Georgia Voll: Top Pick in Women's Hundred Draft

Australian opening batter Georgia Voll has concluded an amazing week by signing a valuable contract with the Birmingham Phoenix team in the Women’s Hundred draft.

Young Australian player Voll is set to participate in her first tournament after Oval Invincibles, Welsh Fire, and London Spirit used their right to match offers to keep Paige Scholfield, Sophia Dunkley, and Heather Knight, respectively, resisting Birmingham’s offers. All four players are in the highest salary bracket for women, earning £65,000.

Voll had a notable debut on the international stage in December, filling in for Alyssa Healy in Australia’s home series against India. Recently, Voll scored 55 and an unbeaten 99 as a late addition to the WPL team UP Warriorz, replacing Sri Lanka’s captain Chamari Athapaththu, who left for international duties.

Georgia Voll

Healy, the Australian captain, who has been recovering from foot and knee injuries since last year and had to miss the WPL, was not picked after entering the draft with a base price of £50,000.

Voll is one of three Australian players in the Phoenix’s overseas allocation, along with all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who was retained, and bowler Megan Schutt, who was signed directly before the draft.

However, fast bowler Issy Wong is leaving Birmingham for London Spirit. Wong has had a challenging period since her international debut in 2022 at age 20. She played for Phoenix, her home team, in the first four seasons of the tournament. However, issues with her run-up led to her being dropped in 2023, and she played only four times last year, taking one wicket in each season.

Wong, who was seen as a key figure for the 2023 Ashes despite not playing, last played for England in a total of 17 appearances on the tour of Ireland last September. Spirit acquired Wong for £16,000, in the third-lowest salary category in the women’s competition.

Southern Brave, the champions of 2023 and last year’s last-place finishers, used their first pick at £36,000 to secure Sophie Devine. Devine chose to skip this year’s WPL and New Zealand’s current home series against Sri Lanka for a wellbeing break. Devine’s last competitive match was on January 24 for Wellington in the Women’s Super Smash. South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon will join her at Southern Brave, returning to the team for £20,000.

West Indies star Deandra Dottin will return to Manchester Originals for £50,000, having played for the team in 2022 and 2023 after initially being with London Spirit in 2021. Young wicketkeeper-batter Seren Smale joins her from Birmingham Phoenix for £36,000.

Scholfield’s significant deal to stay with Oval Invincibles could indicate a positive turn after her international career faced early setbacks. Scholfield was chosen for England’s tour of South Africa last year but returned home without playing due to an ankle injury during training.

Scholfield, brought in to boost England’s middle order after her international debut on the Ireland tour, scored 190 runs in the Hundred last year, with a strike rate of 137.68 and a top score of 71 off 40 balls. She was also the fifth-highest scorer in the domestic T20 competition with 259 runs at an average of 43.16 and a strike rate of 140.00.

Invincibles’ overseas team of Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, and Amanda-Jade Wellington was already set before the draft. Off-spinning all-rounder Mady Villiers leaves Oval this year after four seasons, drafted by Southern Brave for £16,000.

After playing two seasons each with Northern Superchargers and Birmingham Phoenix, leg-spinner Katie Levick is moving to Welsh Fire, picked up in the £12,500 bracket.

Richa Ghosh, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter, was not drafted after entering with a base price of £65,000.

In total, 110 overseas and 120 domestic players entered the women’s draft for 29 available spots, including four overseas and 25 domestic player spots.

Each of the eight teams has two remaining spots to be filled by wildcards closer to the competition’s start on August 5. These spots will be in the lowest salary bracket of £10,000.