New Zealand captain Williamson commits to Birmingham for Hundred

Wiliamson will be joining Birmingham Phoenix for the inaugural edition of The Hundred.

LONDON (AFP) - New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was one of several overseas stars retained by their franchises Wednesday for the inaugural edition of English cricket s The Hundred.

Wiliamson will be joining the Birmingham Phoenix, where he will play alongside England all-rounders Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.

"I m really pleased to be staying at Birmingham Phoenix," Williamson said.

"It s always been great to play against Moeen and Chris and it ll be exciting to line up alongside them. You want to test yourself against the best and that s what The Hundred is all about."

Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is set to skipper the Northern Superchargers, with compatriot Glenn Maxwell and West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell re-committing to the London Spirit and Southern Brave respectively.

Finch, who played county cricket for Yorkshire in 2014 and 2015, said: "I loved my time as a player at Yorkshire and I m really looking forward to getting back up there and hopefully putting on a show."

In the women s competition, New Zealand s leg-spinner Amelia Kerr has signed for Southern Brave as a replacement for compatriot Suzie Bates, who has had to withdraw with a shoulder injury.

Teams could re-sign players who had been due to represent them in 2020 in a retention window which closed on Wednesday, with more than 50 names confirmed.

A top-up draft will take place for the eight men s teams to fill the gaps in their 15-man squads, which will be confirmed on February 23, while the women s sides will be finalised over the coming months.

One of the key aims of the 100 balls per side format is to attract new spectators to cricket so last year s competition was postponed when it became clear the coronavirus pandemic meant fans would not be allowed into grounds.