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! 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. “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. 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. No counter bid again, so the Rockets get Johnson. Sunrisers are the only team without 14 players, and their pick gets no counter bids. Some argument over whose turn it is to bid…. The hammer falls without debate. I’ve lost track of a few but I’ll come back to them. In the meantime, MI London snap up Gregory. Brave now have the minimum squad number of 14. Fire outmanoeuvre Sunrisers. Unchallenged. Welsh Rockets nominate Adams but are outbid and Adams gets a berth at the third time of asking. Unchallenged again, and Moore heads to The Oval. 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. “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. And that’s the end of that block. Not entirely sure how many there are to come. Another player heads to the capital. The base bid wins it. England U19 is wanted by Cardiff. Not much experience under her belt, but she gets snapped up. A rapid turnover now. The opening bid is the winning one. Silence and no sale. Sunrisers are mugged by London Spirit. Getting to the brutal time of the day. A bidding war between Trent Rockets and London Spirit for experienced legspinner Levick, who has played in every season of the Hundred. Tumbleweed until Rockets raise a belated paddle. A good signing. A happier afternoon than morning for Kalis, who is off to Lord’s. 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. She’s only played one Hundred game, but Phoenix have seen enough to want her in their squad. She doesn’t fit into any strategies right now. “Is that the only one you’re happy with all day Super Giants,” joshes Madley. Some tit for tat between Sunrisers and Fire, with Fire winning out. 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. After missing out this morning, Norris is snapped up by MI London. Like Ismail she has a base price of £27,500, and again no interest. Lots of shoe-gazing. I know she’s 37 but I would have thought there were overs left in those speedy legs. Wicket-keeper Spence is the subject of a mini bidding war between Welsh Fire and Birmingham Phoenix. The base price wins it for Southern Brave, who snaffle up a wicketkeeper batter. The bidding goes up in increments and just when it looks as if Brett is going to Manchester, Birmingham swoop. Trent Rockets hold their nerve this time. 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. 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.” 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. After playing for Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, Gray heads to the Midlands. Just the one bid again. After missing out in the morning’s bids, LWH is snapped up by the Sunrisers, with no competition. 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. The bidding crawls along, but suddenly accelerates into a £30,000 pay day. One bid only. 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. Lisa Keighley wants Alice Monaghan and Lisa Keighley gets Alice Monaghan. I lost concentration for a while, but Phoenix pull the table cloth from under London Spirit. 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. Lancashire’s Scottish wicketkeeper Lister is off to Trent Bridge. Another post-prandial purchase for Welsh Fire. A to and fro between the Super Giants and Welsh Fire, with Welsh Fire winning the day. 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. 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. 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) Things will restart in Piccadilly at 2pm GMT, so time for a quick turn round the block in the sunshine. 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 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. The first bid wins the prize. The franchises tighten the purse-strings before lunch. Now for Tier Two spinners. The price inches up from the opening bid of £15,000 and Sunrisers flash more cash than Trent Rockets. Another tick for MI London. No bids. 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. Villiers, a spinning allrounder and climate advocate, will spend her summer at Old Trafford. Paddles fly around the room for Arlott. Welsh Fire, who have shunned leisurewear for grey suit jackets, outbid MI London. 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. Quite the bidding war for Scholfield, who has Big Bash and England experience under her belt Anyone? Anyone? No. This is not for the faint-hearted. 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.” A last minute bid at the base price by London Spirit snaps up Smale. Tumbleweed blows across the florescent-lit room. It’s not nice. The opening bid wins it for Manchester elephants. No bids, which is surprising. Now for the wicketkeeper-batters. A capital arm-wrestle won by MI London. Wow. £105,000 for an uncapped teenager, and £37,500 for the world’s leading female ODI bowler. Short and sweet for Sophia Smale, as Welsh Fire see off Sunrisers. 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. 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. Just one bid for Dottin, who will be peppering the Lord’s boundary this summer. 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. No interest at this stage, even from Southern Brave. 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. 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. Welsh Fire have a sniff, but Supergiants win Brown, a right-arm quick Australian. The popular and media friendly/savvy Wong, who has played WPL and Big Bash, goes to the south coast for six figures. 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 No bids for the world’s fastest female bowler or left-arm Australian seamer Cheatle. From their elephant-branded swivel chairs, Manchester Supergiants spend their first money of the day on seam bowler Ballinger. The hammer falls again after just one bid. Only one club shows any interest, so Lamb goes for the opening price. A second South African goes unsold. Southern Brave pick up a bargain with wise old head Lizelle Lee. 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. 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. The Australian “wicketkeeper batsman” becomes the joint most expensive player of the morning as the Supergiants are outbid once more. A slow burn for Mollineaux but she inches close to a £50,000 pay packet eventually. A fantastic retirement present for Sophie Devine. Welsh Fire outbid MI London – things are looking up across the Severn Bridge. 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. 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. A whopping pay day for Dani Gibson, in a bidding war between Welsh Fire, Sunrisers Leeds and Southern Brave. Phoenix outbid the Trent Rockets for England’s own pocket rocket. 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? 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. A first purchase for Southern Brave. London Spirit open and close the bidding for England’s wicketkeeper. 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! 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. 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. 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.