You will never get 'official confirmation' of situations such as this
I was one that had heard both Holders had agreed terms with Somerset before even returning back to Oz for the winter
With 2 months and an agm and then a few more weeks between then and now a lot can change - and has.
Average restrictions, GP rider reassessments etc all have had their impact on how teams have gone about building their 1-7s
Thats the trouble with trying to build early - you give your rivals chance to manipulate at the agm (and after where needed ) to thwart your plans...