Nat Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Rashid Khan and Alex Hales are amongst a raft of cricketing stars to be retained by Trent Rockets ahead of The Hundred this summer.
England's Joe Root and Dawid Malan will also be back to play for the men’s side when The Hundred returns in August, once again combining fast-paced cricket and family friendly entertainment.
With today’s announcement of the players which have been retained from last year’s squad, members of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire can also now secure their seats for this year’s competition. Fans who bought tickets last year will also be able to snap up their places from tomorrow.
England duo Sciver and Brunt return to spearhead the women’s side, under the guidance of Head Coach Salliann Beams.
Khan, the first overall pick in the inaugural draft in 2019, will once again don the yellow of the Rockets, alongside globetrotting short-format star Hales, who was recently drafted by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the Indian Premier League.
"I loved taking part in the first edition of The Hundred last year. Playing a new format for the first time was a lot of fun as a bowler," said Khan.
"The fans at Trent Bridge were amazing and I can’t wait to get back and entertain them this summer. Hopefully we can go one better and make the final.”
Skipper Lewis Gregory, speed merchants Luke Wood and Marchant de Lange, all-rounders Steven Mullaney and Samit Patel, big-hitting wicketkeeper/batsman Tom Moores and the wily duo of off-spinner Matt Carter and paceman Sam Cook complete the men’s list.
Sciver and Brunt are joined by the second-ranked T20I bowler Sarah Glenn, Scotland international Kathryn Bryce and wicketkeeper-batter Abbey Freeborn.
Outlaws Ben Duckett, Jake Ball (both Welsh Fire) and Calvin Harrison (Manchester Originals) are other players that have been retained ahead of the men's draft, which will take place on 30 March.
“Securing the services of Nat and Katherine was key to our development in year two of the competition,” said Beams.
“Alongside the retention of Sarah, Kathryn and Abbey, we have a strong core to carry over from last year.
“We’ve already made some exciting additions, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and I think we’re well set to build on a solid first season.”
Continuity was also on the agenda for the returning Andy Flower, who chose to retain ten of the side who represented the Rockets last summer.
“To retain players of the calibre of Rashid, Alex and Lewis, to name a few, is crucial to our desire to build a winning side for years to come,” said Flower.
“We have a lot of bases covered with the players we already have on the books which narrows our focus on what we need when it comes to the draft.”
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People who didn’t see the action for themselves last year can sign up at thehundred.com to get access to tickets in March, before they go on general sale.