From today's Telegraph - I feel sick. This is bliddy shoite.
Every franchise in cricket’s new Hundred competition, which launches next summer, will be guaranteed at least one England Test player.
Telegraph Sport can reveal complete details of the inaugural player draft for the new competition, which will be held on the evening of Oct 20 ahead of the first season next summer. Player registration for the draft will open in the middle of next week. Hundreds of players – both from England and overseas – are expected to enter the draft.
By early October, shortly after England’s new central contracts are finalised, all eight teams will have chosen their England Test players, as well as up to two local players a team, in advance of the draft. At the same time, the draft order will be finalised after lots are drawn. Players in the draft will be chosen through a “snake” draft system, meaning a team with first pick in the first round would have last pick in the second round.
Cricketers who enter the Hundred draft will be obliged to go to whichever franchise selects them. Players are free to enter for a minimum draft price, meaning they are only eligible to be signed for at least this amount.
On draft night, each team will have 100 seconds to make their pick on an electronic tablet. Teams will have three representatives on their table in the draft room, with the draft – similar to the model used in US sports and the Indian Premier League auction – shown live on Sky Sports. A number of England players are expected to attend, with the draft held the day before England fly to New Zealand.
The women’s Hundred competition will use a different system. Instead of the draft, England-contracted players will be distributed to franchises, with that process expected to be completed by the end of September. Non-England contracted players will then negotiate with teams, rather than entering a draft, so they will have a say in where they end up.
The men’s tournament will clash with the England-Pakistan Test series next summer, so the availability of England’s Test players will be compromised. Players are still expected to be available for the first three games and the final stages.
Competition organisers have agreed to the method by which England Test players are distributed. The team representing each region – so the franchise based at The Oval represents both Surrey and Kent, for instance – will be entitled to pick up one England Test player from their catchment area.
After they have done so, all other England Test players are put back into a pot, with teams who did not have a local Test player to choose from (or opted not to select one) getting the first right to select them.
This means that if the Leeds franchise opted to pick Ben Stokes – who, as a Durham player, would count as a local player – then Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root would go into the pot, and could be selected to play by other teams.
Because of their limited availability, England Test players will not count towards the 15-man squads at each franchise. Each team will, in practice, have either 16 or 17 players, depending on whether they get one or two England Test cricketers.
Some England red-ball specialists may choose
