Injury strikes Harris, Molineux as Aussie pair get Hundred call-ups

Grace Harris and Sophie Molineux have been ruled out of The Hundred due to injury, with Australian teammates handed late call-ups to the English tournament in their place.

Harris will miss her planned stint with London Spirit due after aggravating a calf injury, and the hard-hitting allrounder will now focus on getting fit ahead of a packed 2024-25 schedule for the Australian team.

Molineux meanwhile has been forced to pull out of what would have been her first season with Manchester Originals.

The allrounder suffered an acute rib fracture after being struck in the chest by a ball while batting last week.

She is not expected to return for up to eight weeks, which would put her on track to be available for Australia's first assignment of a busy summer in mid-September.

That three-game T20I series against New Zealand in Mackay and Brisbane will serve has preparation for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, which will begin on October 3.

Kim Garth will replace Molineux at Manchester.

The England and Wales Cricket Board overnight confirmed Harris' place at London Spirit would be filled by India star Deepti Sharma, but veteran Aussie bowler Megan Schutt will also head to the UK to join the club as a replacement player.

The Hundred regulations allow clubs to have a fourth overseas player on their books as cover, although only three can be named in the same XI.

With Sharma unavailable for the start of the tournament due to the Asia Cup, the Spirit have also called in Sydney Sixers allrounder Erin Burns as cover for that period.

Garth and Schutt's call-ups will have a flow-on affect to the upcoming Australia A v India A series in Queensland, due to begin early next month.

The pair had both been named in the Australia A T20 and ODI squads for that multi-format series but will now be replaced by Maitlan Brown and Kate Peterson.

Brown was already named in the one-day squad but will now join Australia A ahead of the T20Is, while Peterson was initially only included for the four-day red-ball game.

The 2024 edition of The Hundred will be dominated by Australian women, with 18 in total named across the eight clubs.

Schutt will join former captain Meg Lanning and Heat wicketkeeper Georgia Redmayne at the Spirit, while Garth will feature alongside Beth Mooney at the Originals.

Of Australia's 17 nationally contracted players, only Tayla Vlaeminck, Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Healy and Darcie Brown were not drafted for The Hundred or picked up as replacement players.

Brown is continuing her recovery from a foot injury but is on track to be available for T20 World Cup selection, while McGrath and Vlaeminck will take part in the Australia A series.

Following the Hundred, six Aussies will head to the Caribbean Premier League from August 21-29 with Lanning and Jonassen to represent Trinbago Knight Riders, Redmayne, Wellington and Laura Harris the Barbados Royals and Burns the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Aussies in The Hundred 2024

Women

Birmingham Phoenix: Ellyse Perry (A$76,000)

London Spirit: Meg Lanning (A$95,000), Georgia Redmayne (A$33,000), Megan Schutt (replacement player), Erin Burns (until late July)

Manchester Originals: Beth Mooney (A$95,000), Kim Garth

Northern Superchargers: Annabel Sutherland (A$95,000), Phoebe Litchfield (A$95,000), Georgia Wareham (A$76,000)

Oval Invincibles: Amanda-Jade Wellington (A$57,000), Laura Harris (until July 28)

Southern Brave: Lauren Cheatle (A$27,000), Charli Knott (until July 30)

Trent Rockets: Ashleigh Gardner (A$95,000), Alana King (A$76,000), Heather Graham (A$57,000)

Welsh Fire: Jess Jonassen (A$57,000)

Men

Birmingham Phoenix: Sean Abbott (A$95,000)

London Spirit: Nathan Ellis (A$191,000)

Northern Superchargers: Matt Short (A$143,000)

Oval Invincibles: Adam Zampa (A$191,000), Spencer Johnson (A$114,000)

Trent Rockets: Riley Meredith (replacement player)