Harmanpreet Kaur, Lizelle Lee, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Sam Hain were amongst Trent Rockets' big-name signings at The Hundred Draft, Powered by Sage.
In the first round of the women's draft, the Trent Bridge-based outfit chose India captain Kaur, who has previously played for Manchester Originals.
Last year’s third placed side then picked up South African wicketkeeper-batter Lee, The Blaze captain Kirstie Gordon, and Central Sparks right-armer Grace Potts.
“I’m really excited to join up with Trent Rockets this year and play at my home ground, Trent Bridge,” Gordon said.
“I’m looking forward to playing in front of the fans who create such a special atmosphere in Nottingham and I’m excited to play alongside the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt.
“The team were so close to getting to the final last year, and I think, with the squad we’ve assembled, we have a great chance of going even better this time around.”
On the men’s side, Trent Rockets resigned wicketkeeper-batter Kohler-Cadmore in the top bracket, before recruiting Birmingham Bears batter Hain and fast bowler Brad Wheal to join last year’s champions.
“I’m delighted to be back with Trent Rockets,” Kohler-Cadmore said.
“We had such a strong group on and off the pitch last year, and we’ve kept a strong core which puts us in a really good position going forwards.
“I'm buzzing to be back playing at Trent Bridge too, the fans really got behind us last year and helped us go all the way.”
The women’s competition was staging a draft for the first time, with Laura Wolvaardt’s move from Northern Superchargers to Manchester Originals and Kate Cross’ switch the other way amongst some of the stand-out stories of the day.
In total, The Hundred Draft saw 64 spots filled across the men’s and women’s competition, with the eight teams taking it in turns to select players – the order for selections is based on last year’s finishing positions.
The open market process will see the remaining 56 places filled in the women’s competition, while 16 spots remain up for grabs in the men’s competition by virtue of The Vitality Wildcraft Draft, which will be held in the week commencing 3 July.
The third year of The Hundred will start with a double-header at Trent Bridge on Tuesday 1 August – the first of four in Nottingham.
More than half a million people attended games during The Hundred’s second year in 2022, including a record-breaking 271,000 watching live women’s fixtures across the competition and more families buying tickets than in 2021.
Tickets are now exclusively on sale for anyone who has previously bought tickets for The Hundred until 28 March. Those yet to attend can sign up in advance at thehundred.com to get priority ticket access from 5–18 April.
Tickets will then go on general sale on Thursday 20 April. Tickets this year remain in line with 2022 pricing, with prices set at £5 for juniors aged 6-15, free for children five and under, and adults starting from £10.
Over 14.1 million people tuned in to watch The Hundred action in 2022 and games will again be broadcast live on Sky Sports and BBC broadcast and digital channels throughout the competition.