The Hundred Draft: D’Arcy Short and Dawid Malan among potential sleeper picks
Written by News on 20/10/2019
There will be plenty of big-money acquisitions in Sunday’s inaugural Hundred Draft but there will also be some lesser-priced signings that could prove very shrewd indeed.
So, we have looked beyond Chris Gayle, David Warner and Kagiso Rabada for some potential sleeper picks – those who may not cost you a fortune but who could make a major impact…
Dawid Malan (no reserve price)
The England and Middlesex batsman is a proven performer in Twenty20 cricket so why should it be any different in the 100-ball format? Malan smashed 78 on his T20I debut against South Africa in 2017 and has only failed to pass fifty once in five England innings in that format, a run he will be looking to extend during the five-match series in New Zealand next month. Only Babar Azam and Tom Banton managed more runs than Malan in the 2019 Vitality Blast, with the left-hander’s finest knock his 117 from 57 balls against Surrey in front of the Sky Sports cameras. A man for the big occasion, Malan could be a man in demand on Sunday night.
Riki Wessels (no reserve price)
When it comes to short-form cricket in the UK, Wessels is a gun – since Twenty20 started in 2003, only Luke Wright has managed more runs than Worcestershire’s former Nottinghamshire and Northants batsman, the son of ex-Australia and South Africa star Kepler Wessels. The 33-year-old managed over 450 T20 runs in his first season at New Road, helping the Rapids to back-to-back Blast finals, and could be an astute acquisition for sides with top-order spots to fill. His previous success at Trent Bridge may tempt Trent Rockets into pairing him up with Alex Hales once again.
D’Arcy Short (£50k reserve price)
Australian Short was named Vitality Blast Player of the Year at this month’s PCA awards after a stellar summer with Durham, the 29-year-old managing 483 runs in 12 matches, including four fifties, as well as 13 wickets with his left-arm spin. It’s in the Big Bash where Short has been sensational, though.
The destructive opener has topped the tournament’s run-scoring charts for the past two seasons with Hobart Hurricanes, slamming 572 runs during the 2017-18 campaign – including the highest-ever score in the competition of 122 not out – and then 637 last time around as he passed fifty six times in 15 innings. Over both seasons he tonked the most sixes and with spin bowling also in his armoury, Short represents a dual-threat.
Reece Topley (No reserve price)
The giant left-arm paceman, whose career has been blighted by injury, is reportedly close to signing for Surrey after opting not to extend his short-term contract with Sussex and he could be toasting two new deals with a spot in The Hundred looking highly plausible.
Left-arm seamers are a valuable commodity – Mitchell Starc and Mohammad Amir should prove that on Sunday night – and if a franchise signs Topley they would be getting one without eating into their overseas contingent. The 25-year-old was a big part of England’s white-ball teams in 2016 before suffering a stress fracture of the back and he managed 17 wickets in 11 Blast outings for Sussex in 2019.
Laurie Evans (No reserve price)
Topley teamed with Evans on the south coast and saw the batsman continue his fine white-ball form. The former Surrey and Warwickshire man notched 358 runs as Sussex reached the quarter-finals having hit a tournament-leading 614 the year before as the Sharks made the final.
Evans’ exploits with the Hove county have earned him some T20 gigs around the world this year – he was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the Bangladesh Premier League and then, after a tepid Pakistan Super League campaign, he rebounded in the Caribbean Premier League with a decent showing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Evans scored 55 in his final appearance against Trinbago Knight Riders, even giving his Sussex colleague Chris Jordan some tap!
Dan Christian (£60k reserve price)
Teams will have to fork out at least £60k to land Australian veteran Christian but it may prove worth it. He captained Nottinghamshire to the Vitality Blast title in 2017 having previously won the crown with Hampshire in 2010, while he is a two-time Big Bash League winner, once with Brisbane Heat and then last winter with Melbourne Renegades.
Christian gives the ball a whack – he has the highest score by a batsman in T20 cricket to bat at No 5 or lower, striking 129 for Middlesex against Kent in 2014 – chips in with wickets and, crucially, is a contender to captain, something all Hundred sides must take into account this weekend.
George Munsey (No reserve price)
The Oxford-born Scotland international may have hit form at the perfect time. Munsey, who has played domestically in England for Northants and Leicestershire, clobbered 14 sixes in a recent 127 from 56 balls against Netherlands, with his 41-ball ton the fifth-quickest in all T20 internationals.
The 26-year-old is currently in action for Scotland in the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE and warmed up for the event by belting a rapid-fire 86 against Ireland. Munsey is unlikely to go early in the draft, you feel, but is surely an option to help sides round out their squads later on.
The Hundred Draft – Live will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event & Sky One from 7pm on Sunday.
It will also be available via Sky Sports’ Facebook and YouTube channels, as well as live on the Sky Sports app and streamed on skysports.com.
(c) Sky Sports 2019: The Hundred Draft: D’Arcy Short and Dawid Malan among potential sleeper picks
