England legend James Anderson has bagged his first contract at The Hundred — the country’s 100-ball franchise competition — in a ‘wildcard’ deal with Manchester Originals. Meanwhile, 17-year-old prodigy Rocky Flintoff has been picked by his father and former captain, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers. Anderson, a Test specialist for most of his playing career, was nudged to retire from the format last year. He now has the India-England Test series named after him (and Sachin Tendulkar), but the pacer has continued to push the limits of his age to play competitive cricket. After going unlisted in the IPL, he recently played eight matches for Lancashire in the Vitality Blast, picking an impressive 14 wickets as a new-ball specialist. Flintoff, meanwhile, will raise eyebrows getting into a team coached by his father. However, he has made headlines with his performances recently, scoring 107 against India under-19 in a recent Youth ODI and following it up with a 93 (152) in the first innings of the ongoing Youth Test. The two big names, at the opposite ends of their careers, will earn a £31,000 (around INR 35 lakhs) deal each. All eight teams in the men’s and women’s competitions have picked two players each in the draft. All men’s wildcard picks will earn the same amount. In the women’s, all 16 players will earn £10,000 (around INR 11.5 lakhs) each. The competition will run from August 5-31, starting with London Spirit’s double-header against Oval Invincibles at Lord’s. The Hundred 2025 wildcards Men’s teams Trent Rockets: Callum Parkinson, Ben Sanderson Birmingham Phoenix: Liam Patterson-White, Louis Kimber Welsh Fire: Ajeet Singh Dale, Ben Kellaway Northern Superchargers: James Fuller, Rocky Flintoff Manchester Originals: James Anderson, Marchant de Lange London Spirit: Sean Dickson, Ryan Higgins Oval Invincibles: George Scrimshaw, Zafar Gohar Southern Brave: Toby Albert, Hilton Cartwright Women’s teams Birmingham Phoenix: Mary Taylor, Phoebe Brett London Spirit: Abi Norgrove, Kate Coppack Manchester Originals: Esmae MacGregor, Darcey Carter Northern Superchargers: Katherine Fraser, Sophia Turner Oval Invincibles: Daisy Gibb, Rebecca Odgers Southern Brave: Phoebe Turner, Amara Carr Trent Rockets: Grace Thompson, Sophie Morris Welsh Fire: Charley Phillips, Alex Griffiths.