced players:
Mohammad Amir, Amara Carr, Aylish Cranstone, Zak Crawley, Naomi Dattani, Jade Dernbach, Deandra Dottin, Danielle Gibson, Heather Knight, Dan Lawrence, Eoin Morgan, Mohammad Nabi, Luis Reece, Adam Rossington, Susie Rowe, Chloe Tryon.