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Jonny Bairstow has pulled out of the Welsh Fire’s Hundred campaign to focus on rest and recovery ahead of England’s upcoming Test series against South Africa.
Bairstow was on Tuesday named in the squad to face the Proteas at Lord’s on August 17 before Tests at Old Trafford and the Oval conclude the three-match series.
England also have a busy autumn and winter schedule which includes two tours of Pakistan and series against Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh, as well as the Twenty20 World Cup.
The 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman – a fixture in England since his late 2020 recall – was due to represent the Welsh Fire in their opening game against champions Southern Brave at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday, but he will no longer be. make himself available for selection after enduring “a hectic few months” of international cricket.
Bairstow said in a statement: “I’m really disappointed that I won’t be part of The Hundred this year. I loved it last year but I’ve had a hectic few months with the schedule as it is and I really need to take a breather before the test series in South Africa. Good luck to the Welsh firemen and women – rooting for you.”
A Welsh Fire statement read: “We understand Jonny’s decision and wish him well. We look forward to kicking off our Hundred campaign tomorrow night and then look forward to getting back in front of our own fans at Sophia Gardens on Sunday .”
Southern Brave won the inaugural competition last year, beating Birmingham Phoenix in the men’s final at Lord’s after the Oval Invincibles won the women’s crown.
What are the rules for the matches?
The text on the Hundred website summarizes the goals from simplicity of the game to the intended audience: “Seven cities, eight teams, 100 balls. The Hundred will be played over five weeks in the school holidays and will be a great way for families to enjoy cricket.”
The ECB’s market research showed that two and a half times more respondents identify with a city rather than a county; 75 percent of families said they prefer short games that end at 9pm, and 19 per cent of non-cricket respondents said the complicated nature of the sport’s terminology is the main barrier to attending matches. These answers have underpinned the design of the tournament.
The broadcasters will try to make it easier to tell which team will win. So, for the team batting first, the scoreboard will show runs scored from balls faced (57 runs from 25 balls), for the team batting second, runs required and balls remaining (75 required from 51 balls) with Sky using The WinViz equation as well (which shows the percentage chance of each side winning updated ball by ball).
Each team’s innings will be 100 balls long (plus no balls and wides) with 10 lots of 10 balls from each end. The captains will choose whether a bowler bowls five balls in a row or continues to bowl all 10. The bowlers can bowl a maximum of 20 balls per innings and can bowl two five-ball overs in a row either from the same end or alternatively ends.
The decision review system using Hawkeye will be available for the first time in England domestic cricket, as well as a ‘smart replay’ system which will automatically call no balls (which will result in a free hit).
One of the main reasons for the Hundred is to complete two and a half hour matches that finish at 9pm to attract young families. The teams will be on the clock at all times. There will be 50 seconds allowed for change of ends for broadcasters.
The field side can call a two-minute time-out when the head coach can come onto the field and talk tactics with the players. It is not mandatory and can only be called after 25 legitimate balls have been bowled in an inning.
It will be a 25 ball powerplay when only two fielders are allowed outside the inner circle and the umpires will call “five” at the end of an over instead of “over” as has traditionally been the case. They will also hold up a white card to mark the end of the first five legitimate balls from one end.
Who are the players?
The Hundred 2022 Squads – Men
Birmingham Phoenix
Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Will Smeed, Chris Benjamin, Miles Hammond, Henry Brookes, Jack Leach, Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson, Tom Helm, Graeme van Buuren, Imran Tahir, Dan Mousley.
London Spirit
Zak Crawley, Mark Wood, Glenn Maxwell/Josh Inglis, Eoin Morgan, Mason Crane, Dan Lawrence, Adam Rossington, Ravi Bopara, Brad Wheal, Kieron Pollard, Liam Dawson, Nathan Ellis, Jordan Thompson, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Chris Wood, Ben McDermott, Toby Roland-Jones, Jamie Smith.
Manchester Originals
Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Matt Parkinson, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Colin Ackermann, Wayne Madsen, Fred Klaasen, Calvin Harrison, Andre Russell, Laurie Evans, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dan Worrall, Sean Abbott, Richard Gleeson, Mitchell Stanley , Ashton Turner, Paul Walter.
Northern Superchargers
Adil Rashid, David Willey, Faf du Plessis, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, John Simpson, Adam Lyth, Callum Parkinson, Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz, Adam Hose, Roelof van der Merwe, Luke Wright, Jordan Clark, Michael Pepper , Ben Raine, David Wiese.
Oval Invincibles
Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine, Jason Roy, Nathan Sowter, Reece Topley, Jordan Cox, Rilee Rossouw, Danny Briggs, Hilton Cartwright, Matt Milnes, Jack Leaning, Pat Brown, Mohammad Hasnain , Jack Haynes.
Southern Brave
Jofra Archer, Alex Davies, George Garton, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton, James Vince, Ross Whiteley, Quinton de Kock/James Fuller, Marcus Stoinis/Paul Stirling, Jake Lintott, Tim David, Joe Weatherley, Daniel Moriarty, Rehan Ahmed, Finn Allen, Michael Hogan.
Trent Rockets
Matthew Carter, Marchant de Lange, Lewis Gregory, Rashid Khan/Tabraiz Shamsi, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Tom Moores, Steven Mullaney, Joe Root, Colin Munro, Luke Wood, Luke Fletcher, Samit Patel, Sam Cook, Ian Cockbain, Tom Kohler-Cadmore.
Welsh fire
Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Jake Ball, David Payne, Leus du Plooy, Ryan Higgins, Josh Cobb, Joe Clarke, Tom Banton, Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah, Sam Hain, Jacob Bethell, Matt Critchley, Noor Ahmad, George Scrimshaw.
The Hundred 2022 Squads – Women
Birmingham Phoenix
Sophie Molineux, Sterre Kalis, Emily Arlott, Gwen Davies, Sophie Devine, Georgia Elwiss, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin, Kirstie Gordon, Amy Jones, Eve Jones, Ellyse Perry, Abtaha Maqsood, Issy Wong, Deepti Sharma, Davina Perrin.
London Spirit
Beth Mooney, Amelia Kerr, Megan Schutt, Sophie Luff, Amara Carr, Freya Davies, Naomi Dattani, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Heather Knight, Alice Monaghan, Grace Scrivens, Jess Kerr, Natasha Wraith, Nancy Harman, Grace Ballinger.
Manchester Originals
Deandra Dottin, Amy Satterthwaite, Ami Campbell, Phoebe Graham, Georgie Boyce, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Cordelia Griffith, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Lizelle Lee, Ellie Threlkeld, Grace Potts, Lea Tahuhu, Mahika Gaur.
Northern Superchargers
Hollie Armitage, Alice Davidson-Richards, Alyssa Healy, Bess Heath, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Kalea Moore, Jemimah Rodrigues, Liz Russell, Linsey Smith, Laura Wolvaardt, Jenny Gunn, Lucy Higham, Heather Graham, Bethany Harmer, Rachel Slater.
Oval Invincibles
Lauren Winfield-Hill, Alice Capsey, Grace Gibbs, Danielle Gregory, Shabnim Ismail, Sophia Smale, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk, Mady Villiers, Aylish Cranstone, Emily Windsor, Eva Gray, Kira Chathli, Suzie Bates, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Kirstie White.
Southern Brave
Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Adams, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Sophia Dunkley, Smriti Mandhana, Tara Norris, Carla Rudd, Paige Scholfield, Anya Shrubsole, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Danni Wyatt, Jo Gardner, Freya Kemp, Ella McCaughan, Molly Strano.
Trent Rockets
Meg Lanning, Mignon du Preez, Bryony Smith, Alana King, Katherine Brunt, Kathryn Bryce, Abbey Freeborn, Sarah Glenn, Nat Sciver, Marie Kelly, Sophie Munro, Alexa Stonehouse, Georgia Davis, Elyse Villani, Ella Claridge, Emma Marlow.
Welsh fire
Tammy Beaumont, Rachael Haynes, Annabel Sutherland, Fran Wilson, Alex Hartley, Fi Morris, Sarah Bryce, Hannah Baker, Lauren Filer, Katie George, Alex Griffiths, Nicole Harvey, Georgia Hennessy, Hayley Matthews, Claire Nicholas, Nicola Carey.
