Olly Stone on The Hundred Draft 2021 nerves, who he would love to play against and a milestone for the women's game

The 27-year-old wasn't selected in the initial Draft for the inaugural tournament, but has earned a contract with Ben Stokes' Northern Superchargers for 2021.

Stone spoke to RadioTimes.com in the build-up about pre-Draft nerves, which player he'd love to face and a milestone for the game as the women's tournament will kick off The Hundred with a standalone match in July.

Fast-bowler Stone – who is currently with the national Test squad for India v England – believes injuries put teams off the first time around, and felt a few nerves throughout the Draft process.

He said: "It's something that we're not sort of used to over here. To sit there and watch it and have that sort of nervousness about whether you're gonna get picked up, which band and everything, it's quite exciting.

"It was exciting. I'm not massively into my American sports, so I wasn't 100 per cent sure how it worked. But it was exciting in the end.

"There's banter flying around the people who were drafted last year, but who didn't decide to get retained and have gone back into the Draft.

"And there's the potential of playing against your teammates, which is also another exciting thing that a few lads have been getting stuck into each other. There's some good positive vibes from it.

"I'm hoping that I get to play against Adam Hose, obviously, being a fellow Bear. There's been a little bit of banter flying around there."

Stone's wish has come true, with his new Northern Superchargers set to meet Hose's Birmingham Phoenix on 13th and 17th August.

Stone addressed the historic women's game that will open up the tournament – and 100-ball cricket itself – as well as throwing his support behind the new format as a positive step for cricket.

He said: "It's massive [for women's cricket]. We've seen in the past few years how much women's cricket has grown, and it's great to see.

"The fact that they're kicking off the competition and it's running alongside can only help benefit that.

"It'll be great for them to be involved involved and kick on women's cricket, because it has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. It's great to see and it's great to see more people getting involved.

"The criticism [of the 100-ball format] had been whether you put that money into the into the Blast, but when T20 came around, there was criticism behind that and look how well that's gone.

"I think it's great to have a new competition. Obviously it increases the standard of the game and the limited places means that there are going to be some disappointed people. Hopefully that that makes them go away and improve at the game. That can only help cricket going forward.

"Also, for competitions that run alongside The Hundred, it will give opportunities for the younger players that at the moment haven't broken into the side. I think there's definitely good positives around around the competition."

Check out the official website of The Hundred where you can also sig up for priority access tickets. Keep up to date with the latest developments from The Hundred Draft 2021 with our full guide.

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