The Hundred draft: TV times, how it works, who's put themselves forward, who's calling the shots

The Cricketer runs down the who, what, where, when, why, how much and which channel ahead of The Hundred draft

What is it?

The Hundred draft is the final stage of the squad selection ahead of the men’s edition of the new competition, which will begin in July 2020.

When is it?

The event takes place on Sunday, October 20, beginning at 7pm at Sky’s headquarters.

Who are the teams involved?

The eight franchises, which were officially unveiled in early October are as follows: Birmingham Phoenix (Edgbaston), London Spirit (Lord’s), Manchester Originals (Emirates Old Trafford), Northern Superchargers (Emerald Headingley), Oval Invincibles (Kia Oval), Southern Brave (Ageas Bowl), Trent Rockets (Trent Bridge), Welsh Fire (Sophia Gardens)

Who has put themselves forward for the draft?

A total of 570 players have thrown their names into the hat for the draft. There are 96 remaining slots. Each team can pick three overseas players in the squad. The full list is here.

How does it work?

Head coaches of the eight teams will have 100 seconds to make each of their selections. The draft consists of seven rounds, with each round representing a price bracket – these range from £125,000 down to £30,000.

Each franchise will pick two players from within each price bracket, meaning that every team will pick 12 players on Sunday night, adding to the three already selected – either as their resident England Test player or as their two local icons.

Trent Rockets will have the first pick, as per the draw that was made before the teams were revealed earlier this month. They will be followed by Southern Brave, Northern Superchargers, Welsh Fire, Oval Invincibles, Manchester Originals and London Spirit.

Birmingham Phoenix will have the eighth pick – the last of the first round, but they will then take the next pick as well, beginning the second part of that round. Essentially, the order switches halfway through the round - after each team has picked one player from within that price bracket.

The issue of players with reserve prices is far more straightforward than many believe. In essence, it means that a player can be bought for any price, so long as that figure is not beneath their base value. For example, Chris Gayle can be purchased for £125,000, as is his minimum value. Once that price bracket disappears, however, he will no longer be available.

Each local icon player has already agreed a deal, giving them a price bracket. Therefore, a franchise will skip its turn in the draft as and when they come to a local icon. By way of example, Southern Brave will not get a draft pick in the second band of the £100,000 category because James Vince has already filled that spot.

Any new signings from the women's teams will also be announced on the night.

^{Chris Gayle is available with a minimum price of £125,000}

In the men’s competition, teams can sign overseas players who will be away on international duty for part of the tournament, and call in replacements. They will be paid on a pro rata basis. The likes of Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi may both be absent for much of the tournament due to Pakistan's Test series against England.

Franchises will also be able to call up replacements in the event of injury. Players must make it known prior to the draft if they want to be considered for a replacement position. Teams can only call in replacement players at the same salary band, or lower, of the unavailable or injured player.

If players miss out on a place in the men’s competition via the main draft, the only routes into a squad would be as a replacement player or via the wildcard selection next year.

Filling the shoes of Simon Katich: Our day as selectors at The Hundred mock draft

Who is making the decisions?

Shane Warne is coaching London Spirit, Stephen Fleming is in charge of Trent Rockets, Southern Brave will be looked after by Mahela Jayawardene, Gary Kirsten will lead Welsh Fire, Birmingham Phoenix have appointed Andrew MacDonald, Manchester Originals are managed by Simon Katich, Tom Moody has taken the reins at Oval Invincibles and former Australia coach Darren Lehmann will be based at Headingley with Northern Superchargers.

How can you watch it all?

The men's draft will take place on Sunday 20 October, shown live on Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event and Sky One from 7pm. There will also be a live stream on the BBC and Sky Sports websites, as well as on The Hundred’s official site.

Sky Sports are also broadcasting it on their Facebook and YouTube channels. Sky Sports News will provide all-day buildup.

There will be a host of sporting stars featured on the night. Ian Ward and Isa Guha will host Sky’s coverage, with support from Rob Key and Nasser Hussain, with special guests including World Cup winning legends Jofra Archer, Heather Knight and Ben Stokes.

BBC commentary will be provided by World Cup winners Ebony Rainford-Brent and Mark Wood alongside Test Match Special commentator Henry Moeran, while Eleanor Oldroyd will provide updates from the draft into Radio 5 Live.

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