Sandeep Lamichhane, Sarah Bryce sign for Oval Invincibles

The Oval Invincibles have retained Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane in their men’s squad ahead of The Hundred. The franchise have also signed Scotland’s Sarah Bryce to their women’s teams ahead of inaugural season.

Lamichhane has been retained by the London-based Oval Invicibles ahead of the upcoming player draft. The Oval Invincibles had previously signed the legspinner in the draft for the 2020 season. However, the 2020 season was later postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The spinner took to twitter to react to the news.

Lamichhane has signed for his 4^th franchise competition in 12 months. The Nepali legspinner has recently played for Jamacia Tallawahs (CPL), Dehli Capital (IPL), and Hobart Hurricanes (BBL). He joins Bermuda and Sussex all-rounder Delray Rawlins as associate players involved in the tournament.

Sarah Bryce signs for the Oval Invincibles on the back of strong performances in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy in 2020. Playing for the Lightning team, Bryce scored 395 runs at an average of 75, including 136 not out in her final game. The wicketkeeper-batter was awarded a professional contract with Lightning for the 2021 season.

Speaking in a Cricket Scotland press release, Bryce said:

“It’s really exciting. It’s obviously the first time in England that there’s been this joint competition with the men, and it’ll be really good to be part of something that is new and that is hopefully going to be another step forward for women’s cricket in terms of professionalism.”

Bryce joins sister Kathryn (Trent Rockets) and compatriot Abtaha Maqsood (Birmingham Phoenix) as the first associate players signed for this year’s competition.

The draft for the remaining player selection takes place later this month, with the squads announced on February 23^rd. The Hundred itself if set to start in July, with the Men’s and Women’s competitions running simultaneously.