David Warner, Marcus Stoinis Pull Out Of The Hundred 2021; ECB Expecting More Player Withdrawals

Australia’s limited-overs tours to West Indies and Bangladesh overlap with the Hundred’s window from July 22-August 21. Hence not only Warner and Marcus Stoinis, but other Aussie players contracted in the tournament are also expected to withdraw themselves further for national duties, and in order to spend some time with their families.

“It is obviously disappointing to lose players with the ability of Warner and Marcus, but the realities of Covid mean there are practicalities that are difficult for some overseas players to overcome,” the ECB said in a statement to ESPNcricinfo.

“Replacement overseas players will be signed by Southern Brave, and we look forward to the Hundred showcasing world-class cricket this summer.”

More players to miss The Hundred

Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn, D’Arcy Short and Nathan Coulter-Nile are the other Aussies contracted with teams in The Hundred.

Lynn and Coulter-Nile are expected to fulfil their deals at Northern Superchargers and Trent Rockets respectively as they are not part of Australia’s squad. The rest of the players are likely to pull out. The ECB and the teams will be looking for replacements for these players.

This is the second time that Warner has pulled out of the Hundred, after he initially did so in March 2020 citing “family and personal reasons”. Marcus Stoinis was roped in as the left-hander’s replacement but the tournament was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic. The all-rounder was then retained before February’s draft, in which Warner was re-signed as a first-round pick.

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi will also withdraw from Birmingham Phoenix for Pakistan’s T20I and Test tour of West Indies; his teammate all-rounder Shadab Khan will miss at least the first half of the group stage for Manchester Originals as he is in Pakistan’s T20I squad.

Superstar all-rounder Andre Russell is likely to miss the first half of the group stage as he is returning to West Indies’ T20I side for home series against Australia and Pakistan.

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