Australian opening batter Georgia Voll has had an amazing week, culminating in a significant contract with Birmingham Phoenix in the Women’s Hundred draft. She will be earning a top salary of £65,000.
Young Australian opener Voll is set to make her debut in the tournament. Birmingham Phoenix attempted to sign Paige Scholfield, Sophia Dunkley, and Heather Knight, but Oval Invincibles, Welsh Fire, and London Spirit used their right-to-match options to keep these players. All four players are in the highest salary bracket for women, earning £65,000.
Voll made a strong impression in her international debut in December, stepping in for Alyssa Healy in Australia’s series against India. In the last week, playing for WPL side UP Warriorz as a replacement for Chamari Athapaththu, Voll scored 55 and an unbeaten 99.
Georgia Voll has made a strong start on the international stage.
Alyssa Healy, the Australian captain, who has been recovering from foot and knee injuries since late last year and missed the WPL, was not picked in the draft despite having a reserve price of £50,000.
Voll is one of three Australian players at Birmingham Phoenix, along with Ellyse Perry, who was retained, and Megan Schutt, who was signed directly before the draft.
Issy Wong, a fast bowler, is leaving Birmingham for London Spirit. Wong, who debuted internationally in 2022 at age 20, has had a challenging time recently. She played for Phoenix, her home team, in the first four editions of the tournament. However, issues with her run-up led to her being dropped in 2023, and she only played four times last year, taking one wicket each season.
Wong, who was a prominent figure for the 2023 Ashes despite not playing in the series, last played for England in September on the tour of Ireland. London Spirit signed Wong for £16,000, the third-lowest salary in the women’s competition.
Southern Brave, the 2023 champions, used their first pick to secure Sophie Devine for £36,000. Devine chose to miss this year’s WPL and New Zealand’s current home series against Sri Lanka for a wellbeing break. Joining her at Southern Brave is South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon, who returns to the team for £20,000.
West Indies star Deandra Dottin will return to Manchester Originals for £50,000, having played for them in 2022 and 2023 after a previous stint with London Spirit in 2021. Young wicketkeeper-batter Seren Smale joins her from Birmingham Phoenix for £36,000.
Scholfield’s high-value deal to stay at Oval Invincibles could indicate a positive turn after her international career faced setbacks. Scholfield was selected for England’s tour of South Africa last year but returned home without playing due to an ankle injury in training.
Scholfield, who was called up 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 players Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, and Amanda-Jade Wellington were already confirmed before the draft. Mady Villiers, an off-spinning all-rounder, is leaving Oval after four seasons and was drafted by Southern Brave for £16,000.
After playing for Northern Superchargers and Birmingham Phoenix for two seasons each, leg-spinner Katie Levick is moving to Welsh Fire after being picked in the £12,500 salary bracket.
Richa Ghosh, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter, was not drafted despite having a reserve price of £65,000.
In total, 110 overseas and 120 domestic players entered the women’s draft for 29 available places, including four overseas and 25 domestic spots.
Each of the eight teams still has two wildcard spots to fill closer to the competition start on August 5. These spots will be in the lowest salary bracket of £10,000.
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