The Wildcard Draft completes the squad line-ups for the inaugural edition of The Hundred, which gets underway on July 21 with a women’s match between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals.
Friday 2 July 2021 17:15, UK
Durham's Ben Raine will play for Northern Superchargers in this summer's The Hundred after being snapped up as the first Vitality Wildcard Draft pick.
Raine, who has taken nine wickets at 21.11 apiece in this summer's Vitality Blast so far, will play under Faf du Plessis for Superchargers after the South African was confirmed as the new men's captain earlier on Friday.
The Vitality Wildcard Draft completes the squad line-ups for the inaugural edition of The Hundred, which gets underway on July 21 with a women's match between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals.
A draw determined the order of the draft, which emerged as:
1st Pick: Northern Superchargers - Ben Raine (Durham)
2nd Pick: Oval Invincibles - Jordan Cox (Kent)
3rd Pick: Trent Rockets - Sam Cook (Essex)
4th Pick: Southern Brave - Jake Lintott (Warwickshire)
5th Pick: Manchester Originals - Fred Klaassen (Kent)
6th Pick: London Spirit - Blake Cullen (Middlesex)
7th Pick: Welsh Fire - Leus du Plooy (Derbyshire)
8th Pick: Birmingham Phoenix - Dillon Pennington (Worcestershire)
Young players Blake Cullen (19), Jordan Cox (20), Dillon Pennington (22) and Sam Cook (23) are rewarded for excellent Vitality Blast campaigns whilst Jake Lintott's remarkable journey into professional cricket continues with his selection by Southern Brave.
Having initially been drafted by Welsh Fire in 2020, Leus du Plooy returns to the squad as their Wildcard pick and Kent left arm seamer Fred Klaassen makes the journey to Manchester to play for the Originals.
Reflecting on his selection, Raine said: "There were a few nerves flying around leading up to this because I think every cricketer in the country wanted to be in The Hundred. I thought I'd had a decent Vitality Blast with the ball so I was hopeful of getting a spot.
"Looking through our team there will be a real Northern feel to it which will be nice. There's a lot of Durham lads that I've played with and Yorkshire lads I've played against so there will be a bit of familiarity. It's a good sign for the amount of talent in the region and I'm very proud to be picked up by the Northern team.
"I'm excited to get going, it looks like a strong squad and one that can really compete."
Invincibles' Cox added: "I'm delighted to be taking part in the first year of The Hundred with Oval Invincibles. It's a fast-paced, exciting new format that I'm sure the crowds will love and I can't wait to get playing in front of fans again, especially at the Oval which always has a great atmosphere."
Cook, Trent Rockets' latest addition said, "We've got some massive names in our squad like Rashid Khan and Joe Root and it will be great playing with them. It's going to be fun and I'm looking forward to taking some wickets to help us get to the business end of the competition."
Combining world-class fast-paced cricket, with top quality live music, The Hundred will bring entertainment to the whole family this summer, with tickets selling fast.
For more information on The Hundred or for tickets head to www.thehundred.com.
