The Hundred: Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc set to miss rescheduled competition
- Published
Former Australia captain Steve Smith (right) and Mitchell Starc are set to miss the new competition
Australia duo Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc are likely to miss this summer's Hundred competition after neither player was retained by the Welsh Fire.
The eight men's teams have finalised their retention list, with 35 spots remaining when a second and final draft is held on 22 February.
Manchester Originals - with 10 spaces - have the most spots for new players having opted not to retain South Africa spinner Imran Tahir, Australia all-rounder Daniel Christian and New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner.
What is The Hundred?
The Hundred will take place in July and will feature eight city-based teams from Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton and two in London.
The launch of the 100-ball competition was postponed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Squads for the women's tournament - which will run alongside the men's - will continue to be announced over the coming months, and be finalised in June.
The men's franchises can sign players in seven salary-brackets, which range from £24,000 to £100,000 - a 20% cut from 2020 - while the women's salaries range from £3,600 to £15,000.
Many of England's World Cup-winning stars had already been retained by their franchises earlier in the window.
Jonny Bairstow (Welsh Fire), Joe Root (Trent Rockets), Jos Buttler (Manchester Originals), Eoin Morgan (London Spirit), Ben Stokes (Northern Superchargers) and Jofra Archer (Southern Brave) will all feature in the new competition.
Smith and Starc set to miss out
Smith was last month released by Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming 2021 Indian Premier League
Men's players have until 15 February to put their names forward for the second draft - which will be announced on 23 February - while the women's teams can continue to sign players until June. Those who have not been retained can be signed by other franchises.
However, Smith and pace bowler Starc are not expected to put themselves forward due to international commitments and fatigue from bio-secure bubbles.
It means Welsh Fire now have two of their three spots for men's overseas players available, having retained Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad.
Manchester Originals have three overseas spots free and all are at the top of the price range.
England and Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood has not been retained by the Originals and should be available for the draft, while England's World Cup winner Alex Hartley joins the women's side.
Amelia Kerr - who has played in 35 one-day-internationals and 35 Twenty20s for New Zealand - will link up with Southern Brave
Among the other women's signings, England's Freya Davies joins London Spirit, New Zealand's Amelia Kerr, who is ranked the fourth best T20 bowler in the world, has signed for Southern Brave, while South Africa's Dane van Niekerk will play for Oval Invincibles.
Birmingham Phoenix have retained the services of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, England batsman Liam Livingstone and Pakistan seamer Shaheen Afridi.
Southern Brave have one space for an overseas spot, with Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan missing out due to international commitments. West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and Australia batsman Marcus Stoinis have been retained.
Oval Invincibles also have one overseas space available after retaining West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine and Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, but releasing West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen.
South Africa & New Zealand stars could be available
South Africa captain Quinton de Kock is expected to make himself available for the draft.
As it stands, New Zealand and South Africa players are free from international commitments during The Hundred and could therefore be attractive options for sides when the draft takes place.
That could see the likes of Proteas seamer Kagiso Rabada, batsman Faf du Plessis and Black Caps fast bowler Kyle Jamieson all featuring in the tournament.
BBC Sport understands discussions are ongoing with players from those countries.
England seamer Olly Stone could also be picked up by one of the franchises, having not been selected in the original draft.
Full list of newly retained players:
Birmingham Phoenix: Shaheen Afridi, Thea Brookes, Chris Cooke, Gwen Davies, Liam Livingstone, Isabelle Wong, Kane Williamson.
London Spirit: Charlie Dean, Mason Crane, Freya Davies, Joe Denly, Hannah Jones, Glenn Maxwell, Sophie Munro, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Mark Wood.
Manchester Originals: Georgie Boyce, Natalie Brown, Ellie Threlkeld, Alex Hartley, Emma Lamb, Wayne Madsen, Matt Parkinson.
Northern Superchargers: Aaron Finch, Beth Langston, Brydon Carse, Chris Lynn, John Simpson, Linsey Smith, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Oval Invincibles: Sam Billings, Sarah Bryce, Alice Capsey, Laurie Evans, Jo Gardner, Will Jacks, Sandeep Lamichhane, Dane Van Niekerk.
Southern Brave: Amelia Kerr, Fi Morris, Craig Overton, Andre Russell, Marcus Stoinis, Ross Whiteley.
Trent Rockets: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Cox, Lewis Gregory, Nancy Harman, Lucy Higham, D'Arcy Short, Luke Wood, Luke Wright.
Welsh Fire: Qais Ahmad, Amy Gordon, Ryan Higgins, David Payne, Liam Plunkett.