FERREIRA, POLLARD, POORAN HEADLINE THE HUNDRED NEWBIES

While the focus in the cricket world is on the start of the Indian Premier League 2024 this week, 23 Betway SA20 Season 2 players will play in this year’s The Hundred tournament.

The draft for the 100-ball competition was conducted on Wednesday, 20 March in London, England, with the eight teams taking their preliminary squad sizes up to 13, before each complete Season 4 lineups with two Wildcards at a later stage.

West Indies stars Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard were among the big name players drafted. Pooran, whose three-match stint with Durban’s Super Giants kick-started their run to the SA20 Final, will play for the Northern Supercharges in The Hundred. His teammates at the Leeds-based team include fellow DSG player, Reece Topley as well as Adil Rashid, Pretoria Capitals’ leg-spinner.

Pollard, MI Cape Town’s 2024 captain, will play for Southampton-based Southern Brave and have Leus du Plooy as a teammate. The latter’s Joburg Super Kings head coach, Stephen Fleming, will be in charge of the Brave too.

Nicholas Pooran (Durban's Super Giants) and Kieron Pollard (MI Cape Town) are among the headline acts signed during The Hundred's latest draft.

SA20-signed players on the move in The Hundred include Tom Banton (MI Cape Town), Richard Gleeson (Durban’s Super Giants) and Dawid Malan (Sunrisers Eastern Cape).

Banton, who didn’t get a game for MICT during SA20 Season 2, will hope to make a big impression at Trent Rockets - alongside pacemen Sam Cook (Joburg Super Kings) and John Turner (Paarl Royals) - who he’s joined from Manchester Originals.

Gleeson, meanwhile has also left the Originals, but joined up with London Spirit where his teammates will include the Sunrisers trio of Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington and Dan Worrall as well as MI Cape Town’s Olly Stone. The Spirit have the most SA20 players (5) of The Hundred teams.

On the back of the winning SA20, Malan has swapped Trent Rockets for Oval Invincibles, where he may well form a formidable opening partnership with Will Jacks (Pretoria Capitals). Sam Curran (MI Cape Town) and Donovan Ferreira (Joburg Super Kings) will be teammates too.

ALSO READ: Jacks hits longest six in SA20 Season 2

Talking of Ferreira, he will head into his first The Hundred campaign as the only South African and fresh off a stint with Yorkshire in England’s domestic T20 competition. The Invincibles will no doubt benefit from his 'triple-threat' with the bat, wicketkeeper gloves and ball.

Back-to-back SA20 champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will supply the most players to The Hundred, with 5, while MI Cape Town and Pretoria Capitals will have three each. The other three teams have two players heading for the tournament between 23 July and 18 August.

WATCH FERREIRA'S THEN-RECORD FASTEST SA20 FIFTY

SA20 PLAYERS IN THE HUNDRED 2024

Birmingham Phoenix: Moeen Ali (Joburg Super Kings), Liam Livingstone (MI Cape Town)

London Spirit: Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington, Dan Worrall (all Sunrisers Eastern Cape), Richard Gleeson (Durban’s Super Giants), Olly Stone (MI Cape Town)

Manchester Originals: Jos Buttler (Paarl Royals), Wayne Madsen (Joburg Super Kings), Phil Salt (Pretoria Capitals)

Northern Superchargers: Nicholas Pooran, Reece Topley (both Durban’s Super Giants), Adil Rashid (Pretoria Capitals)

Oval Invincibles: Sam Curran (MI Cape Town), Donovan Ferreira (Joburg Super Kings), Will Jacks (Pretoria Capitals), Dawid Malan (Sunrisers Eastern Cape)

Southern Brave: Leus du Plooy (Joburg Super Kings), Kieron Pollard (MI Cape Town)

Trent Rockets: Tom Banton (MI Cape Town), Sam Cook (Joburg Super Kings), John Turner (Paarl Royals)

Welsh Fire: Tom Abell (Sunrisers Eastern Cape)