The Hundred Draft, Powered by Sage - Explained

The men's and women's player selection process for 2023 is complete. We explain how it worked.

Three-stage process
Azam, Wolvaardt, Afridi and Rodrigues were up for grabs
2022 players could be retained

Wondering how the squads for 2023 were picked? Let’s get you up to speed!

Where will some of our key players be heading?

STAGE ONE:
PLAYER RETENTION

Teams had up until Thursday 16 February 2023, to retain players from their 2022 squads.

Men’s teams could keep up to 10 players plus one centrally contracted England star.

Women's teams could retain up to 4 of their players. During retention, a squad could keep a maximum of three marquee players, which are England centrally contracted players or overseas players – but with a maximum of two England or two overseas players. Teams couldn't retain three of one category.

They did not have to use all their retention slots, as they could save some of their squad places to secure more players in The Hundred Draft, Powered by Sage.

For full details on The Hundred Deadline Day, head here!

Joe Root is an England Centrally Contracted player

STAGE TWO:
THE HUNDRED DRAFT, Powered by Sage

Teams then had the chance to fill in the gaps in their salary bands in the Draft. Each side took turns to pick a player, in reverse order of where they finished in the 2022 competition.

Men’s draw order:

Welsh Fire
Southern Brave
Northern Superchargers
Oval Invincibles
Birmingham Phoenix
London Spirit
Manchester Originals
Trent Rockets

Every male player who entered the Draft had a reserve price. They could not be bought for less than this. But if a team wanted to splash the cash and spend more than a player’s reserve price, they could!

Women's draw order:

Welsh Fire
London Spirit
Manchester Originals
Northern Superchargers
Birmingham Phoenix
Trent Rockets
Southern Brave
Oval Invincibles

There was one complex thing during the Draft! Each team got one "Right to Match" option. This option enabled a team to re-sign one of their 2022 players they didn’t previously retain when a rival team offered to buy them during the Draft.

Teams using their "Right to Match" had to offer the same salary as the player’s prospective new team. If they had already filled up all their slots at that band, the option wasn't available.

For the full draft selection explained for women's teams, click here.

When was The Hundred Draft, Powered by Sage?

The Hundred Draft, Powered by Sage, took place on Thursday 23 March, and was broadcast live on Sky Sports!

STAGE Three:
THE Vitality Wildcard &

OPEN MARKET

This year, Men's teams could also select two players at the Vitality Wildcard Draft, strengthening The Hundred’s link with the Vitality Blast and further rewarding domestic form. Players who weren't picked up in the initial Draft could still pick up a contract in The Hundred.

The Vitality Wildcard Draft took place on Thursday 13 July, with the first match on Tuesday 1 August.

For the women's teams, an open market was in place as it has been during each edition of The Hundred.

The remaining seven players were signed on an open-market basis. If you wanted a player? You offered them a contract. Salary bands E to G were open to teams here.

And that’s it! Squads are now complete, and The Hundred started on 1 August.