{"id":21776,"date":"2023-03-23T21:30:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T21:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/23\/the-hundred-2023-draft-sophia-dunkley-and-afridi-sign-for-welsh-fire\/"},"modified":"2023-03-23T21:30:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T21:30:48","slug":"the-hundred-2023-draft-sophia-dunkley-and-afridi-sign-for-welsh-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/23\/the-hundred-2023-draft-sophia-dunkley-and-afridi-sign-for-welsh-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hundred 2023 draft: Sophia Dunkley and Afridi sign for Welsh Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Pakistan pace pair Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, all-rounder David Willey and England batter Sophia Dunkley are all heading to Cardiff for this year\u2019s Hundred as Welsh Fire rebuilt their underperforming teams at the 2023 draft.<\/p>\n

Fire finished bottom in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s tournaments last year and cleared the decks during the recent retention period, retaining skeleton squads as they dominated a trolley dash that was carried live on television for the first time since the inaugural draft in 2019.<\/p>\n

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The men\u2019s side landed three overseas stars, with the electric Afridi signed for \u00a3100,000 before the new head coach Mike Hussey splashed another \u00a375,000 on his compatriot Rauf. The duo are both capable of clearing 90mph and were picked up despite some uncertainty over their international commitments during the tournament.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s six-hitting specialist Glenn Phillips is also bound for Sophia Gardens, while the Somerset captain Tom Abell and the experienced Willey both landed maximum \u00a3125,000 contracts and will become immediate dressing room leaders at a team that looked rudderless during a winless campaign in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pace like fire for the Welsh Fire with Haris Rauf joining Shaheen and then you throw in Phillips, who smashes it out of the ground,\u201d said the former England captain Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are looking much, much stronger and have made some really good signings. They\u2019re starting again and they\u2019re doing it with pace and power-hitting.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s competition, Dunkley was signed up as the Fire\u2019s first pick in the top band of \u00a331,250. Gareth Breese\u2019s side initially made moves for Kiwi Sophie Devine and England opener Danni Wyatt, but they headed back to Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave respectively via the right-to-match option.<\/p>\n

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<\/svg><\/span>Pakistan\u2019s Shaheen Shah Afridi (right), seen here for Lahore Qalandars, will head to Cardiff for this year\u2019s Hundred.<\/span> Photograph: Aamir Qureshi\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dunkley was not among Brave\u2019s four retained players and represents something of a coup as one of the country\u2019s most bankable white-ball players.<\/p>\n

She will be joined by South Africa\u2019s tearaway quick Shabnim Ismail, a two-time tournament winner with Southern Brave.<\/p>\n

Welsh Fire women\u2019s captain Tammy Beaumont told Sky: \u201cI\u2019m really ecstatic with the team we\u2019ve put together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already had a couple of texts from the girls saying they are ready to get going. With our top two picks we wanted one gun overseas player and one gun England player. Sophia Dunkley is one of them, she has gone through the roof recently in terms of her performances, and Shabnim was number one on our list to fill that other spot. As captain if I need a wicket I can look around and know she\u2019s going to get me one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitch Marsh picked up a \u00a3125,000 payday from London Spirit while his fellow Australians Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis went unsold having gone in at the top reserve.<\/p>\n

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