Kent players were involved in the first ever draft in British sport on Sunday night as The Hundred Draft took place live on Sky Sports and BBC Online.
Kent Women captain Tammy Beaumont was unveiled as the marquee player for the London Spirit on an evening where all Kent players that were picked up in The Hundred Draft went to teams on the opposite side of the River Thames.
Matt Walker, Kent’s Head Coach and also Assistant Coach for the Oval Invincibles, was involved in the Invincibles’ picks on the night as the South London side selected Kent captain Sam Billings with their first selection in the second round of Draft picks.
Billings was picked up for £100,000 in the second round despite having a reserve price of £60,000, and joined Walker in South London.
Sam Billings said: “It’s great to be selected by Oval Invincibles. I can’t wait to get started on The Hundred next year. Competitions like this are a fantastic way to showcase our sport, especially with the world class players that are being selected tonight. I can’t wait to get started with Tom Moody and it’s great to be able to work alongside my county coach Matt Walker in this exciting new competition.”
The second round also saw Kent Spitfires’ 2019 Vitality Blast cult hero Mohammad Nabi selected by the London Spirit for £100k, before vice-captain and 2018 Vitality Blast MVP Joe Denly was picked in the fourth round to join Nabi at Lord’s next Summer for £60,000 – Denly’s reserve price.
Also to be selected in the fourth round was Hardus Viljoen, who was a Kent Spitfire for this year’s Vitality Blast, earning £20,000 more than his £40k reserve price. Viljoen was Kent’s highest T20 wicket taker in 2019, claiming 18 wickets at an average of only 19.72, and importantly for The Hundred format, at a strike rate of only 15.1.
Big-hitter Alex Blake will join Viljoen at the Oval Invincibles after being picked in round five for £50,000, whilst opener Zak Crawley will join England teammate Denly at London Spirit. He was chosen in the sixth round of The Draft for £40,000.
Each of the eight franchises in The Hundred will also have one more “wildcard” pick after the Vitality Blast finishes in July next year.
Drafted Kent players in full
Oval Invincibles
- Round 2: Sam Billings
- Round 5: Alex Blake
London Spirit
- Women’s Marquee Player: Tammy Beaumont
- Round 4: Joe Denly
- Round 6: Zak Crawley
The 38 day tournament will take place from mid July 2020 to September, meaning Kent could be without the services of some of their better players for this period whilst the domestic 50 over tournament is set to take place during this time.