Delight for Steelbacks duo David Willey and Saif Zaib as they get The Hundred call

Willey, who is skipper of the Steelbacks in the Vitality Blast, will this year play for the Trent Rockets, while Zaib has been signed by Welsh Fire.

The pair were selected in Wednesday's competition draft and are currently the County's only two representatives in the competition, although each team will still make two wildcard picks following the Vitality Blast group stages.

Former England white ball all-rounder Willey, who has previously played for Northern Superchargers and Welsh Fire, was expected to be snapped up after his release from the Cardiff-based franchise and he was Rockets coach Andy Flower’s first pick.

The 35-year-old has played in the competition every year since it started in 2021, and has yet to play a 50-over or four-day match for Northants since his return to the club from Yorkshire two years ago.

Zaib's selection by Fire coach and former Northants skipper Mike Hussey is his first as a draft selection, although he has previously played in the competition as a wildcard pick for the Northern Superchargers in 2023, having also received a late call up as a stand-in a year earlier.

Zaib has been one of the Steelbacks' standout performers in white ball cricket in recent seasons, and in the winter starred in the Nepal Premier League, being named player of the tournament as he helped Sudur Paschim Royals to the final.

The spin-bowling all-rounder played all eight of the Steelbacks' One Day Cup group matches last summer.

The Hundred group stages run from August 5 to August 28, with the play-offs and final scheduled for August 30 and 31.

The Steelbacks start their Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign with a trip to Lancashire on August 5, with their final group game on August 26.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals are to be staged on August 28 and 31, with the final scheduled for Saturday, September 20.