LONDON: Welsh Fire add­ed former Australia captain Steve Smith to their squad while defending champions Oval Invincibles bolstered their ranks with the signing of Rashid Khan, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s franchise-based The Hun­d­red league said on Tuesday.

Teams in the 100-ball format can retain 10 players and have been permitted to make one new overseas signing each, before completing their roster by signing players in The Hundred Draft next month and the Wildcard Draft in May.

Smith was set to play for Welsh Fire in the inaugural sea­son of the competition, bef­ore it was delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I was due to be involved with The Hundred at the beg­inning of the competition so it’s great to finally be able to make it to Wales,” Smith said.

“I’ve watched The Hun­dred from afar and I can’t wait to be involved. It looks a lot of fun and obviously the cricket is world class, with talent at every team.”

The Hundred’s 2025 season will run from Aug 5-31.

Afghanistan captain Ras­hid’s acquisition will further strengthen back-to-back title-winning Oval Invincibles, while New Zealand bowler Trent Boult has been drafted in by Birmingham Phoenix.

England’s Zak Crawley was not retained by London Spirit, while Ben Stokes will not participate in the competition, with the England men’s Test captain recovering from a torn left hamstring.

In the women’s competition, two-time winners Oval Invincibles have signed Aust­r­alian captain Meg Lanning, who played for London Spirit in 2024.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025