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

The Women's Hundred will hold its first-ever player auction on Wednesday (March 11), followed by the men's auction on Thursday. This replaces the draft system used in the tournament's first five seasons, adopting an auction model common in the IPL.

The auction follows the ECB's move to bring private investors into the eight franchises, which now have new identities reflecting IPL ownership: MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, and Manchester Super Giants. GMR, co-owners of the IPL's Delhi Capitals, have taken a 49% stake in Southern Brave.

With the rising profile of women's cricket after the Women's Premier League and the upcoming 2025 ODI World Cup, England's and the world's top stars are expected to command groundbreaking bids. Fierce bidding is also anticipated for emerging local talent.

Auction Format and Purse

• Team Purse: Capped at £880,000, with deductions for pre-auction signings.
• Squad Size: Maximum of 15 players, with no more than 4 overseas players. This includes two wildcard picks teams can sign independently before the season.
• Player Categories: 178 players are split into three groups:
  1. Hero Players: Teams nominate players they want. The 50 most-nominated players will be grouped by role and auctioned.
  2. Ranked Players: Teams nominate up to 25 players (which can include unsold Hero Players). These are then auctioned based on nomination numbers.
  3. Nominated Players: Unsold players enter a round where teams take turns nominating one player to sign. If multiple teams want her, a bid occurs; if not, she goes to the nominating team. The nomination order is decided by a random draw.

Team Rosters and Remaining Purses

Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets

• Pre-signed: 4 players
• Purse Deduction: £360,000
• Purse Remaining: £520,000

Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, Welsh Fire

• Pre-signed: 3 players
• Purse Deduction: £310,000
• Purse Remaining: £570,000

Key Pre-Auction Signings & Retentions

• Manchester Super Giants: Signed Meg Lanning and Smriti Mandhana; retained Sophie Ecclestone.
• MI London: Signed Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews (both Mumbai Indians players in WPL).
• Southern Brave: Signed Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals captain in WPL); retained Laura Wolvaardt (also a Delhi Capitals player).

Marquee Players Available

Ten marquee players—five overseas and five domestic—are expected to be in high demand.

• Domestic Marquee: Includes wicket-keeper Amy Jones, leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, and 19-year-old standout Davina Perrin.
• Overseas Marquee: Includes Deepti Sharma, Sophie Devine, Beth Mooney, Nadine de Klerk, and new Australian captain Sophie Molineux.
• Other Notable Players: Destructive West Indies duo Chinelle Henry and Deandra Dottin, Australian leg-spinner Alana King, and a contingent of twelve Indian players including Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, and Shree Charani. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur is a notable absence from the list.