Southern Brave focused on supporters' affinity, says Mark Nicholas

The Hundred outfit will be looking to add as many Hampshire and Sussex players to the side when the draft takes place on Sunday

Southern Brave chairman Mark Nicholas says The Hundred outfit will be looking to add as many Hampshire and Sussex players to the side when the draft takes place on Sunday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Nicholas stated: "Supporters' affinity to these players is going to be just as key as anything else.

"Identity, supporters' affinity, players' knowledge of the ground and the conditions, a sense of community and friendship between team-mates are all going to be relevant in this competition."

The Ageas Bowl-based side already have two Sussex players (Jofra Archer & Chris Jordan) and Hampshire’s James Vince in their squad. Nicholas knows the talent pool between Hampshire and Sussex is deep.

"There's so many good short-form cricketers out there," he said. "Phil Salt, Luke Wright, Liam Dawson and Rilee Rossouw are just four from those two counties alone," he added.

In terms of which players are taken off the board in the early rounds, Nicholas believes it could be bowlers who are more sought after than big-hitting batsmen.

"It's dawning on people that even though someone is only going to bowl in effect a couple of overs, those deliveries can change the course of short-form matches," he said.

"I can see some of the overseas bowlers being more immediately sought after than the batsmen."

"We feel we're ready for what the draft will throw at us. Mahela Jayawardene has employed a lot of the analysis he used while working in the IPL with Mumbai Indians to identify the players and personalities he and his coaches believe will be successful."

The Hundred Draft takes place on Sunday October 20, starting at 6pm.

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