David Warner, Marcus Stoinis and Sophie Devine have pulled out of the inaugural season of the Hundred according to a Espn report. Warner and Stoinis were both contracted by the Southern Brave on deals worth £100,000 and £80,000 respectively, but have opted to withdraw from the competition. Both players have been named in Australia's preliminary squad for white-ball tours to the Caribbean and Bangladesh, which overlap with the Hundred's window from July 21-August 21, but are expected to withdraw in order to spend time with their families.
Trevor Hohns, Australia's national selector, added six players to the preliminary squad for those tours following discussions with those initially named. "During the course of those discussions, it has become clear that recent experiences abroad, including but not limited to extended periods in bio-secure hubs and hard quarantine, have had an impact on the health and wellbeing of some players and their families," he said."It is obviously disappointing to lose players with the ability of David and Marcus, but the realities of Covid mean there are practicalities that are difficult for some overseas players to overcome," the ECB said in a statement to ESPNcricinfo. "Replacement overseas players will be signed by Southern Brave, and we look forward to the Hundred showcasing world-class cricket this summer."
Andre Russell, of West Indies is likely to miss the first half of the tournament's group stage on international duty, during West Indies' home T20I series against Australia and Pakistan, but the Brave hope he will be available for their first three or four games plus the knockouts. They are lining up a temporary replacement for the start of the Hundred, likely to be an overseas player in the Vitality Blast. This is the second time that Warner has pulled out of the Hundred, after he initially did so in March 2020 citing "family and personal reasons". Stoinis was lined up as his replacement before the tournament was postponed to 2021 and was then retained before February's draft, in which Warner was re-signed as a first-round pick. Seven other Australian men's players - Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn, D'Arcy Short and Nathan Coulter-Nile - are contracted for the tournament. Lynn and Coulter-Nile are expected to fulfil their deals at Northern Superchargers and Trent Rockets respectively after missing out on Australia's enlarged squad of the caribbean.
