London Spirit have today confirmed the men’s and women’s stars that will return to Lord’s this summer for the third year of The Hundred.
Supporters at the Home of Cricket will be thrilled to see the return of England women’s captain Heather Knight for season three of The Hundred, along with her international teammate Charlie Dean. Knight and Dean will line up alongside all-rounders Dani Gibson and Amelia Kerr.
For the men’s team, England’s Dan Lawrence and Zak Crawley will also be back at Lord’s as well as pace duo Mark Wood and Nathan Ellis, while Australia star Glenn Maxwell will make a return for Spirit.
Across both competitions, 114 players have been retained in total, meaning 134 spots remain to be filled at The Hundred Draft powered by Sage on Thursday 23 March, and across the open market process in the women’s competition.
Teams in the men’s competition can retain 10 players, and women's teams can retain four of their players. Six men’s sides have retained all 10, while Welsh Fire – under the new leadership of Australia’s Mike Hussey – will have eight places to fill in the draft, at which they’ll have the first pick.
The women’s competition will be hosting a draft for the first time, with Tammy Beaumont’s Welsh Fire the first side to pick with the likes of Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt and Kate Cross, as well as a host of other international players, up for grabs. The final list for The Hundred Draft powered by Sage is due to be confirmed on Tuesday 28 February.
Spirit will play four home group matches at Lord’s in 2023, beginning with the London Derby against Oval Invincibles on Wednesday 2 August. Both the men’s and women’s finals take place at Lord’s on Sunday 27 August.
More than 500,000 people attended games during The Hundred’s second year in 2022, including a record-breaking 271,000 watching live women’s fixtures across the competition and more families buying tickets than in 2021. Lord’s attracted over 129,000 spectators for its Hundred matches in 2022 including a record 29,223 for the Final. The Ground also set the domestic world record for the highest number of spectators for a women’s match in both the 2021 and 2022 Finals.
There will be an initial, exclusive window to purchase tickets between 15 and 28 March for anyone who has previously bought tickets for The Hundred. Those yet to attend can sign up in advance at thehundred.com for priority ticket access from 5 until 18 April. Tickets will then go on general sale on Thursday 20 April. Tickets this year remain great value in line with 2022 pricing, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 6-15, free for children five and under, and adults starting from £10.
England Women’s captain Heather Knight said: “I’m thrilled to be back in blue this summer. It was tough to sit out last year but the team did a lot of things they can be proud of, especially Charlie Dean who took on so much additional responsibility by stepping up to captain the side. The inclusion of the draft in the women’s competition this year takes the competition forward again and we're just ready to get stuck in and gear up for another huge summer.”
Ravi Bopara said: “The retained squad this year is really strong. We’ve kept a really good core of the group, and we can’t wait for August. It’s a big year with Eoin Morgan stepping away from the team, but we’ve got a very competitive squad and we’re looking forward to getting out there in front of the Lord’s crowd and putting on a show.”