Warner, Smith and others could skip tour by Zimbabwe for English tournament

David Warner and at least three other high value cricketers could miss the tour by Zimbabwe as they have been picked for England’s brand new tournament The Hundred,

While the final dates for the tour, the first by Zimbabwe to Australia since 2003/4 have not been locked down, Cricket Australia and Zimbabwe Cricket have been aiming for an August date. The Hundred ends on 15 August 2020.

The limited-overs series has irked powerful player agent James Erskine who said the agreements with English sides had been made before the dates for the Zimbabwe tour had been suggested.

Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Aaron Finch joined Warner in securing the maximum contracts at the auction. Dan Christian, Glenn Maxwell, D’Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa are the other Australians signed to Hundred teams, while men’s national team assistant coach Andrew McDonald could also have a call to make, for he is coach of the Birmingham Phoenix.

The tournament does have implications on rights deal with Fox Sports which has exclusive rights to Australian-based ODIs as it provides fresh content, although this is not a marquee series.