David Warner will not play ‘The Hundred’ organized by the England Cricket Board. According to his manager James Erskine the Australian opener will not be available for the league because of ‘family and personal reasons’.
This means Warner maybe available for Australia’s three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in August. The series will likely be held at venues in north Queensland and the Northern Territory and may clash with The Hundred scheduled to run from July 17 to August 15. Warner was set to play for the Southampton-based Southern Brave side, which had picked him at the maximum fee of £125,000 last October.
Apart from David Warner, there is a chance of other big like Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, aaron Finch, Mitchell Starc, and D’Arcy opting out of the league in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak globally. But Warner’s decision has no connection with the pandemic as mentioned by his manager.
But Warner’s manager, a couple of days back had confirmed that Warner would made it to the IPL 2020. If the IPL is on David Warner’s planning on going. If things change dramatically, which can happen in the space of an hour, the answer is you change your mind. It’s no different to everybody else.”
On the other hand, the ECB already decided to not arrange any professional cricket till May 28. But the English board will prioritize The Hundred and T20 Blast according to a report on ESPNcricinfo. The domestic season of English cricket could be curtailed as well. The discussions are on and the ECB will make an announcement soon.