Hundred exodus on the cards as India Test looms

The impending confirmation of Australia's series against India, including a rare Test match between the two nations, is expected to be followed by more of the country's leading female players withdrawing from the inaugural season of The Hundred.

National vice-captain Rachael Haynes says the reality of two weeks of hard quarantine just before a jam-packed international season led to her decision to pull out of England's new 100-ball competition, which starts in late July.

The Hundred will finish on August 21, after which all players would have to complete two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine upon their return to Australia before likely taking on India in September.

Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley confirmed on Tuesday that the Indian tour will likely include the first Test between the two nations in 15 years and be followed by the WBBL, the multi-format women's Ashes, the ODI World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

Haynes is unsure what the remainder of the Australian contingent in The Hundred will do, but cricket.com.au understands the majority of the Aussie women involved will also withdraw in the coming weeks.

"A hard quarantine and then coming onto the start of our summer – I appreciate it hasn't been announced yet – but knowing that India are potentially going to tour Australia during September, it was getting really tight from a scheduling perspective," Haynes told cricket.com.au on Tuesday.

"To do a hard quarantine, that's a really tough physical preparation and I didn't want that to potentially jeapordise the rest of my summer.

"It was a really tough decision to withdraw. I was really keen to be a part of it and captain the Oval Invincibles side, so it felt like a lot to walk away from. As a player, we want to see the game grow and be successful and not just in our own country, we want to support it in other countries as well.

"So it was tough to walk away from it, but I wish the competition every success. I'll definitely be following from home and perhaps down the track if another opportunity presents and the calendar is a little bit different and we're not navigating our way through a pandemic, I'd love the opportunity to go back and play."

Australia captain Meg Lanning, who has been signed by the Welsh Fire, said there is "a little bit to work through" before she's able to take up her deal in the UK.

"We're still working through what that looks like with the Indian series coming in," she said. "There's a little bit to work through there in terms of the schedule and what it might look like.

"But what I will say is The Hundred is going to be a great competition and they've put a lot of work into getting that up and running. I'd love to be a part of it, but there's a little bit to work through in terms of what it looks like."

Star allrounder Ellyse Perry, who has signed with the Birmingham Phoenix, said something would have to "drastically change" for her to pull out of the tournament

"At this stage my intention is to play and will just keep monitoring the situation over the coming month or so," she told cricket.com.au in a statement.

"The ECB have put a huge amount of effort and logistics in place to make the competition feasible for us to play in, so I would like to honour my commitment unless something drastically changes that makes it unsafe to do so."

Ash Gardner, Nicola Carey, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Molineux, Annabel Sutherland, Elyse Villani, Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham are the other Australian women currently with contracts in The Hundred.

English officials are also preparing for the withdrawal of several big-name men's players due to a scheduling clash and the complexities of travelling during the pandemic.

Australians Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, D'Arcy Short and Jhye Richardson, who all have deals in The Hundred, were this week named in Australia's squad for their tour of the West Indies in July. The possible scheduling of a series in Bangladesh after the Caribbean leg of the tour, and ensuing quarantine complications upon arrival in the UK, would make it extremely difficult for Australian players to also take part in The Hundred.

The West Indies and Pakistan men's teams are also scheduled to play matches during The Hundred.

Hockley said the full schedule for Australia's series against India to start the 2021-22 summer is expected to be announced shortly, including a Test match.

"Discussions are very well advanced, and I think it's going to happen," he said of a Test between the two sides.

"We're just working through the final details of the dates and logistics, but we're hopeful of announcing those dates in the very near future."