And with that, time to call it a day.
If there is something tawdry, even dull, about a player auction, the tectonic plates shifted today. Six female players sold for more than £140,000 each – and the big earners weren’t necessarily the ones you would have guessed beforehand.
The elephant in the room was how few women were in the room, so let’s work on that for next year. Neither of the Pakistan players, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana were picked up and this will be a thread to pick up on Thursday.
Dagnall and Benali were excellent, somehow keeping on top of the constantly changing landscape.
We’ll be back tomorrow for the men’s auction. Bye!
Updated
The squads in full
Birmingham Phoenix
Alice Capsey, £130,000
Ellyse Perry, £100,000
Linsey Smith, £100,000
Lauren Filer, £95,000
Tammy Beaumont, £70,000
Davina Perrin, £50,000
Alana King, £37,500
Jemima Spence, £37,500
Lucy Hamilton £35,000
Eva Gray, £30,000
Cordelia Griffith, £27,500
Emma Lamb, £27,500
Phoebe Brett, £27,500
Esmae MacGregor, £16,000
London Spirit
Nadine de Klerk, £170,000
Marizanne Kapp, £130,000
Charlie Dean, £85,000
Charis Pavely, £85,000
Mahika Gaur, £75,000
Grace Harris, £70,000
Amy Jones, £70,000
Deandra Dottin, £37,500
Sterre Kalis, £27,500
Marie Kelly, £20,000
Phoebe Turner, £20,000
Seren Smale, £15,000
Lucy Higham, £15,000
Josephine Groves, £15,000
Manchester Super Giants
Paige Scholfield, £115,000
Sophie Ecclestone, £110,000
Meg Lanning, £95,000
Smriti Mandhana, £90,000
Ryana MacDonald-Gay, £75,000
Kathryn Bryce, £65,000
Richa Ghosh, £50,000
Mady Villiers, £45,000
Grace Ballinger, £42,500
Maitlan Brown, £40,000
Grace Scrivens, £40,000
Jo Gardner, £17,000
Natasha Wraith, £15,000
Rebecca Tyson, £15,000
MI London
Hayley Matthews, £120,000
Danni Wyatt-Hodge, £110,000
Nic Carey, £95,000
Melie Kerr, £80,000
Kira Chathli, £80,000
Chinelle Henry, £70,000
Kirstie Gordon, £55,000
Hollie Armitage, £45,000
Alexa Stonehouse, £42,500
Tara Norris, £35,000
Alice Davidson-Richards, £30,000
Alice Monaghan, £27,500
Ellie Threlkeld, £15,000
Southern Brave
Lauren Bell, £140,000
Issy Wong, £130,000
Tilly Corteen-Coleman, £105,000
Maia Bouchier, £85,000
Laura Wolvaardt, £75,000
Sarah Glenn, £75,000
Jemimah Rodrigues, £60,000
Sophie Molineux, £47,500
Jodi Grewcock, £30,000
Lizelle Lee, £27,500
Rebecca Odgers, £15,000
Phoebe Franklin, £15,000
Daisy Gibb, £15,000
Sunrisers Leeds
Danielle Gibson, £190,000
Annabel Sutherland, £130,000
Phoebe Litchfield, £120,000
Jess Jonassen, £110,000
Cassidy McCarthy, £65,000
Kate Cross £50,000
Deepti Sharma, £27,500
Bryony Smith, £27,500
Lauren Winfield-Hill, £27,500
Hannah Baker, £18,000
Trent Rockets
Beth Mooney, £210,000
Nat Sciver-Brunt, £140,000
Ash Gardner, £100,000
Sophia Dunkley, £78,000
Kim Garth, £42,000
Emma Jones, £35,000
Bess Heath, £32,500
Katie Levick, £32,500
Ailsa Lister, £30,000
Millicent Taylor, £27,500
Georgia Elwiss, £27,500
Welsh Fire
Sophie Devine, £210,000
Freya Kemp, £120,000
Em Arlott, £110,000
Georgia Wareham, £100,000
Georgia Voll, £80,000
Ella McCaughan, £30,000
Heather Graham, £27,500
Sarah Bryce, £25,000
Abi Norgrove, £21,000
Fi Morris, £20,000
Sophia Smale, £20,000
Grace Thompson, £20,000
Grace Potts, £15,000
Some reactions to what has been a mega-pay day for some, and new dawn for Women’s cricket in England.
This is the flip side of player auctions. Big pay days for some, and a pay cut for others. Depends on so many factors, not always whether you had the best season or are currently in form. New era for domestic players in England to navigate. https://t.co/bhTJfvCIvV
— Alison Mitchell (@AlisonMitchell) March 11, 2026
Also, while the headline figure of £210,000 is astronomical for women's cricket historically, it's 45% of the top men's salary at the moment (a figure that is likely to go higher in tomorrow's auction).
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) March 11, 2026
The ICEC report recommended equal salary pots The 100 by 2025. https://t.co/obUavQ71sf pic.twitter.com/Dzilycjmhv
Updated
“You’ve got to remember this is the first time this has happened in England,” says Dagnall. “Our jaws were hitting the floor when there were big bids in the WPL but now this is usual for women’s cricket.”
“Last year the top bracket was £75,000 so it’s a huge step up. It’s a gamble, some players will be disappointed. As for [the franchise] winners and losers on the day, it is difficult to tell – that is up in the air.”
Charles Dagnall is thrilled that Birmingham Phoenix have picked up Annerie Dercksen. “She can clear the ropes, what a bargain at £15,000,” he says.
Florence Miller and Claudie Cooper both joins Sunrisers at £15,000 each
Sunrisers get the last two bids as no-one else is still in the game. It feels like they might have misplayed their hand somewhat … let’s see what the experts say.
Grace Johnson joins Trent Rockets for £15,000
No counter bid again, so the Rockets get Johnson.
Rachel Slater joins Sunrisers for £15,000
Sunrisers are the only team without 14 players, and their pick gets no counter bids. Some argument over whose turn it is to bid….
Samantha Bates joins Trent Rockets for £15,000
The hammer falls without debate.
Danielle Gregory joins MI London for £15,000
I’ve lost track of a few but I’ll come back to them. In the meantime, MI London snap up Gregory.
Ellie Anderson joins Southern Brave for £15,000
Brave now have the minimum squad number of 14.
Rhianna Southby joins Welsh Fire for £20,000
Fire outmanoeuvre Sunrisers.
Annerie Dercksen joins Birmingham Phoenix for £15,ooo
Unchallenged.
Georgia Adams will join Trent Rockets for £30,000
Welsh Rockets nominate Adams but are outbid and Adams gets a berth at the third time of asking.
Updated
Kalea Moore joins MI London for £15,000
Unchallenged again, and Moore heads to The Oval.
Charley Phillips joins Trent Rockets for £15,000
Trent Rockets nominated Phillips, and get her as there is no other interest.
Ah, so MSG and LS can’t bid for any more players as they don’t have enough money for the minimum bid of £15,ooo.
Birmingham Phoenix already have 14 players but £56,500 left and could still buy an overseas player.
MI London have 13 players and £35,000 left, Southern Brave 13 players and £20,000 left, Welsh Fire 13 players and £31.5,000 left.
The outliers are Sunrisers Leeds, who need four more players but only have £64,500 left, while Trent Rockets need three more players and have £85,000 in the bank.
Ok, here we got for the final round of bidding: nominated players. Each team selects an unsigned player they like, they then get auctioned, and if no other team bids they remain with the team who selected them for the base price.
Player Reactions
“I feel relief as much as anything. Ive never had a chance to play on the same side as Ellyse Perry so I’m looking forward to that” Tammy Beaumont.
“I couldn’t believe that, I’m on cloud nine,” Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
“It’s an exciting time for the game, I reckon I kept it a bit cool for the girls though.” Davina Perrin
“Trent Rockets have so much money left they should buy an overseas player in case of injury.” says Alex Hartley.
London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Super Giants all have the squad minimum of 14 players.
MI London, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire have 13.
Trent Rockets have 11 and Sunrisers Leeds 10.
Two extra players are available after the Vitality Blast as Wildcards.
Updated
No bids for Chloe Ainsworth and Sophie Morris
And that’s the end of that block. Not entirely sure how many there are to come.
Phoebe Turner joins London Spirit for £20,000
Another player heads to the capital.
Updated
Daisy Gibb joins Brave for £15,000
The base bid wins it.
Abi Norgrove joins Welsh Fire for £21,000
England U19 is wanted by Cardiff.
Josephine Groves joins London Spirit for £15,000
Not much experience under her belt, but she gets snapped up.
Laura Harris is unsold
A rapid turnover now.
Phoebe Franklin joins Southern Brave for £15,000
The opening bid is the winning one.
Georgia Redmayne is unsold
Silence and no sale.
Updated
Marie Kelly joins London Spirit for £20,000
Sunrisers are mugged by London Spirit.
Ella Claridge and Eve Jones are unsold
Getting to the brutal time of the day.
Katie Levick joins Trent Rockets for £32,500
A bidding war between Trent Rockets and London Spirit for experienced legspinner Levick, who has played in every season of the Hundred.
Georgia Elwiss joins Trent Rockets for £27,500
Tumbleweed until Rockets raise a belated paddle. A good signing.
Updated
Sterre Kalis to London Spirit for £27,500
A happier afternoon than morning for Kalis, who is off to Lord’s.
Updated
Meg Austin, Chloe Tryon and Abtaha Maqsood are unsold
No interest in the next three players, including South Africa’s Chloe Tryon.
Meg Lanning looks happy, and so she should. Her team Manchester Super Giants, alongside Birmingham Phoenix, have locked in a minimum squads of 14 players.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” she says, “seeing from a different perspective and am excited to see how it unfolds.
“It has been great to see the strategy side of things and been a great experience with Tom Moody as well. I’ve been trying to take in as much information as I can. You absolutely have to have Plan Bs and Cs. We couldn’t get Mooney, but got some good players and filled some gaps.”
Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets still have a berth for a foreigner player.
Esmae MacGregor goes to Birmingham Phoenix for £16,000
She’s only played one Hundred game, but Phoenix have seen enough to want her in their squad.
Updated
No bids for Rhianna Southby
She doesn’t fit into any strategies right now.
Rebecca Tyson joins Manchester Super Giants for £15,000
“Is that the only one you’re happy with all day Super Giants,” joshes Madley.
Updated
Fi Morris joins Welsh Fire for £20,000
Some tit for tat between Sunrisers and Fire, with Fire winning out.
Charis Pavely joins London Spirit for £85,000
Lots of interest for young slow low left armer Pavely, who played a couple of games for England against Ireland in 2024. A very nice pay day.
Tara Norris joins MI London for £35,000
After missing out this morning, Norris is snapped up by MI London.
Georgia Adams is unsold
Like Ismail she has a base price of £27,500, and again no interest.
Shabnim Ismail is not sold
Lots of shoe-gazing. I know she’s 37 but I would have thought there were overs left in those speedy legs.
Jemima Spence joins Birmingham Phoenix for £37,500
Wicket-keeper Spence is the subject of a mini bidding war between Welsh Fire and Birmingham Phoenix.
Rebecca Odgers joins Southern Brave for £15,000
The base price wins it for Southern Brave, who snaffle up a wicketkeeper batter.
Phoebe Brett joins Birmingham Phoenix for £27,500
The bidding goes up in increments and just when it looks as if Brett is going to Manchester, Birmingham swoop.
Emma Jones joins Trent Rockets for £35,000
Trent Rockets hold their nerve this time.
Updated
Cassidy McCarthy join Sunrisers for £65,000
Sunrisers and Trent Rockets are next to each other on their round tables. The Rockets yellow, the Sunrisers red. They’ve both got their eye on young fast bowler McCarthy. Paddles go up and up…Trent Rockets obviously fancy holding onto McCarthy but are outbid.
Updated
Natasha Wraith joins Manchester Super Giants for £15,000
Short and sweeet – the hammer falls on the first bid.
Good old Charles Dagnall in his smart sports jacket sums a few things up in the studio.
MI London splurged on Kira Chathli, meaning they have three opening bats.
Trent Rockets think they’ve got bargain with young Millie Taylor with her left arm spin.
Welsh Fire did well to pick up Grace Potts, a really highly thought of fast bowler with Lancashire, while Heather Graham is a bargain for £27,000.
MI London’s Lisa Keithley has been talking to Kenzie Benali. “I was really happy with those three signings there, a lot of flexibility and a lot of movement. We thought Sophie Devine would really suit the Oval pitch, but she’ll have to make the best of it at Welsh Fire.
“I’m really excited to get a few Surrey players back -important for the brand and the fans. Got a young group which will be really exciting. Be nice to go back to back and win twice. I was really happy to get Hollie Armitage back.”
Updated
Jo-Anne Gardner joins the SuperGiants for £17,000
The room isn’t buzzing with big dog energy right now. Too much screen time? But Super Giants rouse themselves to snatch Gardner from under the Sunrisers’ nose.
Relief all round as everyone takes a quick break.
Updated
Eva Gray joins Birmingham Phoenix for £30,000
After playing for Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, Gray heads to the Midlands.
Heather Graham joins Welsh Fire for £27,500
Just the one bid again.
Lauren Winfield-Hill joins Sunrisers Leeds for £27,500
After missing out in the morning’s bids, LWH is snapped up by the Sunrisers, with no competition.
Millicent Taylor joins Trent Rockets for £27,500
Mick Newell raises his paddle for £24,000 but is outbid by the Supergiants. Not looking entirely in his comfort zone, he raises his paddle again to seal the deal.
Jodi Grewcock joins Southern Brave for £30,000
The bidding crawls along, but suddenly accelerates into a £30,000 pay day.
Grace Potts joins Welsh Fire
One bid only.
Kira Chathli joins MI London for £80,000
Everyone perks up for Kira Chathli: Welsh Fire v MI London, up it goes, higher and higher. Sunrisers fancy her too but the hammer goes down on a £80,000 bid from The Oval.
Alice Monaghan joins MI London for £27,500
Lisa Keighley wants Alice Monaghan and Lisa Keighley gets Alice Monaghan.
Cordelia Griffith joins Birmingham Phoenix for £27,500
I lost concentration for a while, but Phoenix pull the table cloth from under London Spirit.
Bess Heath joins Trent Rockets for £32,500
Some ponderous bidding. Someone from Sunrisers has a whispered phone call down the line and the bid is raised to £30,000. But Trent Rockets win the day.
Ailsa Lister joins the Trent Rockets for £30,000
Lancashire’s Scottish wicketkeeper Lister is off to Trent Bridge.
Sarah Bryce joins Welsh Fire for £25,000
Another post-prandial purchase for Welsh Fire.
Ella McCaughan joins Welsh Fire for £30,000
A to and fro between the Super Giants and Welsh Fire, with Welsh Fire winning the day.
Ryana MacDonald-Gay goes to Manchester Super Giants for £75,000
Plenty of interest in 22 year old allrounder MacDonald-Gay, highly thought of though veteran of just one IT20, and the SuperGiants write the biggest cheque.
Updated
Right, here we go for the next round. of bidding. These 50 players have been ranked according to the number of teams who have put them forward.
Plenty of shopping for Trent Rockets to do, they’ve only bought one player so far – but it was the big money Beth Rooney.
The most expensive signings of the morning
Sophie Devine £210,000 (WF)
Beth Mooney £210,000 (TR)
Dani Gibson £190,000 (SL)
Nadine de Klerk £170,000 (LS)
Issy Wong £130,000 (SB)
Tilly Corteen-Coleman (SB)
Paige Scholfield £115,000 (MSG)
Em Arlott £110,000 (WF)
Jess Jonassen £110,000 (SR)
Linsey Smith £100,000 (BP)
Updated
Things will restart in Piccadilly at 2pm GMT, so time for a quick turn round the block in the sunshine.
Squads as they stand
Names in italics were signed up before today.
Birmingham Phoenix
Alice Capsey, £130,000
Ellyse Perry, £100,000
Linsey Smith, £100,000
Lauren Filer, £95,000
Tammy Beaumont, £70,000
Davina Perrin, £50,000
Alana King, £37,500
Lucy Hamilton £35,000
Emma Lamb, £27,500
London Spirit
Nadine de Klerk, £170,000
Marizanne Kapp, £130,000
Charlie Dean, £85,000
Mahika Gaur, £75,000
Grace Harris, £70,000
Amy Jones, £70,000
Deandra Dottin, £37,500
Seren Smale, £15,000
Lucy Higham, £15,000
Manchester Super Giants
Paige Scholfield, £115,000
Sophie Ecclestone, £110,000
Meg Lanning, £95,000
Smriti Mandhana, £90,000
Kathryn Bryce, £65,000
Richa Ghosh, £50,000
Mady Villiers, £45,000
Grace Ballinger, £42,500
Maitlan Brown, £40,000
Grace Scrivens, £40,000
MI London
Hayley Matthews, £120,000
Danni Wyatt-Hodge, £110,000
Nic Carey, £95,000
Melie Kerr, £80,000
Chinelle Henry, £70,000
Kirstie Gordon, £55,000
Hollie Armitage, £45,000
Alice Davidson-Richards, £30,000
Southern Brave
Lauren Bell, £140,000
Issy Wong, £130,000
Tilly Corteen-Coleman, £105,000
Maia Bouchier, £85,000
Laura Wolvaardt, £75,000
Sarah Glenn, £75,000
Jemimah Rodrigues, £60,000
Sophie Molineux, £47,500
Lizelle Lee, £27,500
Sunrisers Leeds
Danielle Gibson, £190,000
Annabel Sutherland, £130,000
Phoebe Litchfield, £120,000
Jess Jonassen, £110,000
Kate Cross £50,000
Deepti Sharma, £27,500
Bryony Smith, £27,500
Hannah Baker, £18,000
Trent Rockets
Beth Mooney, £210,000
Nat Sciver-Brunt, £140,000
Ash Gardner, £100,000
Sophia Dunkley, £78,000
Kim Garth, £42,000
Welsh Fire
Sophie Devine, £210,000
Freya Kemp, £120,000
Em Arlott, £110,000
Georgia Wareham, £100,000
Georgia Voll, £80,000
Alana King £37,500
Sophia Smale, £20,000
Updated
Here’s this week’s edition of The Spin …
I think we get a lunchbreak now, which is time for me to move before my legs seize up. Will be back.
Lucy Higham joins London Spirit for £15,000
The first bid wins the prize.
Samantha Bates, Rebecca Tyson and Amanda-Jade Wellington and are unsold
The franchises tighten the purse-strings before lunch.
Hannah Baker moves to Sunrisers for £18,000
Now for Tier Two spinners. The price inches up from the opening bid of £15,000 and Sunrisers flash more cash than Trent Rockets.
Alice Davidson-Richards joins MI London for £30,000
Another tick for MI London.
Updated
Shree Charani is unsold.
No bids.
Nicola Carey joins MI London £95,000
Australia’s Carey, right hand bowler, left-hand batter, and who has just been selected for Australia’s white-ball tour of West Indies, is in demand, but MI (MY) London win the day. Carey has also played for franchise-buddy Mumbai Indians.
Updated
Mady Villiers joins Manchester SuperGiants for £45,000
Villiers, a spinning allrounder and climate advocate, will spend her summer at Old Trafford.
Updated
Em Arlott joins Welsh Fire for £110,000
Paddles fly around the room for Arlott. Welsh Fire, who have shunned leisurewear for grey suit jackets, outbid MI London.
Grace Scivens joins the Supergiants for £40,000
Daniel Gidney stares at the table, but Scrivens is heading to Manchester. I’m surprised there isn’t more cheering when teams get their woman.
Updated
Paige Scholfield joins Manchester Super Giants for £115,000
Quite the bidding war for Scholfield, who has Big Bash and England experience under her belt
Eve Jones and Sune Luus unsold
Anyone? Anyone? No. This is not for the faint-hearted.
Updated
Hollie Armitage joins MI London for £27,500
MI London outbid Manchester Super Giants.
Tier two batters are next under the hammer.
What’s left in the purse? MI London still have a £405,000 kitty to spend, Manchester Super Giants £382,000. Welsh Fire £300,000, Trent Rockets £270,000, London Spirit £202,500; Birmingham Phoenix £195,000, Sunrisers Leeds £175,000, and Southern Brave just £95,000.
During another quick break we go to Anya Shubsole. “It’s really exciting, I’d rather be my side of the table than the players. We’re really happy with where we’re at, I’m really excited to get Issy Wong, she’s one of the best bowlers in England on her day.
“Opening the bowling with Belly too, very exciting. And some world-class spinners. In terms of the top order and the bowling attack we’re pretty much there.”
Seren Smale joins London Spirit £15,000
A last minute bid at the base price by London Spirit snaps up Smale.
Yastika Bhatia and Georgia Redmayne unsold
Tumbleweed blows across the florescent-lit room. It’s not nice.
Updated
Richa Ghosh joins Manchester Supergiants for £50,000
The opening bid wins it for Manchester elephants.
Updated
Lauren Winfield-Hill is unsold
No bids, which is surprising.
Updated
Now for the wicketkeeper-batters.
Kirstie Gordon joins MI London for £27,500
A capital arm-wrestle won by MI London.
Updated
Alana King joins Welsh Fire for £37,500
Wow. £105,000 for an uncapped teenager, and £37,500 for the world’s leading female ODI bowler.
Sophia Smale joins Welsh Fire for £20,000
Short and sweet for Sophia Smale, as Welsh Fire see off Sunrisers.
Updated
Tilly Corteen-Coleman joins Southern Brave for £105,000
A pinch-yourself moment for 18 year old left-arm spinner Corteen-Coleman, who took four wickets in four balls for South East Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in 2024.
Linsey Smith joins Birmingham Phoenix for £100,000
Slow left armer Smith, who has thrived under Charlotte Edwards’ England regime, is picked up by Birmingham Phoenix after lots of football manager whispers behind hands.
Now for the spin bowlers. Alana King should open a few purses.
Deandra Dottin joins London Spirit for £37, 500
Just one bid for Dottin, who will be peppering the Lord’s boundary this summer.
Jess Jonassen joins Sunrisers Leeds for £110,000
Lots of intense staring at laptops, whispered exchanges, and Jess Jonassen becomes the first allrounder to pass the £100,000 barrier. London Spirit come in at £105,000, but Sunrisers win the day.
Georgia Adams is unsold
No interest at this stage, even from Southern Brave.
Chinelle Henry joins MI London for £70,000
The first West Indian player to be sold joins MI London. London Spirit hop into the bidding late and pushed the price up only to withdraw and leave Henry to move to The Oval.
Updated
Kathryn Bryce joins Manchester Super Giants for £65,000
It looks as if Bryce is going up north at the opening price but Welsh Fire’s interest pushes up the price.
Now for the allrounders.
Maitland Brown joins Supergiants for £40,000
Welsh Fire have a sniff, but Supergiants win Brown, a right-arm quick Australian.
Issy Wong joins Southern Brave for £130,0oo
The popular and media friendly/savvy Wong, who has played WPL and Big Bash, goes to the south coast for six figures.
Updated
One woman amongst the eight women's head coaches
Just had a google:
Manchester Super Giants: Matthew Mott
London Spirit: Jon Lewis
Birmingham Phoenix: Alistair Maiden
MI London: Lisa Keightley
Southern Brave: Jonathan Batty
Sunrisers Leeds: Daniel Vettori
Trent Rockets: Chris Read
Welsh Fire: Michael Klinger
Shabnim Ismail and Lauren Cheatle are unsold
No bids for the world’s fastest female bowler or left-arm Australian seamer Cheatle.
Grace Ballinger joins Trent Rockets for £42,500
From their elephant-branded swivel chairs, Manchester Supergiants spend their first money of the day on seam bowler Ballinger.
Updated
Bryony Smith joins Sunrisers Leeds for £27,500
The hammer falls again after just one bid.
Emma Lamb joins Birmingham Phoenix £27,500
Only one club shows any interest, so Lamb goes for the opening price.
No bids for Tazmin Brits
A second South African goes unsold.
Lizelle Lee joins Souther Brave for £27,500
Southern Brave pick up a bargain with wise old head Lizelle Lee.
Updated
Sterre Kalis is unsold
The first of the tier one batters doesn’t receive a bid. She can pop up again though later in the auction.
The official Hundred stream has lost 1,000 viewers in the last hour, now down to 1,400. But some life-changing sums of money have already exchanged hands.
What’s left in the purse? MI London and Manchester Supergiants still have a £530,000 kitty to spend. Birmingham Phoenix have £360,00, Southern Brave £357.500, Welsh Fire £320,000; Sunrisers Leeds £312.500, Trent Rockets £270,000 and London Spirit £240k.
Updated
Welsh Fire women’s head coach Michael Klinger on Sophie Devine “she’s one of the best allrounders in the world, we’re really happy to have her.”
Time for a break from the auction while everyone tots up their shopping list. It’s not the world’s most enthralling watch – could do with a bit more Supermarket Sweep energy.
Updated
Beth Mooney joins Trent Rockets for £210,000
The Australian “wicketkeeper batsman” becomes the joint most expensive player of the morning as the Supergiants are outbid once more.
Sophie Mollineaux joins Southern Brave for £47,500
A slow burn for Mollineaux but she inches close to a £50,000 pay packet eventually.
Sophie Devine joins Welsh fire for £210,000
A fantastic retirement present for Sophie Devine. Welsh Fire outbid MI London – things are looking up across the Severn Bridge.
Deepti Sharma joins Sunrisers Leeds for £27,500
A complete bargain for Sunrisers Leeds. I find that a bit baffling.
I wonder if the men’s auction tomorrow will be dominated by women with ipads. I have spotted Anya Shrubsole with her arms folded in a regulation Southern Brave baseball jacket.
Updated
Nadine de Klerk joins London Spirit for £170,000
Not entirely sure Richard Madley from Bargain Hunt knows who Nadine de De Klerk is. Anyway, as the first of the overseas players, she gets a huge pay cheque as London Spirit outbid their rival over the Thames.
Dani Gibson joins Sunrisers for £190,000
A whopping pay day for Dani Gibson, in a bidding war between Welsh Fire, Sunrisers Leeds and Southern Brave.
Updated
Tammy Beaumont joins Birmingham Phoenix for £70,000
Phoenix outbid the Trent Rockets for England’s own pocket rocket.
Updated
Forgive me, I’ve just spotted two women in an ocean of men in leisurewear. Remember when the WCA amalgamated with the ECB and all the women lost their jobs?
Updated
Where are the women?
I’d like to point out that it might be the women players who are for sale but I’m yet to see a woman on any of the team tables. Welcome to 2026.
Southern Brave buy Sarah Glenn for £75,000
A first purchase for Southern Brave.
Updated
London Spirit buy Amy Jones for £70,000
London Spirit open and close the bidding for England’s wicketkeeper.
Birmingham Phoenix buy Davina Perrin for £50,000
A volunteer picks a name from a hat, and it’s Davina Perrin – a bit of to-ing and fro-ing until Birmingham Phoenix make the first ever Hundred auction purchase!
Updated
Finances
The investors have brought with them a bigger purse, meaning bigger salaries. The women’s salary cap has doubled to £880,000 per team (though still significantly less than the men’s £2.05 million)
The teams still have a fair share of that booty left: Birmingham Phoenix, London Sprit, Southern Brave and Trent Rockets have £480,000.
MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, Welsh Fire and Manchester Super Giants have £530,ooo.
Okay, so the likeable Charles Dagnall and Kenzie Benali are our hosts on Sky.
There will be 178 names in the women’s pool. Each team is allowed four overseas players per squad (and per team). Each team has already signed up a handful of players, with some teams already looking.
Manchester Super Giants: Sophie Ecclestone (retained) Smriti Mandhana, Meg Lanning (both pre-signed)
London Spirit: Grace Harris, Charlie Dean (both retained), Marizanne Kapp, Mahika Gaur (both pre-signed)
Birmingham Phoenix: Ellyse Perry (retained). Alice Capsey, Lucy Hamilton, Lauren Filer (all pre-signed)
MI London: Hayley Matthews, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Melie Kerr (all pre-signed)
Southern Brave: Laura Wolvaardt, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier (all retained), Jemimah Rodrigues (pre-signed)
Sunrisers Leeds: Kate Cross, Annabel Sutherland, Phoebe Litchfield (all retained)
Trent Rockets: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Ash Gardner (both retained), Sophia Dunkley, Kim Garth (both pre-signed)
Welsh Fire: Georgia Wareham, Freya Kemp, Georgia Voll (all pre-signed)
Many eyes will be on how Pakistan’s players fare after reports that Indian-owned franchises would follow the IPL and refuse to sign players from across the border.
There are 16 Pakistan names in the auction – two women (fast-bowling allrounder Fatima Sana and left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal) and 16 men including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
The Franchises
Manchester Super Giants, once Manchester Originals, are now 70 per cent owned by India’s RSPG group and part of a growing empire including IPL side Lucknow Super Giants and SA20’s Durban Super Giants. Lancashire CCC own the other 30 per cent. Their new badge features the famous Manchester elephant.
London Spirit American based consortium Tech Tech have a 49 per cent stake, while the MCC kept the majority stake.
Sunrisers Leeds were sold lock stock and barrel to The Sun Group which in the process killed off Northern Superchargers. They too become part of a portfolio of sides, joining Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
MI London, once the Oval Invincibles, also lost their name in the sell-off to India’s Ambani family. Reliance Industries Ltd now hold a 49 percent stake, with Surrey keeping the majority share. Their sister club is Mumbai Indians.
Southern Brave keep their name. GMR Group, the power behind Delhi Capitals and Hampshire, have a 49 percent stake.
Welsh Fire are half owned by Glamorgan, and half owned by India-American businessman Sanjay Goval, who also controls Major League Cricket franchise Washington Freedom.
Trent Rockets break the mould a little. Notts retain a 51 percent share, with the other 49 percent sold to Cain International, owned by Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly.
Preamble
Good morning brave new world. Today we crush the Hula Hoops and strut into the era of billionaire owners and player auctions, with a side dish of geopolitics
The women go under the hammer in about an hour’s time, tomorrow bids will be made on the men. In brief, each player will be listed in turn and the highest bidder wins their labour for six weeks in the summer.
The players are ranked into three groups – hero players (the 50 players who had the most interest from franchises), ranked players (each team then ranks 25 from the best of rest) and finally nominated players (each team selects an unsigned player they like, they then get auctioned, and if no other team bids they remain with the team who selected them.)
Media aren’t allowed into the auction room, but our man Andy Bull will be darting into the mixed zone when he can. We’ll be keeping an eye from the sofa, do join us.
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