London Spirit were the second-worst performer in The Hundred 2023, ending in the seventh position on the points table.
Captain: Dan Lawrence
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Previous edition: 7th
Title: None
London Spirit were the second-worst performer in The Hundred 2023, ending in the seventh position on the points table. They could only win two of their eight games and attained six points. Two of their games were washed out, whereas the Spirit lost as many as four encounters and never looked settled in the tournament.
As they look to improve in a fresh season, London Spirit have made notable signings to bolster their squad. They have brought Caribbean flavour to the side, including Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer. Further, Richard Gleeson’s inclusion provides more fire to the pace attack that already consists of quality names.
Dan Lawrence will lead the unit again and play a crucial role for his team. Trevor Bayliss will be at the coaching helm. They will look to improve their position from the previous edition and compete harder this time.
Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Andre Russell (West Indies), Shimron Hetmyer (West Indies), Nathan Ellis (Australia), Dan Lawrence, Dan Worrall, Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington, Olly Stone, Matt Critchley, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Michael Pepper, Ravi Bopara, Ryan Higgins
Andre Russell and Nathan Ellis are featuring in Major League Cricket, which might delay their entry in The Hundred by a couple of matches.
Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence, and Ollie Pope are part of England’s home Test summer. James Neesham and Matthew Taylor will feature in the absence of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope.
Zak Crawley, Adam Rossington, Dan Lawrence (c), Ollie Pope, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Liam Dawson, Matthew Critchley, Richard Gleeson, Dan Worrall, Nathan Ellis
London Spirit have solid openers who can utilise the field restrictions early on.
Andre Russell’s inclusion provides more firepower and depth to the lower middle order.
They bat deep, with someone like Matthew Critchley capable of hitting big.
They have pacers for different phases. Dan Worrall can handle the new ball well, while Richard Gleeson is a solid enforcer. Nathan Ellis is elite in all the phases.
The unavailability of key batters will be a massive concern for London Spirit, with most of English batters playing for the national team.
The spin attack looks bleak, with no quality wrist-spin option.
They would have liked a left-arm pacer in their strongest XI.
Southern Brave vs London Spirit – 24 July, 11:00 PM IST
London Spirit vs Birmingham Phoenix – 27 July, 11:00 PM IST
London Spirit vs Welsh Fire – 01 August, 7:30 PM IST
London Spirit vs Oval Invincibles – 04 August, 7:30 PM IST
Trent Rockets vs London Spirit – 07 August, 11:00 PM IST
London Spirit vs Manchester Originals – 09 August, 11:00 PM IST
Oval Invincibles vs London Spirit – 11 August, 7:30 PM IST
Northern Superchargers vs London Spirit – 13 August, 11:00 PM IST
London Spirit’s biggest issue will again be the unavailability of their main batters due to the summer. However, their batting unit has got a major boost due to the availability of Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer. The pace attack looks well-rounded and settled.
Honestly, it’s a bit tricky to predict how they will go this season. London Spirit will be hard to beat since they have most bases covered when on full strength. But they won’t be full strength in most of their games.
For now, they look like ending somewhere in the mid-table. It’s hard for them to go through the knockout stages.
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