Ahead of the 2024 edition of The Hundred – which is live on Sky Sports between July 23 and August 18 – we asked pundit Charles Dagnall to pick some players to keep an eye on this year.
Daggers has looked beyond the star names and selected young or unheralded cricketers who may make an impact over the next month, so read on to see who he has plumped for.
The tournament starts on Tuesday with the Oval Invincibles vs Birmingham Phoenix double-header at The Kia Oval – the women’s match begins at 2.45pm with the men’s taking place from 6.30pm.
Men’s competition
Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix, 20)
Bethell has scored four fifties in the Vitality Blast this season for Birmingham Bears with a strike-rate of nearly 160. He has been smashing it in the County Championship as well and is a more than useful left-arm spinner, too.
I sat up and took notice when he smashed a quickfire half-century for England U19s against South Africa in the 2022 World Cup. This has been his breakout year, though, and I think he can play all three formats. He will be an in-demand cricketer for some time.
I believe he will be an integral part of the Phoenix side. Where you bat him when you have Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali etc, I don’t know.
Josh Hull (Manchester Originals, 19)
I like this kid, I really do. He is 6ft 7in and while he bowls mid-80s now I think he can get quicker. He has the ability to swing the ball into the right-hander and has taken regular wickets in white-ball cricket.
What stands out for me, though, was when he bowled the final over for Leicestershire in last year’s win over Hampshire in the One-Day Cup final. Hampshire needed eight to win and he only conceded five runs and took a wicket.
For a youngster to keep his cool and win the game for his county shows you a lot – that he can remain calm under pressure and has the skills as well.
Tawanda Muyeye (Oval Invincibles, 23)
If you look at this guy’s record, it doesn’t jump off the page but I think he has real talent. All the shots and wonderfully fast hands and wrists – he can manipulate the ball into weird and wonderful areas.
There is power, placement and craft. From close to off stump, he can thrash you through backward point or down to deep third with great hand-eye coordination. He can go down the ground and over the leg-side as well, while he is also rapid between the sticks.
With no Jason Roy at the Oval Invincibles this year, maybe Muyeye will get a go in the top three.
Ben Green (Welsh Fire, 26)
This guy does all the dirty jobs, the tough jobs, the horrible jobs. He bowls in the middle overs and at the death, while he also has to get teams he plays for out of holes by batting at No 7 or No 8.
He took 31 wickets for champions Somerset in the Blast in 2023 and has 21 so far this year. He has the knack of breaking partnerships and is a better cricketer than people give him credit for.
He bowls medium pace but is tall and gets a bit of extra bounce. He can bowl off-pace deliveries, yorkers, cutters – he has all of those skills and the ability to hit the ball a long way as well.
Plus, he has the best mullet and moustache combo in the entire country. For that alone, he is worth watching.
David Payne (Welsh Fire, 33)
I think this lad is unfortunate not have have 50 one-day caps for England by now – he has only played once for his country, against Netherlands a couple of years back.
He is the second-highest wicket-taker in the Blast this season with 25 for Gloucestershire. He takes loads of wickets in the powerplay, swinging the ball at decent pace, in the high 80s. Yet he can also bowl cutters and is epic at the death.
In 177 T20s, he has 225 wickets and an economy rate of just over eight, which, considering when he bowls, is just outstanding.
Women’s competition
Seren Smale (Birmingham Phoenix, 19)
I watched this young wicketkeeper-batter in the England U19s in South Africa last year and she has really progressed since, playing a bit for England A . I think she has got the game to go far.
She has a chip on her shoulder – and I mean that as a compliment – and great belief in herself. There is power in her batting, plus all the innovative scoops and paddles. Add in a fantastic work ethic as well.
I think she will be pushing for an England spot next year.
Ellie Anderson (London Spirit, 20)
Anderson is an opening bowler who hits the pitch hard and has the ability to swing the ball away from the right-hander. She has a great change of pace as well with slower balls out of the back of the hand.
Her skills have been fine-tuned with more exposure in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup with Western Storm. Spirit badly needed to bolster their seam-bowling ranks and I think Anderson will enjoy bowling at Lord’s.
Kathryn Bryce (Manchester Originals, 26)
The Scotland captain has had an incredible 12 months, including being picked up by Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League. She opened the bowling with her seam bowling, delivering in-swing and then batted in the middle order. Playing in front of big crowds in the WPL will have done her the world of good.
She then skippered Scotland to qualification for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year, while she has just helped The Blaze win the Charlotte Edwards Cup, hitting 62 in the win over the South East Stars in the final. Bryce had a sensational tournament, amassing nearly 500 runs and scoring five fifties.
The Originals need runs in The Hundred and will expect plenty from her. I think she will deliver.
Davina Perrin (Northern Superchargers, 17)
She was ‘Miss Irrelevant’ – to use NFL parlance – as the last player picked in the draft, which staggered me as this kid is something special. She has shots all around the ground, is brilliant in the field and doesn’t bowl nearly enough of her lively medium pace.
After scoring steadily in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, I hope she gets an opportunity in the top order for Superchargers as when she goes after the ball, watch out! She only needs one innings to get the confidence flowing.
Tilly Corteen-Coleman (Southern Brave, 16)
Charlotte Edwards, the Southern Brave coach, certainly knows her onions. We were all a little bit ‘who?’ when she selected Corteen-Coleman in the draft but this left-arm spinner has since churned out the wickets for South East Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup – 16 of them at an average of 13.31. Her economy rate was just 5.15 as well.
Her fingers go over the top of the ball and she is a proper spinner. She has great control and no shortage of confidence.
Being in among the Southern Brave squad is almost like being in an international set-up, so strong are the players. Even if she doesn’t play a huge amount, she will benefit massively from being in that environment. But I think she will play. She is easily good enough to.
Katie George (Trent Rockets, 25)
George got some England appearances early in her career due to her left-arm seam bowling but then had a couple of years out with horrific back problems, it was a horrible time for her. But she has come back as a better, stronger and smarter bowler with great variations to go with her pace, offering cutters and slower balls.
She has also come to the fore with the bat and is brilliant in the field, especially in the deep. It is a great story of someone who has been down on their luck but worked so hard to get back. I think she should be looked at for a return to England colours soon enough.
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