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Zak Crawley has suffered the latest blow of a challenging winter, losing his Hundred contract with London Spirit in a squad clearout by their new men’s coach, Justin Langer.
Crawley missed the Hundred in 2024 after breaking a finger in England’s Test series against West Indies, and has struggled for form since making his comeback in Pakistan. He made 78 in his first Test back in Multan but scored 113 runs in his next 10 innings and was comprehensively worked over by Matt Henry in New Zealand, dismissed by him in all six innings of the tour.
Last month, he went to South Africa in a bid to rediscover his form but was dropped by his SA20 franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape after 88 runs in eight innings. Now, he has lost his spot as London Spirit’s designated central-contract player – a position worth £200,000 in 2025 – and will likely head into next month’s draft, with Langer hoping to sign Jamie Smith in that spot instead.
The ECB will hold a mini ‘central contract draft’ later this week after Spirit and Welsh Fire opted for a reshuffle, with the two teams understood to have lined up Smith and Chris Woakes respectively. Crawley – along with Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed – is also available at that stage, though Fire have kept hold of several top-order batting options including Jonny Bairstow, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and new signing Steven Smith.
Spirit have also released Dan Lawrence, who will be replaced as captain by Kane Williamson after overseeing three wins in the last two seasons, though have kept hold of Crawley’s England team-mate Ollie Pope. Langer will make the first pick in the men’s draft on March 12, with Jamie Overton, Reece Topley and David Willey among the leading domestic players set to be available.
The ECB confirmed which players have been retained for 2025 on Tuesday morning, with each men’s and women’s team allowed to re-sign up to 10 squad members from last summer. Most teams have also used the new direct signing model to bring in a new overseas player ahead of the draft, though four women’s teams opted to retain the same overseas trio.
Spirit have played the system in the women’s Hundred to bring back 11 members of their title-winning squad from last year. Heather Knight, their captain, has not officially re-signed but will fill their vacant £65,000 spot at the draft, with Spirit able to bring her back via the right-to-match (RTM) mechanism if another team tries to sign her first.
Their biggest decision was to prioritise the retention of Australia’s Grace Harris – who missed last year through injury – ahead of her compatriot Meg Lanning. Lanning has instead crossed the Thames via a direct signing, and will link up with her Delhi Capitals coach Jonathan Batty at Oval Invincibles, the 2021 and 2022 winners.
In the men’s Hundred, Overton’s late decision to leave Manchester Originals came as a surprise. He was expected to stay at Old Trafford on a £200,000 contract but a change of heart saw Originals offer him £120,000 in order to keep a top-end spot free for an overseas player. He has therefore opted to leave, with Spirit and Trent Rockets potential suitors.
The three teams that reached the knockout stages last year – Invincibles, Southern Brave and Birmingham Phoenix – have retained the maximum 10 players, including the direct signings of Rashid Khan, Faf du Plessis and Trent Boult respectively. Fire have had the biggest clearout, keeping only six players – all of whom are predominantly batters.
Trent Rockets, the 2022 champions, have also had an overhaul, with captain Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, Alex Hales and Rashid among their departures. Topley is leaving Northern Superchargers, Rehan and George Garton are leaving Brave, and Invincibles have let Dawid Malan go.
As ESPNcricinfo reported last week, several teams have leaned on their new investors in recruitment. After concerns over Nicholas Pooran’s availability, Originals signed Heinrich Klaasen, who represents their new co-owners’ SA20 franchise, Durban’s Super Giants. Rashid, du Plessis and Smith are also joining teams affiliated to franchises they play for elsewhere.
In the women’s Hundred, Sophia Dunkley is expected to stay at Fire via an RTM, while Issy Wong, Emma Lamb and Paige Scholfield are the biggest names available among domestic players. Phoenix, who have brought in Megan Schutt from Invincibles as a direct signing, will pick first and are understood to be considering Georgia Voll as an option.
The Hundred will run from August 5-31 this year, with the ECB treating 2025 as a transitional season. The competition’s eight teams were valued at a combined £975 million at the end of a privatisation process and the teams will become franchises – run as joint-ventures with host counties – ahead of the 2026 edition.
England men’s Test players should be available for most of the season after their series against India, though ESPNcricinfo revealed on Monday that Ben Stokes has opted to skip the Hundred with his eye on the Ashes in Australia.
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