Big bids beckon as Women's Hundred holds maiden player auction

What to expect?

Following the ECB's decision to rope in private investors for the eight franchises of The Hundred, the competition now heads into its first ever player auction ahead of the 2026 season. All eyes and ears will be affixed firmly on London's Piccadilly Lights with the player auction for the Women's Hundred on Wednesday (March 11) to be followed by that for the Men's Hundred on Thursday.

While the tournament has followed the draft system across the first five seasons, the ECB has done away with that in favor of the auction, which has been commonplace in the IPL.

Interestingly, there is considerable IPL flavor that has made its foray into The Hundred - evidenced by the rechristening of the franchises that are now called MI London, Sunrisers Leeds and Manchester Super Giants. GMR, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the IPL, have bought a 49% stake in the Southern Brave.

Come Wednesday, groundbreaking bids are on the cards for the premier superstars of England and world cricket. With the stocks of the women's cricket pool rising in wake of the Women's Premier League as well as the ODI World Cup in the subcontinent in 2025, expect a huge payday for a host of them.

And of course, considering just how important local talent is towards winning a franchise T20 competition, bidding wars for greenhorns keenly eyed by the scouts of the eight teams ought not to come as a surprise.

What is the format for the Women's Hundred auction?

The purse for each team has been capped at 880,000 GBP for the Women's Hundred auction, although deductions have been made in accordance with the number of pre-auction signings. The squad strength is to be capped at 15, with no more than four overseas players. That includes two wildcard picks who can be signed independently by teams ahead of the season.

The 178 players who will go under the hammer have been split across three categories - Hero Players, Ranked Players and Nominated Players.

Hero Players

In the first category, teams will nominate the names of the players they are most interested in signing. The 50 players most nominated from that list will be grouped into different sets based on their roles and then come up for bidding.

Ranked Players

This stage will see teams nominate up to 25 players - which may also include unsold Hero Players. The players will then come up for bidding on the basis of the highest number of nominations.

Nominated Players

Following the Ranked Players round, each team will take turns in nominating a player whom they wish to sign from those unsigned at the auction. Should any of the other teams also wish to sign her, bids will be taken by the auctioneer, else the player will go to the team that nominated her.

The order in which the eight teams will take turns in nominating a player will be decided by a random draw.

Players retained/signed and purse remaining

Four teams (Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Southern Brave and Trent Rockets) have four players on their roster, as a result of which 360,000 GBP has been deducted from their auction purse.

The remaining teams (Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Sunrisers Leeds and Welsh Fire) have three players on their roster, resulting in a deduction of 310,000 GBP from their purse.

The WPL influence is reflected in MI London signing New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr and West Indies' captain Hayley Matthews, both of whom play for Mumbai Indians. Southern Brave have duly signed DC skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, while retaining Laura Wolvaardt, who also represents the Capitals in the WPL. The Super Giants, meanwhile, have pulled off a coup in the form of Australian legend Meg Lanning and Indian superstar Smriti Mandhana, besides retaining Sophie Ecclestone from the erstwhile-known Manchester Originals.

Birmingham Phoenix

Direct signings: Alice Capsey, Lauren Filer, Lucy Hamilton

Retained: Ellyse Perry

Purse remaining: 520,000 GBP

London Spirit

Direct signings: Mahika Gaur, Marizanne Kapp

Retained: Charlie Dean, Grace Harris

Purse remaining: 520,000 GBP

Manchester Super Giants

Direct signings: Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana

Retained: Sophie Ecclestone

Purse remaining: 570,000 GBP

MI London

Direct signings: Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

Retained: None

Purse remaining: 570,000 GBP

Southern Brave

Direct signings: Jemimah Rodrigues

Retained: Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Laura Wolvaardt

Purse remaining: 520,000 GBP

Sunrisers Leeds

Direct signings: None

Retained: Kate Cross, Phoebe Litchfield, Annabel Sutherland

Purse remaining: 570,000 GBP

Trent Rockets

Direct signings: Sophia Dunkley, Kim Garth

Retained: Ash Gardner, Natalie Sciver-Brunt

Purse remaining: 520,000 GBP

Welsh Fire

Direct signings: Freya Kemp, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

Retained: None

Purse remaining: 570,000 GBP

Who are the big players available at the Women's Hundred auction?

The ten marquee players - five overseas and five domestic - are expected to be in serious demand on auction day. While wicket-keeper Amy Jones and leg-spinner Sarah Glenn could fetch a handsome payday among the domestic marquee names, watch out for Davina Perrin, the 19-year old who lit up the 2025 edition and also bagged a deal with Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL.

The overseas marquee names include Deepti Sharma, Sophie Devine, Beth Mooney and Nadine de Klerk, as well as newly-appointed Australian captain Sophie Molineux.

The destructive Caribbean duo of Chinelle Henry and Deandra Dottin, bona fide match-winners on their day, ought to fetch a few bids, while Australian leggie Alana King could be another big-ticket demand at the auction.

A total of twelve Indian players including Deepti, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani will be eyeing a gig as well. Interestingly, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur is a notable absentee from the longlist.