ECB launched the logo for their new franchise-based T20 tournament, The Hundred. © ECB

The eight squads for the new men's Hundred competition will be finalised on October 20th in what will be the first player draft for a British sport on live television.

The new competition devised by the England and Wales Cricket Board will feature city-based sides made up of 15-man squads with a maximum of four overseas players.

Home-grown players and overseas stars will be pooled together and arranged at different price points for the draft which will be shown live from 7pm, with extensive coverage across the the new competition's designated subscriptions and free-to-air. The draft itself will take place in west London.

Both broadcasters, consulted at length to devise the 100-ball format, will offer fans in-depth coverage of the draft, with the ECB negotiating build-up across their various flagship shows in the lead-up to October 20th. The key for the governing body and the main characters behind the Hundred is to create a lasting digital footprint for the game - as such, much of the coverage will be geared towards mobile and social media channels.

Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive officer said: "The Hundred is an exciting new cricket competition that we hope will grow our wonderful sport even further. Fans can enjoy some of the world's biggest names playing for eight brand new cricket teams across men's and women's competitions.

"I'm sure there will be huge anticipation ahead of the first men's players draft in October, as each of the squads are finalised live on Sky Sports and across the BBC."

As for the women's competition, it is understood squads will be sorted centrally to an extent, as they were for the Kia Women's Super League with contracted England internationals shared around evenly through local pull and evening out talent. Overseas players will be courted by respective sides albeit with salary-cap restrictions.

The ECB is currently consulting with the Professional Cricketers' Association and counties on draft mechanics, specifics and further details will be announced soon.