David Warner will return to Lord’s for the first time since a heated incident in the pavilion during the 2023 Ashes series after being selected by London Spirit in the Hundred player draft.
The Australia batsman alleged that he was abused by MCC members in the Lord’s pavilion after Jonny Bairstow was run out by Alex Carey, having strayed out of his crease when he thought the ball was dead on the final day of the second Ashes Test. The incident led to boos from the crowd and an altercation in the pavilion between Warner and some MCC members, who confronted both him and Usman Khawaja in the Long Room as the players walked off for lunch.
Footage from the incident showed Warner being held back by the security team as tensions boiled over and there were also reports that he was confronted on the stairs that lead to the players’ lunch room. The ugly scenes led Cricket Australia to call for a full investigation and for MCC to issue an unreserved apology. After their investigation an MCC member was expelled from the club and another was given a 4½-year ban, while a third was given a 30-month suspension.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith have since revealed a frosty exchange between Bairstow and Warner during the lunch break, with Bairstow asking the Australia players: “Are you happy with that?” In reply Warner said: “Yeah, very.”
Overseas players in the men’s Hundred
Warner, 38, retired from international cricket last year but continues to play in T20 franchise leagues and will play under Justin Langer at London Spirit, having been selected in the £120,000 salary bracket by his former Australia head coach.
James Anderson was snubbed in the draft after the 42-year-old put his name forward for selection, having decided to return to playing for the first time since his international retirement last summer. Having not been picked up in the draft he may now feature in the One-Day Cup as well as the County Championship and T20 Blast for Lancashire, with whom he has signed a one-year contract.
At the other end of the spectrum, the 16-year-old Rocky Flintoff also went unsigned, despite having impressed for the England Lions across the winter. The son of the former England all-rounder and England Lions and Northern Superchargers head coach Andrew, Flintoff signed his first professional contract with Lancashire last summer but has yet to play any T20 cricket and none of the eight teams were prepared to take a punt on him, with only 15 squad spaces.
The England bowler Mark Wood also went unselected. The fast bowler is sidelined with a hamstring injury and will see a specialist next week to determine whether he will need surgery before the India Test series in the summer, and the Hundred teams would have been concerned about both his availability and his fitness. The England Test captain, Ben Stokes, had already ruled himself out of playing in this year’s Hundred to manage his workload before the Ashes at the end of the year.
Other big names to be signed in the draft were Jamie Overton for London Spirit, the Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad for Manchester Originals and David Willey for Trent Rockets. They were all in the top £200,000 salary band. The England Test opener Zak Crawley will play for Flintoff Sr at Headingley having picked up a £120,000 contract, where he will be joined by his England team-mate Dan Lawrence.
In the women’s tournament, Birmingham Phoenix secured the Australia batter Georgia Voll, having tried first to sign all-rounder Paige Schofield, only to be scuppered by Oval Invincibles, for whom she played last year and who were able to keep the 29-year-old by using their “right to match” option.
Phoenix then tried to sign the England opener Sophia Dunkley but were usurped by Welsh Fire, before losing out on Heather Knight after London Spirit used their right to match. Phoenix finally signed Voll in the top salary bracket of £65,000, at their fourth attempt at a first pick.
The other three available overseas slots in the women’s tournament were filled by the West Indies’ Deandra Dottin (Manchester Originals), South Africa’s Chloe Tryon (Southern Brave) and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine (Southern Brave).
It is likely this will be the last year that there is a player draft in this form, with the new private owners of the eight teams understood to be pushing for it to change to more of an auction, similar to the one that will take place for the Indian Premier League from next year.
Shares in the eight teams were recently sold by the ECB, raising more than £500million, which will be distributed among the 18 counties and the recreational game.
