Birmingham Phoenix squads finalised in Vitality Wildcard Draft

Birmingham Phoenix's men and women's squads have been locked in with just under 50 days to go until the first game gets underway at The Kia Oval.

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2024-06-24T13:05:10.000Z

Fran Wilson, Lissy Macleod, Aneurin Donald and Rishi Patel will call Edgbaston home after being selected in Vitality Wildcard Draft, whilst Suzie Bates and Emma Jones have been named as injury replacements.

New Zealand legend Bates will be available for Birmingham Phoenix’s first three games as an overseas replacement for Richa Ghosh, where Emma Jones has also replaced Ailsa Lister.

Bates’ side travel to The Kia Oval on Tuesday 23 July to face Oval Invincibles in the competition opener – the first of 68 games that promise world class men’s and women’s sporting action, live music, and a host of family-friendly entertainment.

Tickets are available to purchase here.

The men's duo were both drafted following a strong first block in the Vitality Blast. Donald, a Wales native, has been in fine form with Derbyshire, averaging 41.20 with three half centuries. Patel meanwhile has scored a Blast century this campaign, firing 386 runs across eight fixtures.

For the women's team, Wilson brings a wealth of experience, having made 64 appearances for England. The right-handed batter, who has accrued 33 IT20 caps for her country, also played in the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup final against India at Lord's.

In addition, all-rounder Macleod is a hard-hitting batter and spin bowler who five times for Welsh Fire in 2021.

In total, 32 players were drafted into The Hundred off the back of their stand-out form in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Vitality Blast.

England Men’s Test bowler Ollie Robinson has been drafted by Trent Rockets, England Women’s World Cup winner Fran Wilson is heading to Edgbaston with Birmingham Phoenix and former England all-rounder Ravi Bopara is returning to London Spirit.

Other names signed in the Vitality Wildcard Draft include Western Storm’s Sophie Luff, Nottinghamshire quick Dillon Pennington, and a duo of leg-spinners in South East Stars Dani Gregory and Glamorgan’s Mason Crane.

Vitality Wildcard Selections

Birmingham PhoenixFran Wilson, Lissy Macleod, Suzie Bates, Emma Jones, Aneurin Donald, Rishi Patel

London SpiritAbbey Freeborn, Ellie Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Ryan Higgins

Manchester OriginalsDanielle Gregory, Alice Monaghan, Sonny Baker, Matthew Hurst, Tom Aspinwall_, Scott Currie_

Northern SuperchargersJodi Grewcock, Sophia Turner, Jordan Clark, Dillon Pennington

Oval InvinciblesRachel Slater, Amara Carr, Laura Harris*, Marchant de Lange, Mark Watt

Southern BraveSophie Luff, Katie Jones, Charli Knott*, James Coles, Joe Weatherley

Trent RocketsAylish Cranstone, Natasha Wraith, Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Tom Alsop

Welsh FireGeorgia Davis, Kate Coppack, Mason Crane, Ben Green

*denotes replacement player

Southern Brave's Sophie Luff said: "I'm really happy to have been drafted by Southern Brave. The Hundred is a great competition to be a part of, so I'm really happy to have been picked up and it's especially great to have been selected by Charlotte Edwards. I'm really looking forward to the competition and adding value where I can."

Six replacement players have been confirmed across both competitions. In the women's competition, Charli Knott will be available to play for Southern Brave in the first two games as an overseas replacement for Smriti Mandhana, while Laura Harris will be available to play in the first two games for Oval Invincibles as an overseas replacement for Chamari Athapaththu.

At Manchester Originals men's team, Fred Klaassen and Josh Tongue have been replaced by Tom Aspinwall and Scott Currie respectively.

A record 580,000 fans were in attendance across The Hundred last season, including over 300,000 in the women’s competition. The Hundred’s blend of high-quality sport and entertainment saw 41% of all tickets sold to families, 23% to juniors and 30% to women.

Tickets are selling fast, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 3-15 (free for under 3s) and adults starting from £13.

All games will again be live on Sky Sports and BBC broadcast and digital channels throughout the competition.

To stay up to date with the latest news, buy tickets or to sign up for priority access, visit thehundred.com or follow The Hundred, and the eight teams, on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.