Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sophie Devine and Amy Jones to star for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred

Many of the biggest names in world cricket are returning to Edgbaston in 2022 after Birmingham Phoenix named 22 players in their combined men’s and women’s team squads for the second edition of The Hundred.

Birmingham Phoenix men retain ten players from the squad, who topped the group stages and reached The Hundred final at Lord’s last August.

They include England all-rounder and Birmingham-born local hero Moeen Ali, 2021 tournament MVP Liam Livingstone and New Zealand international Adam Milne, who topped the 2021 bowling charts.

Fellow England all-rounder and World Cup-winner Chris Woakes has also signed again for his home team as Phoenix’s centrally-contracted men’s player.

In the women’s team, Birmingham Phoenix’s star-studded line-up includes New Zealand international and world number one-ranked T20 International all-rounder Sophie Devine, who will make her debut in 2022.

Australia superstar Ellyse Perry and Birmingham’s own England wicket-keeper/batter Amy Jones join Devine in the list of 12 players retained by Phoenix in the women’s squad.

The Hundred returns in August - mixing fast-paced, world-class cricket with family-friendly music and entertainment off the pitch. This year there will be even more activities to entertain families inside Edgbaston.

“We’ve retained many of the best players in the world to represent Birmingham Phoenix and to challenge to win both competitions again in 2022,” said team General Manager Craig Flindall.

“Both teams came so close to winning the inaugural titles playing a bold and exciting brand of cricket, which our supporters got behind and loved watching.

“We want to build on the great performances from 2021 by keeping as much of the team together as possible and making Edgbaston a real fortress again in 2022.”

Woakes, Ali, Livingstone and Milne are joined in the retained Birmingham Phoenix men’s squad by all-rounder Benny Howell, batsmen Tom Abell, Will Smeed, Miles Hammond and wicket-keeper/batter Chris Benjamin. Warwickshire fast bowler Henry Brookes is also retained.

The women’s squad sees Devine, Perry and Jones joined by England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss and fellow all-rounder Phoebe Franklin, spinners Kirstie Gordon and Abtaha Maqsood, fast bowlers Issy Wong and Emily Arlott and batters Eve Jones, Gwen Davies and Ria Fackrell.

Birmingham Phoenix’s programme of games at Edgbaston starts on Wednesday, August 10 as the men’s team look for revenge on 2021 champions Southern Brave, who defeated Phoenix in last season’s final.

The three double-header days with men’s and women’s fixtures are set for Monday, August 15 against Midlands rivals Trent Rockets, Friday, August 19 versus Northern Superchargers and Sunday, August 28 against Manchester Originals.

Get behind Birmingham Phoenix with your friends and family when The Hundred returns to Edgbaston.

Tickets are now on sale to Warwickshire members and last year’s ticket-buyers. People who didn’t see the action for themselves last year can sign up at thehundred.com to be first to hear when tickets go on sale.

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