Following the postponement of English cricket's new 100-ball competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the tournament will now launch in the summer of 2021. With the men's and women's squads beginning to take shape, we take a look at who makes up the eight new teams. But, a few things first ...
Will the squads the same as they would have been last year?
No. Contracts for 2020 were cancelled after the tournament's postponement, and a modified retention process was drawn up ahead of 2021.
What has changed?
One key difference for 2021 is that Kolpak registrations are no longer valid, meaning players like Dane Vilas, Ravi Rampaul and Simon Harmer who signed contracts for the Hundred's first season can only be retained as overseas players, having previously counted as locals. With only three overseas players permitted per squad (and in each team's playing XI), they were all released ahead of the draft.
Furthermore, the salary bands in the men's competition have been cut by 20%, meaning top earners will now be paid £100,000 rather than £125,000, with those on the lowest salaries earning £24,000 rather than £30,000.
How does the men's retention process work?
Teams were able to retain as many players as they want from the 15-man squads assembled at last year's player draft, at a salary band negotiated with the player. The process ran from October until January, with a mini-draft held in February for teams to complete their squads. Teams will be able to sign one 'wildcard' player at the minimum salary band following next season's T20 Blast group stage.
What happens to the England players?
England will not play any white-ball cricket during the window reserved for the Hundred, meaning that their players on white-ball central contracts are part of the main selection process. Players in the Test squad will be required for international cricket during the tournament, and are likely to be available for three group games and Finals Day. Therefore, players with red-ball central contracts are allocated outside of the main draft. They will be paid match fees and a separate retainer.
There were a few changes from the allocations for 2020, with Ollie Pope replacing Jonny Bairstow at Welsh Fire, Zak Crawley moving out of the main draft grid and becoming London Spirit's Test player, and Rory Burns and Dom Sibley moving to Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix respectively.
How did the mini-draft work?
At the end of the retention window, the finalised retained player list was published, showing which slots teams still have free. Teams then picked players in a snake draft to fill their spots like in October 2019, in the reverse order to the first draft. Each team will also have one right-to-match (RTM) card, which will allow them to retain a player that they had signed for 2020 if another team chooses them in the draft, provided they have a slot free at that salary band.
What about the women's squads?
With no player draft for the women, teams are selected by their respective head coaches. Players with contracts for 2020 were given the option to roll them over to 2021 at the same salary band, or to negotiate with other teams. Teams can sign a maximum of three players with England central contracts, and have until June 2021 to finalise their squads.
So, who's already signed?
Birmingham Phoenix
Men's squad: Chris Woakes, Dom Sibley, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (captain), Tom Abell, Kane Williamson, Benny Howell, Tom Helm, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pat Brown, Adam Hose, Adam Zampa, Daniel Bell-Drummon, Henry Brookes, Miles Hammond, Chris Cooke
Head coach: Andrew McDonald
Women's squad: Sophie Devine (captain), Amy Jones, Georgia Elwiss, Ria Fackrell, Ashleigh Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Marie Kelly, Evelyn Jones, Emily Arlott, Kirstie Gordon, Phoebe Franklin, Abtaha Maqsood, Thea Brookes, Gwen Davies, Issy Wong
Head coach: Ben Sawyer
London Spirit
Men's squad: Zak Crawley, Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan (captain), Mohammad Amir, Ravi Bopara, Mohammad Nabi, Mark Wood, Joe Denly, Dan Lawrence, Chris Wood, Mason Crane, Adam Rossington, Roelof van der Merwe, Jade Dernbach, Luis Reece
Head coach: Shane Warne
Women's squad: Tammy Beaumont, Deandra Dottin, Naomi Dattani, Heather Knight (captain), Amara Carr, Aylish Cranstone, Danielle Gibson, Susie Rowe, Chloe Tryon, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Hannah Jones, Sophie Munro
Head coach: Trevor Griffin
Manchester Originals
Men's squad: Jos Buttler, Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada, Harry Gurney, Phil Salt, Matt Parkinson, Joe Clarke, Jamie Overton, Shadab Khan, Tom Lammonby, Wayne Madsen, Steven Finn, Colin Ackermann, Richard Gleeson, Tom Hartley
Head coach: Simon Katich
Women's squad: Kate Cross, Danielle Collins, Mignon du Preez, Alice Dyson, Sophie Ecclestone, Cordelia Griffith, Hannah Jones, Lizelle Lee, Georgie Boyce, Natalie Brown, Alex Hartley, Emma Lamb, Ellie Threlkeld
Head coach: Paul Shaw
Northern Superchargers
Men's squad: Ben Stokes, Aaron Finch, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Lynn, Adil Rashid, Adam Lyth, David Willey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Olly Stone, Matty Potts, Matthew Fisher, Brydon Carse, Harry Brook, Callum Parkinson, John Simpson
Head coach: Darren Lehmann
Women's squad: Hollie Armitage, Nicola Carey, Alice Davidson-Richards, Katie Levick, Alyssa Healy, Lauren Winfield-Hill (captain), Helen Fenby, Bess Heath, Linsey Smith
Head coach: Danielle Hazell
Oval Invincibles
Men's squad: Sam Curran, Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Sandeep Lamichhane, Colin Ingram, Reece Topley, Will Jacks, Laurie Evans, Brandon Glover, Jordan Clark, Nathan Sowter, Alex Blake
Head coach: Tom Moody
Women's squad: Rachael Haynes, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Georgia Adams, Tash Farrant, Megan Belt, Eva Gray, Marizanne Kapp, Rhianna Southby, Sarah Bryce, Alice Capsey, Jo Gardner, Dane van Niekerk
Head coach: Jonathan Batty
Southern Brave
Men's squad: Jofra Archer, David Warner, Andre Russell, Marcus Stoinis, James Vince, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Danny Briggs, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Alex Davies, George Garton, Ross Whiteley, Max Waller, Craig Overton
Head coach: Mahela Jayawardene
Women's squad: Sophia Dunkley, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, Tara Norris, Carla Rudd, Paige Scholfield, Anya Shrubsole, Stafanie Taylor, Danni Wyatt, Lauren Bell, Sonia Odedra, Amelia Kerr, Fi Morris
Head coach: Charlotte Edwards
Trent Rockets
Men's squad: Joe Root, Rashid Khan, D'Arcy Short, Lewis Gregory, Alex Hales, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dawid Malan, Timm van der Gugten, Steven Mullaney, Matt Carter, Tom Moores, Luke Wood, Luke Wright, Samit Patel, Ben Cox
Head coach: Andy Flower
Women's squad: Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Molineux, Annabel Sutherland, Elyse Villani, Kathryn Bryce, Abbey Freeborn, Kathryn Bryce, Lucy Higham, Michaela Kirk, Ellie Mitchell
Head coach: Salliann Briggs
Welsh Fire
Men's squad: Ollie Pope, Kieron Pollard, Jonny Bairstow, Jhye Richardson, Tom Banton, Jake Ball, Ben Duckett, Ian Cockbain, Qais Ahmad, Josh Cobb, Liam Plunkett, David Payne, Ryan Higgins, Matt Critchley, David Lloyd
Head coach: Gary Kirsten
Women's squad: Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham, Sarah Taylor, Bryony Smith, Katie George, Alex Griffiths, Georgia Hennessy, Lauren Filer, Sophie Luff, Natasha Wraith, Kirstie Gordon
Head coach: Matthew Mott
This page is regularly updated