James Vince Looking Forward To Playing At The Ageas Bowl In The Hundred

James Vince has admitted it “will mean a lot” to play for his local team when The Hundred launches next summer.

The 28-year-old batsman last week became one of the first players selected for the new 100-ball competition after the Southern Brave chose him as one of their two ‘Local Icon’ picks.

Vince, who was born in Cuckfield, has risen through the ranks at Hampshire before becoming a World Cup winner with England this summer following the remarkable men’s World Cup final at Lord’s.

The world’s best players are set to return to England and Wales next summer for The Hundred and, for Vince, the opportunity to take them on with his home team in a fresh and innovative tournament will be a source of pride.

“When I got the opportunity to be one of the local players here it meant a lot,” said Vince.

“I have grown up and played all of my cricket here so to be a part of something as new and exciting as The Hundred, and to do it on my home ground, is really exciting.

“All the overseas players will be keen to come over for a new tournament. Hopefully we can attract some of the biggest names in cricket and have a high standard of competition.

“The beauty of it is that because it is a new format there is an unknown factor and that is going to make it really interesting.”

Southern Brave have already made a strong statement of intent with the additions of Jofra Archer, the hero of the World Cup final Super Over, as well all-rounder Chris Jordan ahead of the Player Draft.

The eight city-based teams will converge on the Sky Sports studios in London on October 20 for the draft, when they will fill their squads with the best players from overseas and in domestic cricket.

The Brave have the second pick in the draft – Trent Rockets will be first on the clock – with each team having 100 seconds to make their pick.

With world-class names such as Steve Smith, Rashid Khan and Chris Gayle available the Southern Brave are in the box seat to grab another headline player at the draft, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and across the BBC’s digital channels.

Vince admits he cannot wait to find out which players will be joining him at the The Ageas Bowl, although he admitted he might not be able to watch all of the draft for a very good reason.

“I’m actually getting married the day before,” he said.

“I’ll try and prop myself up somewhere to watch it. I know the coverage of it is going to be great with Sky and the BBC so I’m sure there will be ways to keep updated with what is happening.”

Just how teams decide to prioritise which players to pick for the new 100-ball format will be another mater of interest for Vince, who thinks top-order batsmen like himself will be highly sought after.

“It will be interesting to see how it plays out and who goes where,” he said.

“The format is shorter so it may be that teams want to go for more players who have batted at the top of the order for most of their career.

“In T20 you use the power hitters towards the back end, but I guess with The Hundred it will mean rather than holding those guys off until the back end, you will need to be going once the powerplay ends after 25 balls.

“Having guys that can clear the ropes and score from the word go will be vital.

“We will see because it will take a little bit of time for players to get used to the pattern of the game, but I expect some high scores. Different venues will produce different scores.

“We have quite a big ground down here at the The Ageas Bowl so it will be interesting to see the different tactics involved. I guess there will be a bit of unpredictability and batsmen will feel as though they have to get on with it from ball one.”

The Hundred will begin in July next year with eight city-based teams playing in a men’s and women’s competition over a five-week period.

The Southern Brave women’s team will be coached by England legend Charlotte Edwards with World Cup winners Danni Wyatt and Anya Shrubsole their first additions to the squad.