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Mady Villiers (Oval Invincibles), Dan Lawrence (London Spirit), Sam Cook (Trent Rockets) and new signing, Matt Critchley (Welsh Fire) have all been retained by their respective clubs in the 2022 edition of The Hundred.

The 100-ball competition is set to commence its second year on August 3 at the Ageas Bowl. Today’s deadline day sees all eight men’s and women’s teams reveal which players from last year’s inaugural competition they are keeping hold of for 2022.

Over 150 men’s and women’s players from 2021 have been retained by their teams, including 28 centrally contracted England players and 19 international names confirmed so far.

Matt Critchley in action for the Welsh Fire

What Happens Next?

The eight sides will now turn their attention to planning which new players they want to sign up to strengthen their line-ups this year.

The men’s squads will fill their remaining slots at The Hundred Draft on 30 March, where they will take turns to pick from domestic and international cricketers expected to sign up. London Spirit will have the first pick followed by Welsh Fire and Manchester Originals. Welsh Fire will be the busiest side during The Draft, with seven slots to fill, including three overseas spots.

New signings, both domestic and overseas, will be announced by the women’s side on the same day, including any England women’s players who have signed for a new team in 2022.

For the first time, both men’s and women’s sides will be able to select an additional fourth overseas player for their squad in an overseas Wildcard Draft in June. Teams will still only be able to field three overseas players in their playing XI.

Sam Cook was signed in the Vitality Wildcard Draft by the Trent Rockets in 2021

The women’s teams will be finalised through the open market signing process, which concludes at the end of June, giving domestic players plenty of motivation to catch the eye during the Charlotte Edwards Cup. The men’s squads will be finalised in early July with the domestic Wildcard Draft pick.

Essex County Cricket Club are delighted to announce that Simon Harmer has committed his long-term future by signing a new contract extension.

The spinner, who joined the Club in 2017, has penned a four-year contract that will see him remain at Chelmsford until at the least the end of the 2026 season.

Harmer, 32, has had another stellar season taking 90 wickets for Essex across all formats, which included two 10-wicket hauls in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

These figures culminated in Harmer picking up the PCA Men’s Domestic Overall MVP for a third successive season after his all-round performances with bat and ball.

Harmer is delighted to have extended his time with Essex and said: “The Club gave me an opportunity in 2017 for which I will always be grateful.

“Everyone associated with the Club have always made me and my family feel welcome since arriving. I’m proud to have committed my future and looking forward to continue making Essex my home for the next five years.

“The progress this team has made under Anthony McGrath is a major factor to signing and I believe the Members and supporters should be excited about what’s to come from this talented group of players.

“I’m determined to continue developing my game across all formats and look forward to contributing to further success, both on and off the field, over the next five years.”

Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, said: “Harmy has been an important part of our success in recent years and I’m delighted he’s committed his long-term future to Essex.

“He’s an important leader for us on and off the field and this is a real signal of intent from both him and the Club.

“The talent we have within this team is incredible and his match-winning skills will be instrumental for our plans to achieve further success in the future.”

Chief Executive, John Stephenson, added: “Simon is fundamental to our plans moving forward and it’s a huge boost for the squad going into the new season.

“We are looking to build a squad that is capable of competing across all formats next season and having Simon alongside the likes of Tom, Alastair and new recruit, Matt Critchley, will make us formidable opponents in white and red-ball cricket.

“He has made a considerable impact on county cricket and I’m delighted that Members and supporters are going to be able to enjoy watching Simon Harmer in an Essex shirt over the course of the next five seasons.”

Shane Snater has committed his future to Essex County Cricket Club by signing a new two-year contract.

The 25-year-old bowler has extended his stay with the Club until 2023 after enjoying an impressive campaign in both red and white-ball cricket, taking 46 wickets across all three formats.

Following his Essex first-class debut against Worcestershire in April, Snater took 31 wickets in the LV= Insurance County Championship at an average of 16.48.

His standout performance came against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge where his career-best figures of 7/98 were one of two 5-wicket hauls in 2021.

Snater expressed after signing: “It’s been a special season for me after staking my claim in the first team and I feel that I’ve been able to reward the faith shown with wickets and important runs with the bat.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the next two years has in store for me both with Essex and the Netherlands. Hopefully, I can continue to play my part for the team so we can push to reclaim the County Championship title and experience more white-ball success.”

Head Coach, Anthony McGrath said: “Shane has had to be patient for his opportunity with the amount of talent we have available in our squad but he should be proud of the season he has had in an Essex shirt.

“We always knew the skills he could bring to the team and, although he missed some of the Royal London Cup with an injury, he was one of our most consistent performers throughout the season.

“Shane is going to be an important player for us next year and I’m looking forward to seeing him hone his skills and develop his game even further.”

Essex Cricket are supporting the Creating Hope Through Light campaign, a week-long event that hopes to raise awareness of suicide prevention.

On Tuesday 07 December, The Cloudfm County Ground will be lit up green and open between 4pm – 9pm as a place for people to come and take a moment to reflect on what has been a tough 18 months.

The Creating Hope Through Light campaign is a joint initiative from Mid and South Essex Health Care Partnership and Thurrock and Brentwood Mind and is part of their #LetsTalkAboutSuicideEssex movement. It aims at reducing the stigma around talking about suicide and encourages people to take the free online suicide prevention training, which can be done by clicking here.

The following places will be turning green during the week:

• Southend City Beach
• Basildon Sign
• The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford
• County Hall, Chelmsford
• Clacton Pier
• Clacton Town Hall
• Brentwood Town Hall
• Craig Tyler Trust Bench, Pitsea
• Colchester Castle
• Porters, Southend on Sea
• Civic Centre, Southend
• Colchester Town Hall
• Saffron Walden Castle
• Epping Forest Civic Offices

People can take part by joining the social media campaign by using the hashtag #CreatingHopeThroughLightEssex across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Essex County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that opening batter, Alastair Cook, has signed a two-year contract extension and will remain with the Club until the end of the 2023 season.

The 36-year-old is widely renowned as one of the greatest batters to ever play the game. During his International career, he made 161 Test appearances for England, scoring 12,472 runs at an average of 45.35.

The Academy graduate holds several International records, including England’s highest Test run-scorer (12,472), England’s most-capped Test Captain (59) and the most England Test centuries (33).

Since his retirement from International cricket, Cook has been instrumental to Essex’s success, contributing with important runs that helped secure the 2019 County Championship title, the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy and the 2021 Division Two title.

Upon signing his contract extension, Cook said: “I have really enjoyed my cricket here at Essex since my International retirement.

“We are lucky to have a fantastic dressing room and great coaching staff, led brilliantly by Anthony McGrath, and I’m looking forward to what hopefully will be another successful couple of years.”

Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, commented: “It’s great news that Cooky has committed his future to the Club.

“Alastair is still one of the best batters in the world and he’s so important for us both on and off the field. He has the ability to take the game away from the opponents in both red-ball and white-ball cricket, and that’s something every Head Coach wants in their team.

“He’s also a great role model for the younger lads coming through and has a wealth of knowledge that all the players in our dressing room, including the senior pros, tap into from time to time.”

Essex Cricket Chief Executive, John Stephenson, added: “Alastair is a vital part of the team and has been imperative to the success that the Club has achieved in recent years.

“We want to continue to challenge for the major honours and Alastair shares that hunger and passion. He’s been there and done it all and won near enough everything there is to win, so having that talent and experience in the squad will certainly help us compete in 2022 and beyond.”

Essex County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that top-order batter, Michael Pepper, has signed a two-year contract extension and will remain with the Club until at least the end of the 2023 season.

The 23-year-old had his most prolific season to date in 2021, featuring in 24 games across all formats. In red-ball cricket, he averaged 29.14, with his most important innings coming in the victory against Durham at Emirates Riverside, where he made his career-best first-class score of 92.

Pepper was the leading run-scorer for the Eagles in the Vitality Blast in 2021, with his highest score of 55* coming in the win against Somerset at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Upon signing his contract extension, Pepper said: “I’m really pleased to sign a new deal and commit two more years to this fantastic Club.

“I feel like 2021 was a big season for me. I managed to break into the First Team and play regular cricket, which was what I set out to do from a personal perspective.

“Next year I’ll be targeting more runs and more victories, which will hopefully lead to the side bringing some more silverware back to Chelmsford.”

Essex Cricket Chief Executive, John Stephenson, added: “Michael is a promising youngster who made a solid contribution during his first full season with the First Team.

“The coaching staff believe he has enormous potential and can be an Essex regular for years to come if he carries on developing the way he is.”

Following the announcement of five professionally contracted players in 2020/21, the ECB today announced that each of the Women’s Elite Regional Teams will have an additional sixth professional contract awarded for the 2021/22 season.

Sunrisers have renewed the contracts of Amara Carr, Kelly Castle, Naomi Dattani, Jo Gardner, and Cordelia Griffith, who all earned professional contracts last year, whilst the sixth contract for 2021/22 is awarded to 17-year-old off-spinning all-rounder Grace Scrivens.

Castle is a product of the Essex Academy and picked up the Bowler of the Year Award at the Sunsrisers’ End of Season Players Awards at Lord’s earlier this month.

Speaking on her renewal, Castle said: “I’m very excited and grateful to gain a retainer contract with Sunrisers. My first year being a professional was an incredible experience and I’m looking to build upon the hard work from last year into this coming winter.

“It’s an exciting time for the Essex women’s set up, with our new Head Coach, Paul Davidge, looking to build on the great work done before him and take us to the next level. We have a really strong group of girls coming through and everyone is working to push the team to their full potential.

“I am looking to push on with both the ball and bat next season and help both Essex and Sunrisers to a successful season. Looking further, it would be amazing to break into a Hundred side as it was a great competition for the women’s game last year.”

Speaking of the announcement of the six contracted players for the coming twelve-month period, Regional Head of Women’s Cricket for Sunrisers, Danni Warren, commented: “One of the highlights of the last year has been seeing how these professional players have benefitted from the opportunity to focus all of their efforts on being a cricketer. To have witnessed how the inaugural five have grown both on and off the field has been a pleasure – their hard work has underlined the potential we know they have and has deservedly earned them contract renewals.

In addition, we are delighted to have been able to offer Grace her first contract – she has developed into a crucial member of our side, and someone we want to grow Sunrisers around for many years to come.

Having finished the 2021 season with a number of positives everyone at Sunrisers cannot wait to start building towards what we hope will be a successful year in 2022.“

Essex’s right-arm seamer Sam Cook has been added to the England Lions squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.

The 24-year-old took an impressive 58 wickets at an average of 14.43 in the LV= Insurance County Championship last season, whilst he also took 20 Vitality Blast wickets at an average of 18.15 and played for Trent Rockets in the inaugural Hundred competition.

On his selection, Cook said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be added to the squad to tour Australia this winter.

“I feel like I had my best campaign to date and I was really pleased with how I bowled throughout the year.

“In past seasons I’ve bowled well and maybe not taken the number of wickets I probably deserved, so it’s nice to end with a solid amount and be rewarded with International recognition.

“I’m sure it will be a great experience and I’m looking forward to joining up with the guys and showing everyone what I can do.”

Sam will join the party when they depart on 4th November.

Lions squad to tour Australia:

Tom Abell (Somerset)
Josh Bohannon (Lancashire)
James Bracey (Gloucestershire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Sam Cook (Essex)
Mason Crane (Hampshire)
Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire)
Ben Foakes (Surrey)
Alex Lees (Durham)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Liam Norwell (Warwickshire)
Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Rob Yates (Warwickshire)