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Ben Duckett, Olly Stone, Reece Topley and David Willey are among the England players set to be available in the men’s Hundred draft on March 23, ESPNcricinfo can reveal.Teams have been negotiating with players and their representatives for several weeks, and had the option to retain up to 10 men’s players who held contracts at any stage in the 2022 season – even if they never made an appearance – at a mutually-agreed salary band.Last year, five domestic players – Tom Banton, Joe Clarke, Liam Dawson, Laurie Evans and Tom Kohler-Cadmore – were signed on top-bracket £125,000 deals after opting to enter the draft. As a result, many have followed suit this year, turning down retention offers in the belief that they will be valued highly on the open market.Related

• Leading Aussies opt for rest as Hundred feels WPL's squeeze

• Fleming set to coach Brave's men in the Hundred

• Hussey appointed head coach at Welsh Fire

• ECB otempt England stars back to the Hundred

• Cautious draft picks expose confusion at heart of Hundred

Each team has one Right-To-Match (RTM) card at the draft, which can be used to re-sign a player from their 2022 squad, so long as they can match the salary for which another team has tried to sign them. Picks will be made in reverse order of 2022 finishing position, with Welsh Fire picking first and Trent Rockets last.Teams can still field three overseas players in their XI, but will no longer have a fourth in their squad. As a result, many will prioritise availability over star power. New Zealand’s clear international window – and white-ball series in England immediately after the Hundred – means that their players could be in high demand, with Trent Boult and Devon Conway among those expected to be picked early in the draft.The retention window closes at midnight on February 14, and the ECB are due to announce which players have been retained on Thursday morning.Reece Topley looks set for a big pay-day•Getty Images

Topley, Willey, Stone on the move

A handful of England fast bowlers have either turned down retention offers or been released. Oval Invincibles were frustrated when Topley pulled out of the final weeks of the 2022 season to give himself a break before the T20 World Cup, and he is expected to be a lucrative draft signing.Stone was not offered a retention by Birmingham Phoenix after missing last year’s tournament through injury, while Willey has left Northern Superchargers after spending the first two seasons of the tournament with them.Jake Ball is also expected to return to the draft rather than re-signing with Welsh Fire, who look set to start from scratch with only a handful of players retained by new head coach Mike Hussey. David Payne agreed a last-minute deal to stay with Fire.Matt Parkinson will leave Manchester Originals•Getty Images

Lintott, Parkinson lead spin departures

Manchester Originals have given Tom Hartley, the England Lions left-arm spinner, a pay rise: he is understood to have signed a £75,000 contract with them. As a result, they were unable to agree terms with Matt Parkinson, who had a frustrating 2022 summer but remains one of the leading white-ball spinners in English cricket.Jake Lintott, the left-arm wristspinner, is also heading into the draft after spending the last two seasons with Southern Brave. Brave will rely on Rehan Ahmed as their frontline wristspinner instead.Joe Clarke looks set to stay at Welsh Fire, but Tom Banton will leave•ECB/Getty Images

Keeper-batters in demand

Duckett leads a handful of wicketkeeper-batter options who could be early picks in the draft. He has been Welsh Fire’s only consistent run-scorer in the first two seasons of the tournament but is understood to be on the move.Kohler-Cadmore is set to return to the draft after averaging 14.66 in Trent Rockets’ title win last year. He was a £125,000 signing in 2022 and will hope that a quiet season does not scupper his hopes of another lucrative contract. Tom Banton, another £125,000 signing who struggled last summer, will also be available.Joe Clarke, Banton’s opening partner at Fire last year, could be retained after he was offered a slight pay cut to £100,000. Jordan Cox accepted an offer from Oval Invincibles shortly before Tuesday night’s deadline.Adam Rossington, who hit a quick half-century to help Sunrisers Eastern Cape win the inaugural SA20 final on Sunday, is staying at London Spirit despite interest from elsewhere.Will Jacks has earned a pay rise•Getty Images

Leading England players stay put

ESPNcricinfo revealed last month that the contracting mechanism for centrally-contracted men’s players has been revamped, with each team allocated a single multi-format England player and those on red or white-ball deals entering the draft system.It is understood that Zak Crawley has been retained by London Spirit, while Ollie Pope will stay at Welsh Fire on a £75,000 deal. Jason Roy has taken a pay cut from £125,000 to £100,000 to stay at Oval Invincibles, with Will Jacks replacing him in the top salary bracket. Saqib Mahmood and Sam Billings are also staying in South London.Harry Brook also becomes a top earner, signing a £125,000 deal with Northern Superchargers, who have also retained Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse. Phil Salt and Jamie Overton are staying at Manchester Originals, though Laurie Evans is released with his career on hold after a failed doping test.Southern Brave have kept their core together, with James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton and George Garton all expected to be retained, though Ross Whiteley will leave. Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali are staying at Birmingham Phoenix.Daniel Sams looks set to stay at Trent Rockets•Getty Images

Teams prioritise overseas availability

A number of overseas players are set to be retained on relatively low salaries, including Wayne Parnell and David Wiese at Northern Superchargers, Daniel Sams and Colin Munro at Trent Rockets, Josh Little at Manchester Originals and Finn Allen at Southern Brave. The CPL is expected to start in mid-August, while clashes with some bilateral international series means that teams are again prioritising availability over star power.Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan are expected to be retained by Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets respectively, but will need to be partially replaced due to other commitments.Glenn Maxwell could be retained by London Spirit but several teams are waiting for details on the schedule of Australia’s white-ball tour to South Africa, which is due to start in late August. The tour is due to comprise three T20Is and five ODIs, but the order and exact dates will determine availability for the Hundred.New Zealand’s players will be in high demand at the draft. Conway’s links with Mike Hussey and Stephen Fleming through Chennai Super Kings could see him earn a deal with either Welsh Fire or Southern Brave, while Boult will likely command a £125,000 deal if he puts himself forward for the draft. Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi could also win contracts.

Jonny Bairstow has reiterated his desire to play Tests and said that he has never felt any temptation to put all of his focus on white-ball cricket after hitting 82 off 41 balls in the second ODI against Ireland.Bairstow continued his extraordinary run of 50-over form in an England shirt on Saturday, equalling the record for England’s fastest ODI half-century when he whacked the 21st ball of his innings over long-off for six. In the course of his day’s work, he also passed 3000 ODI runs, equalling Joe Root’s England record in doing so in his 72nd innings.Since he was handed a chance to open with Jason Roy following Alex Hales’ post-Bristol omission in September 2017, Bairstow has averaged 50.36 and scored at 6.72 runs per over in ODI cricket, a 49-innings stretch which includes nine 100s and seven 50s. His record against spin in that time is particularly belligerent: he scores at 7.33 runs per over against it, averaging 82.2 runs per dismissal.And yet coming into this series, Bairstow had stated his intention to use the three ODIs as the start of his “journey” to get back into Test-match contention.”[A Test recall] is my burning ambition but the only way I’m going to do that is to score runs, starting in this ODI series, [and] to keep well,” he told Sky. “I’m hopefully going back to Yorkshire to play two four-day games in between this and the T20s. So yeah, the journey to hopefully get back into contention for that starts here.”Bairstow has played only one Test since last summer’s Ashes series, making 1 and 9 in the Boxing Day Test at Centurion which Ollie Pope missed through illness. He had been left out of the side for the tour of New Zealand before Christmas, and was omitted from the squad that travelled to Sri Lanka immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.Since then, he was part of England’s enlarged training group ahead of their series against West Indies, but transferred across to the white-ball bubble when it became clear that he would not make the XI for the first Test. He hopes to play a handful of Willis Trophy games for Yorkshire before England’s planned white-ball series against Australia in September, and said on Saturday that he was desperate to put himself “back in the shop window” for selection.Jonny Bairstow bludgeons a pull shot•Getty Images

“I’ve worked hard with my Test and red-ball stuff leading into the camp,” he said. “I’m here playing white-ball cricket. Obviously you’re really pleased for the guys that have gone and won that Test series after being 1-0 down. That takes a lot of guts, so it was great to see them win that series.ALSO READ: Bairstow’s belligerence guides England to 2-0 series win“I’ll be going back and playing for Yorkshire in the four-day comp. I’ll be trying my best – that’s all I can do to put myself back in the shop window to be selected in the Test squad again.”I’m concentrating on scoring runs, and I’ll try and get a lot of them here. Down the line, what happens, happens. I’ll go back to Yorkshire next week, and hopefully play Notts next week or the week after. I’m just concentrating on playing my cricket, not looking too far ahead.”Chasing a below-par 213 target on a used pitch, Bairstow flew out of the blocks on Saturday, hitting 14 fours and two sixes in an innings that showed him at somewhere near his best. He admitted that he felt some additional responsibility in the absence of Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler from the usual ODI batting line-up, but said that was not something that fazed him.”When you’re chasing slightly lower scores on a pitch that might not be coming on as much, I think it can be slightly tricky, depending on how the start is,” he said. “The way Jason [Roy] and I have gone about it previously has been to play as naturally as possible – we’ve gone about it in a way that we’d chase a larger score.”I’d have liked to have gone on and seen it home, but the manner we’re playing in, we want to keep going with that. You want to be out there in the middle, and hopefully thriving on the pressure and the responsibility. You want to be setting the standard for the guys that are coming into the side… hopefully that feeds down into the guys that are playing their first few games.”There are times when you can’t help but wonder whether Bairstow would make life easier for himself if he gave up his Test dream and instead focused on securing his status as one of the best white-ball batsmen in the world, thrashing boundaries in T20 leagues and putting his name alongside Buttler and Eoin Morgan as one of England’s modern one-day greats.Is it something that has ever crossed his mind, you might wonder? “No, to be quite honest with you,” was his snappy reply.

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) organisers have submitted a proposal to Keith Rowley, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, to stage the entirety of this year’s tournament in the country, starting in mid-August.Last week, Rowley told the local press that he was waiting for a formal approach from the CPL, but said his government was “cautiously optimistic” about hosting the tournament, subject to clearance from the country’s health authorities.As part of the proposal, the CPL has said it would want to host the entire tournament, comprising 34 matches, at Trinidad’s two main grounds, the Queen’s Park Oval and the Brian Lara Academy. Games might be played back-to-back on the same day at 10am and 6pm local time, meaning the tournament would be played over 25 days rather than last year’s 39. The tournament had initially been due to take place between August 19 and September 26.ALSO READ: CPL is the second-best T20 league after IPL – COO Pete RussellTournament officials hope that overseas players will be willing to participate, with the first round of international signings due to be announced next week, and remain optimistic that some fans will be able to attend games while adhering to social-distancing protocols.Pete Russell, CPL’s chief operating officer, has said that officials will hold a virtual meeting with cabinet ministers on Thursday, June 4, in order to talk through details such as possible quarantine periods upon arrival in Trinidad, health protocols, and any assurances that need to be given.”We’re ready to play,” Russell told ESPNcricinfo. “If you get the second wave that everyone hopes won’t come, we’d be back to square one, but the only other thing that will derail us is the government not allowing us to play for safety reasons. It’s just a case of getting the green light from them.”The cricketing part of the Caribbean has avoided the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, with death tolls remaining low after governments imposed strict lockdowns before the virus could spread. The region’s relative success in managing the pandemic has raised hopes that the CPL might be able to proceed, and the tournament has appointed a medical board of four doctors who are putting health protocols in place. The Caribbean has already hosted competitive cricket in the form of the Vincy T10 Premier League at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex, where there were sanitising stations on and off the field.ALSO READ: Leg shakes and sanitising stations – cricket gets used to the new normalUnder current plans, all six CPL teams would stay in the same hotel in Trinidad, with each team being cordoned off and treated as a single household. Within that household of around 25, teams would be broken down into ‘clusters’ of four or five, within which social distancing could be relaxed. Players and support staff would also be subject to daily temperature checks, as well as viral and antibody tests both in the days before they would fly to Trinidad and on arrival.While organisers had initially discussed the possibility of hosting games at Kensington Oval in Barbados, Trinidad is currently “Plan A” on account of the fact it has two international-standard grounds, which would reduce the prospect of pitches becoming worn and slow by the end of the tournament. Playing games in the morning will also be an attractive commercial proposition: the CPL’s business model relies heavily on India for broadcast revenue and sponsorship, and a 10am start time in Trinidad (7.30pm IST) would suit that market. The second game would be played at some point in the evening, with 6pm the provisional local start time.However, the government approval remains the main stumbling block. “We don’t have a proper handle yet but we are cautiously optimistic if the CPL authorities would like to host the tournament in Trinidad,” Rowley had said last week.Rowley said that once the proposal was submitted, the country’s chief medical’s officer would need to give his approval, with public safety the top priority. “We have to be careful… but we want to look at [staging the CPL] positively and we will,” he said.Russell admitted that the tournament will make a financial loss this year, but said that all six franchises had confirmed they wanted to take part after being given the option not to. “They want continuity, and they want their teams to be represented,” he said. “Our thought was that if we had the option to play, we should; it’s good for the Caribbean.”The Caribbean relies on tourism, that’s its bread and butter. So it needs to show the rest of the world that it’s open, and beaming live cricket around the world is a very good way of doing that.”While plans to allow fans into grounds remain at an early stage, the tournament’s organisers have developed various contingency plans for behind-closed-doors cricket. These include the possibility of having socially-distanced cheerleaders, LED screens with videos of fans, and playing stadium sounds on the global TV feeds even if no fans are physically present.With Cricket West Indies announcing last week that players across the region would be asked to take a temporary 50% pay cut, Russell said that the CPL felt a “sense of responsibility” to get players earning again following the lockdown.”These guys’ livelihoods have been decimated through no fault of their own,” he said. “CPL isn’t just about the guys who have their IPL riches, but it’s about the journeymen, and the up-and-coming players who want to make a name for themselves. It’s very important for the whole cricketing ecosystem in the Caribbean that we get it on and these guys can earn money.”

With number of infected cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise in India, Manoj Badale, majority owner at Rajasthan Royals, feels the prospect of a “shortened” tournament is increasing, but even that would be subject to collaboration between the BCCI and other cricket boards.Badale also said that he would prefer some form of IPL this year, including a version that is played just between the Indian players in case their overseas counterparts cannot join in.Responding to the directives from the Indian government recently, the BCCI postponed the IPL until April 15. A prompt start, though, looks highly unlikely with the world’s second-most populous country under lockdown till April 14 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected over 800,000 people worldwide.The BCCI had met the IPL owners earlier this month to update them on the plans to keep the tournament alive. The owners were also told they would be on a weekly call to review the situation as it develops, but the lockdown has complicated matters.Talking to last weekend, Badale admitted that the IPL “pales into insignificance in terms of things we should be really be thinking about right now,” but pointed out the owners had been in touch with BCCI to find a solution.”We have a number of calls as owners with the BCCI to talk about what those plans might be, but it is clearly going to be postponed and it is unclear at this stage whether or not it takes place later this year,” he said.The number of COVID-19 cases in India is currently over 1200, including 32 deaths, but the country is bracing for a surge in those numbers. Badale, who lives in the UK, which is one of the pandemic’s hot spots with over 1000 deaths, said India would not be able to escape the “profound” impact of this disease.Asked about the possibility of the BCCI deferring the IPL and carving out another window later this year, Badale said: “The cricket calendar is so packed. There are very few gaps especially for a seven-week tournament, so I suspect even if a gap can be found, it would have to be a shorter tournament.”And the uniqueness of the IPL is it gets the very, very best around the world so it is not just a collaboration between the BCCI, the owners and the Indian government, you need the collaboration of the other cricket boards as well. Because what makes the IPL special is the presence of not just the Kohlis and the Dhonis, but also the Stokeses and the Warners and the Butlers.”With every cricket board being forced to postpone their bilateral and domestic events, it is unlikely they would grant permission for their key players to participate even in a shortened IPL if it were to be played later this year. Would the Royals be happy to feature in an event comprising just Indian players?”If it was a choice of no IPL or a domestic player-only IPL I would choose the latter,” Badale said. He also insisted it would be possible to make up some “very compelling teams” with just the Indian players although his preference was for a combination of the “very best in the world” with the “very best in India.””I think we will have some form of tournament this year. It will probably be a shortened tournament,” Badale added. “As long as people are prepared to be creative and as long as boards are prepared to work together collaboratively, it [IPL] is hugely important to the game of cricket. It is not just of importance to the Indians that the IPL takes place.”It is important for the whole game. It is [important] economically for some of the best players in the world. It is economically meaningful for the event organisers and for the broadcasters that participate. So the trickle down effect of a tournament as big as the IPL not taking place in terms of its impact on more than just the players but (also) all the people whose livelihoods depend on it is pretty significant. So we have a responsibility to try and a find a way of playing it if we possibly can.”The IPL has previously been able to adjust to difficult circumstances like in 2009 when the entire tournament had to take place in South Africa because it coincided with India’s general elections. For the same reason, part of the 2014 edition was shifted to the UAE at short notice.

Melbourne Stars (1st) v Perth Scorchers (4th)

How the group stage wentIt took the Stars three matches before they could complete a game as rain ruined the first week of the tournament, but once the sun came out (mostly) so did the Stars’ class. A run of seven wins on the bounce did most of the qualifying work before a brief hiccup in a Super Over defeat against the Renegades. The Stars followed that up with two more victories, but lost their last two group matches – against the Heat and Sixers – and the way they did not respond too well to Alyssa Healy’s onslaught (albeit there was nothing riding on the innings) and briefly Laura Kimmince the game before was perhaps a template for others. You can’t sit back against them.The Scorchers’ opening pair of Sophie Devine, who was named Player of the Tournament for the second consecutive year, and Beth Mooney are certainly in the form to apply that sort of pressure, although their group campaign was less consistent. But four wins in a row in the middle of the competition was where things came together, before just one win in the last four – two of the defeats coming when Devine was injured – left things a little tighter than they would have liked.When they met in the groupMelbourne Stars won by eight wickets – Devine and Mooney were dismissed in the Powerplay and it was rarely a contest from there
Melbourne Stars won by six runs – At 1 for 82 in the 11th over chase 150, the Scorchers were well place despite the absence of Devine but Sophie Day and Alana King took 5 for 31 between them.StatsMost runs:
Beth Mooney (524)
Meg Lanning (458)
Sophie Devine (448)Most wickets:
Nat Sciver (18)
Sarah Glenn (16)
Taneale Peschel (13)Injury-watchElyse Villani tweaked her hamstring against the Sydney Sixers and Annabel Sutherland suffered a knock to a finger, but both trained on Tuesday with the Stars hopeful they will be available. Erin Osborne also missed the end of the group stage with a hamstring niggle. For the Scorchers, Heather Graham picked up a knee injury over the weekend but scans have cleared of a major injury and she is in the squad.Where the game could be decidedAn awful lot appears to rest on the shoulders of Devine and Mooney for the Scorchers. They are capable of doing it on their own, but the Stars feel like the team with more bases covered and more routes to victory. Mignon du Preez has been the glue below their powerful opening pair while Alana King’s form has answered added depth with bat and ball.What they said“I love knockout cricket because everyone starts from scratch and it’s game on. It’s the best type of cricket to play, puts you under pressure and everything is on the line.”
Sophie Devine“They [Devine and Mooney] have been pretty crucial during the season, but they have other girls in the line-up – including my team-mate Amy Jones – so it’s not only about the opening pair but they are crucial wickets.”
Nat Sciver

Brisbane Heat (2nd) v Sydney Thunder (3rd)

Laura Kimmince has hit a stunning run of form•Getty Images

How the group stage wentA story of two halves for the Heat, who looked a long way short of challenging at the midway mark of the tournament with one win in seven matches. “If we get on the board next game, look out, because we could be on from there,” Grace Harris said. And she has been proved spot on. Seven wins on the bounce and they were safely into the knockouts before the last match. Laura Kimmince has become the ace in the pack when it comes to closing out innings and the spinners have come to the fore.The Thunder laid down an early marker with three strong wins after the rain had cleared, but that was followed by four defeats in five which left them in the tight mid-table. Despite a defeat in the derby against the Sixers they pulled it together in the hectic final week with three wins, the last spearheaded by the outstanding spell from Shabnim Ismail.When they met in the groupSydney Thunder won by 14 runs (DLS) – The chase was reduced to five overs and the Heat were 7 for 30 in pursuit of 45. Sam Bates bowled a double-wicket maiden in the second over
Brisbane Heat won by eight wickets – The win that started the run for the Heat, set up by Amelia Kerr’s 4 for 20.StatsMost runs:
Heather Knight (403)
Georgia Redmayne (332)
Rachael Haynes (268)
Most wickets:
Sammy-Jo Johnson (18)
Amelia Kerr (16)
Jess Jonassen (16)Injury-watchSam Bates left the field at the end of her third over against the Hobart Hurricanes in the last group match after landing awkwardly as she dived from her follow through. However, she trained fully on Tuesday so there is no concern about her availability.Where the game could be decidedThe Heat know how to win, but they will have to be careful in the batting Powerplay where they will face the excellent Ismail and Bates. How the Thunder deal with Kerr is likely to be a key part of the match. Laura Kimmince is the x-factor, a player who can swing the match in just a few deliveries.What they said“We knew we were still playing pretty good cricket, we just weren’t winning the one or two overs within the game that in T20 can win you those games. We knew our plans were right, we just had to keep backing ourselves. We’ve fought hard the last seven games but really tried to enjoy our cricket at the same time.”
Delissa Kimmince“It turned into a bit of tournament play for us, having to keep on winning to get to finals, and now we’ve got the opportunity to play in finals it’s another really good experience for this group to play in big games, under pressure, it’s the reason you play and train.”
Rachael Haynes

Cameron White, who played four Tests, 91 ODIs and 47 T20Is for Australia between 2005 and 2014, has retired from professional cricket. White, 37, will continue playing Premier Cricket with Melbourne Cricket Club and wants to give coaching a go.”I’ve definitely finished up playing, that’s for sure,” White told . “I had a one-year playing contract with the [Adelaide] Strikers. I only played a handful of games with them last year and in those games I would have needed to play really well to get another deal.”To be totally honest, I’m pretty content. I think my time is definitely up, I’ve had enough from a playing point of view and I’m ready to focus on coaching.”White has been a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket with 10,537 first-class runs from 177 games at an average of 39.91. He posted similarly impressive batting numbers in List A (7703 runs at 37.57) and T20 (5469 at 30.72) cricket. A competent legspinner, too, White picked up 195 wickets in first-class, and 104 and 26 in List A and T20 respectively.The Victorian has also been part of multiple team successes over the years: six Sheffield Shields, a domestic one-day title, two wins in the old inter-state T20 league and a Big Bash League trophy. He was also the captain, and the highest run-getter of the tournament, when Australia won the U-19 World Cup in 2002.However, his Test career didn’t take off. His four Tests – all on a tour of India in 2008 – netted him just 146 runs and five wickets. He was more successful in the white-ball cricket though, playing predominantly as a batsman, scoring 2072 runs at an average of 33.96 in ODIs and 984 runs at 32.80 and a strike rate of 132.97 in T20Is.With Melbourne, and the state of Victoria, hard hit by Covid-19, White has been mentoring Victoria’s Under-19 players over video. “I’m just keen to get involved in it [coaching] and give it a go,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it.”I’ve enjoyed the bits and pieces I’ve done so far. Part of my role with the Strikers last year involved coaching. Over my playing years, a lot of those as captain, I played that role of a coach a bit as well so hopefully I can enjoy it and be half decent at it.”