Hundred draft throws up plenty of early surprises as teams fill their squads

NICK FRIEND AT THE HUNDRED DRAFT: Rashid Khan was the first player to be picked in the draft, a move that seemed to throw Southern Brave, who took almost a minute before picking up Andre Russell as their first player

Dane Vilas was picked up by Manchester Originals for £125,000 as Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga missed out on selection at the inaugural draft for The Hundred.

South African wicketkeeper Vilas, Lancashire’s club captain, was one of two players from the county to get picked up in the maximum price bracket, with Liam Livingsyone the other.

Manchester head coach Simon Katich confirmed after the draft that Vilas will captain the franchise; he is one of two wicketkeeping options in the Originals’ squad alongside Jos Buttler.

Livingstone, who played in this year’s Indian Premier League for Rajasthan Royals, was signed by Birmingham Phoenix in the maximum salary band.

Elsewhere, Rashid Khan was the first player to be picked in the draft, a move that seemed to throw Southern Brave, who took almost a minute before picking up Andre Russell as their first player.

Only Glenn Maxwell and Alex Davies scored more runs in last season’s T20 Blast for Lancashire than Vilas, who led his side to top spot in the north division.

They were beaten, however, in their quarter-final against eventual champions Essex, when his decision to bowl Livingstone in the penultimate over backfired.

^{The full squads have now been picked for next year's competition}

Overall, ten Sussex players have been picked up, with Nottinghamshire seeing nine of theirs signed up and Surrey losing eight, while seven players from each of Worcestershire and Somerset have earned deals.

Leicestershire, on the other hand, emerged without any of their players being handed contracts; Adam Rossington was the only Northamptonshire player to get a deal.

The draft will have a major impact on the running of the Royal London One Day Cup, with some teams now having to make wholesale changes to their sides, given the number of players now signed to the new competition.

Four Afghans were picked up among the 24 overseas players, an extraordinary number in the wider context of the nation’s cricketing journey.

As well as Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi – all of whom featured in last season’s T20 Blast, leg-spinner Qais Ahmed was picked up by Welsh Fire to complete the quota of international stars in Gary Kirsten’s side.

Of the 19 domestic players to apply reserve prices to their names, none of Samit Patel, Ian Bell, Morne Morkel, Olly Stone, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Gareth Harte, Richard Levi or Hamidullah Qadri received deals.

In terms of the high-profile international players, Kagiso Rabada joined Gayle and Malinga in not being picked from the top price band, though his availability for the duration of the tournament was in question.

The same can be said of Shakib Al Hasan, while Trent Boult, Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard and Babar Azam – who will likely be involved in Pakistan’s squad for the Test series against England, all went unsold.

Of the group that secured Essex a maiden T20 Blast title in September, Ravi Bopara picked up a £100,000 contract with Birmingham Phoenix, with Ryan ten Doeschate and Simon Harmer also being snapped up.

^{Chris Gayle did not receive a deal}

True to the word of Southern Brave chairman Mark Nicholas, his franchise picked up six players from Sussex and Hampshire; he had earlier committed to signing players from the team’s catchment area.

Among the early rounds, there were several intriguing match-ups, with Welsh Fire preferring Steve Smith to David Warner, while Imran Tahir more than doubled his minimum price by signing for Manchester Originals alongside Vilas for £125,000.

Chris Lynn was another to win a big-money deal, with Northern Superchargers signing him up for £100,000 – one of two Australians in the top three for coach Darren Lehmann, who confirmed that Aaron Finch will captain his side. Finch, of course, has played county cricket for Yorkshire.

Oval Invincibles enjoyed a fine draft; they picked up two high-class international spinners in Sunil Narine and Sandeep Lamichhane, with Fabian Allen – the West Indian allrounder – coming in as a third overseas pick.

The number of players available in the draft had increased beforehand, with Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad entering the field late on. He, like so many others on this landmark night for English sport, went unsold.