London, Dec 4 (IANS): Birmingham Phoenix have announced eight more players for The Hundred in 2021, including Australians Adam Zampa and Ashleigh Gardner.

"I'm over the moon to know that I'm staying with Birmingham Phoenix and to help this new team mount a serious challenge in this first year of The Hundred," said Zampa.

"Birmingham is a fantastic city and I'm really looking forward to calling Edgbaston home. Hopefully we can welcome crowds and our new fans to the ground because, having played against England at Edgbaston, I know that the atmosphere there is awesome," he added.

Zampa and Gardner join six locally-based players from Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Batter Adam Hose, and bowlers Henry Brookes and Pat Brown have signed for the men's team. And batters Ria Fackrell, Eve Jones and Marie Kelly will be part of the women's side.

"We've got the makings of an excellent Birmingham Phoenix squad and I can't wait to get going in next year's competition and to continue working with head coach Ben Sawyer, who I know so well from Sydney Sixers and the Australia women's team," said Gardner.

"Speaking to players around the world, there's so much excitement around The Hundred and it's fantastic to see so many of the best players coming for this first competition. I believe that we've got a great chance of going all of the way and bringing the trophy back to Birmingham," she added.

The Hundred is a new 100-balls-per-side format to be played by eight teams in separate men's and women's tournaments.

The inaugural edition of the tournament was slated to be played this year. However, following the outbreak of novel coronavirus, it was postponed to 2021.