Proteas Among Draft Picks for The Hundred

A number of South African cricketers were drafted into the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s new limited-overs tournament last night, The Hundred.

Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell and Dane Vilas were among some of the players that are set to feature in the new tournament that will debut next year.

There were, however, some big names that missed out.  Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, captain Faf du Plessis, and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock all put their names forward for the draft, but none were selected by any of the sides.

Proteas legends JP Duminy and Dale Steyn were also overlooked, perhaps being seen as past their prime. Temba Bavuma also failed to make the cut.

All in all, a total of 11 South Africans were selected from a possible 19.

The Hundred will usher in a new format of the game, with each match limited to just 100 deliveries, 20 shorter than the current shortest form of the game, Twenty20.

It is being introduced by the ECB after the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL).  

The IPL attracts the biggest names in world cricket for a Twenty20 tournament each year, drawing in huge crowds and huge amounts of money.

Following its triumph, other major cricketing nations have tried to set up their own versions of the IPL, like the Big Bash in Australia, and the BPL in Bangladesh, all to varying degrees of success.

The Hundred will certainly bring a certain star quality not seen before to English domestic cricket, though commentators have said it will not be able to rival its Indian counterpart, largely owing to the fact that India is home to over a billion people, most of whom are cricket mad.

England and Wales just don’t have the same audience.  That said, The Hundred is set to feature an all-start cast in a brand-new format of the game.  

This is an exciting time for the game of cricket.