Teams have been negotiating with players and their representatives for several weeks, and had the option to retain up to 10 men's players who held contracts at any stage in the 2022 season - even if they never made an appearance - at a mutually-agreed salary band.
Each team has one Right-To-Match (RTM) card at the draft, which can be used to re-sign a player from their 2022 squad, so long as they can match the salary for which another team has tried to sign them. Picks will be made in reverse order of 2022 finishing position, with Welsh Fire picking first and Trent Rockets last.
Teams can still field three overseas players in their XI, but will no longer have a fourth in their squad. As a result, many will prioritise availability over star power. New Zealand's clear international window - and white-ball series in England immediately after the Hundred - means that their players could be in high demand, with Trent Boult and Devon Conway among those expected to be picked early in the draft.
The retention window closes at midnight on February 14, and the ECB are due to announce which players have been retained on Thursday morning.
Topley, Willey, Stone on the move
A handful of England fast bowlers have either turned down retention offers or been released. Oval Invincibles were frustrated when Topley pulled out of the final weeks of the 2022 season to give himself a break before the T20 World Cup, and he is expected to be a lucrative draft signing.Stone was not offered a retention by Birmingham Phoenix after missing last year's tournament through injury, while Willey has opted to leave Northern Superchargers after spending the first two seasons of the tournament with them. He has a rare and attractive skillset as a left-arm seam-bowling allrounder.
Lintott, Parkinson lead spin departures
Manchester Originals have given Tom Hartley, the England Lions left-arm spinner, a pay rise: he is understood to have signed a £75,000 contract with them. As a result, they were unable to agree terms with Matt Parkinson, who had a frustrating 2022 summer but remains one of the leading white-ball spinners in English cricket.Keeper-batters in demand
Duckett leads a handful of wicketkeeper-batter options who could be early picks in the draft. He has been Welsh Fire's only consistent run-scorer in the first two seasons of the tournament but is understood to be on the move.Leading England players stay put
ESPNcricinfo revealed last month that the contracting mechanism for centrally-contracted men's players has been revamped, with each team allocated a single multi-format England player and those on red or white-ball deals entering the draft system.Teams prioritise overseas availability
A number of overseas players are set to be retained on relatively low salaries, including Wayne Parnell and David Wiese at Northern Superchargers, Daniel Sams and Colin Munro at Trent Rockets, Josh Little at Manchester Originals and Finn Allen at Southern Brave. The CPL is expected to start in mid-August, while clashes with some bilateral international series means that teams are again prioritising availability over star power.Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan are expected to be retained by Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets respectively, but will need to be partially replaced due to other commitments.
Glenn Maxwell could be retained by London Spirit but several teams are waiting for details on the schedule of Australia's white-ball tour to South Africa, which is due to start in late August. The tour is due to comprise three T20Is and five ODIs, but the order and exact dates will determine availability for the Hundred.
New Zealand's players will be in high demand at the draft. Conway's links with Mike Hussey and Stephen Fleming through Chennai Super Kings could see him earn a deal with either Welsh Fire or Southern Brave, while Boult will likely command a £125,000 deal if he puts himself forward for the draft. Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi could also win contracts.
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