Domestic crickets newest competition the hundred has been highly controversial since the ECB announced radical plans to change the face of the sport with a new ‘women and children friendly’ format to rival the coinciding T20 competition with a hundred ball ten over tournament between 8 newly created teams wearing bright kits sponsored by a snack company with fancy Americanised names and a draft system that allows each team to pick in turn from a list of available players.
On Sunday night the Draft was aired live on Sky Sports and in a show stretched out over 3 hours our very own Trent Rockets got to pick their fifteen players for the 2020 summer season and having the luxury of first pick Coach Stephen Flemming added Bangladeshi all rounder Rashid Khan, currently ranked as the worlds best T20 bowler to a team that already included Joe Root as the Central Contract player and Alex Hales and Harry Gurney as the two ‘local icon’ selections.
Khan will pick up £125,000 for his four week stint at the Rockets next June with Australian batsmen D’Arcy Short also netting the same salary with Hales and Lewis Gregory of Somerset rewarded with £100,000 each.
Both Gurney and Aussie bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile will pocket £75,000 with Notts Captain Steven Mullaney and spinner Matthew Carter on a whopping £60,000 each as the Rockets team who will be based at Trent Bridge is heavily based on current Nottinghamshire players who have done so well in recent T20 seasons.
Left armer Luke Wood & wicket keeper Tom Moores will take £50,000 each whilst England International Dawid Malan and Worcestershire’s Ben Cox pocket £40,000 with the final round picks of ‘the Bulwell Bomber’ Luke Fletcher and another local boy in ex-England International Luke Wright both netting £30,000 to make the squad.
There is one final wildcard round of picks next year but Trent Rockets will already feel they have a strong side to compete in the first ever hundred competition that kicks off in the summer of 2020.
Full 15 man squad: Joe Root (Central Contract), Alex Hales & Harry Gurney (local icons), Rashid Khan, D’Arcy Short & Nathan Coulter-Nile (Overseas), Lewis Gregory, Steven Mullaney, Matthew Carter, Luke Wood, Tom Moores, Dawid Malan, Ben Cox, Luke Fletcher, Luke Wright.
*Main image @TrentBridge the iconic home venue for Trent Rockets next summer.
