Danielle Gibson won the first Hundred auction with a salary of £190,000, making her the richest British woman ever, while uncapped teenager Tilly Courteen-Coleman took home a huge £105,000 deal.
The level of spending at Britain’s first player auction in a major professional sport represents a significant rise in the women’s game. The maximum salary cap under the previous system started at £15,000 in 2021 and was still capped at £65,000 last summer.
The tournament received a significant cash injection after the sale of stakes in all eight franchises to private investors and the new owners of the rebranded Headingley franchise, Sunrisers Leeds, made a major move to secure Gibson’s services at the London bidding venue.
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Sky Sports will be broadcasting how the Hundred Auction will work during the men’s event on Thursday.
Due to injury problems, the hard-hitting all-rounder has not played for his country since October 2024, but he still ended up signing a contract worth £50,000 more than England captain Nat Cyber Brunt and pace bowler Lauren Bell, who had already agreed a deal as a ‘direct contract’ before the auction.
Gibson was one of 30 players to arrive in South Africa for England’s training camp and intra-squad series, and despite his relatively young position within the national team, he currently carries the heftiest price tag of any South African player.
She said: “I’m still in shock. I took a cold shower to calm myself down but it didn’t help. I’m really excited and excited.”
“I was calm, but when I turned on the TV, I got really nervous. I was shaking and getting more and more anxious. And when the bidding war happened, I thought, this is weird.”
Sunrisers Leeds sign Gibson in the biggest deal involving a British player at the inaugural Women’s Hundred auction
Only two overseas players attracted higher offers – Australia’s Beth Mooney, who earned £210,000 from Trent Rockets, and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, who earned the same amount from Welsh Fire.
South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk has joined London Spirit for £170,000.
Hundred Auctions – Biggest Deals of the Day
Those in bold are overseas players.
Beth Mooney (Trent Rockets) – £210,000 Sophie Devine (Welsh Fire) – £210,000 Daniel Gibson (Sunrisers Leeds) – £190,000 Nadine de Klerk (London Spirit) – £170,000 Issie Wong (Southern Brave) – £130,000 Paige Scholfield (Manchester Super Giants) – £115,000 Arlott (Welsh Fire) – £110,000 Jess Jonassen (Sunrisers Leeds) – £110,000 Tilly Courteen-Coleman (Southern Brave) – £105,000 Lindsay Smith (Birmingham Phoenix) – £100,000 Nicola Carey (MI London) – £95,000 Charice Pavelley (London Spirit) – £85,000
New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, Cricket (Associated Press)
Like Gibson, left-arm spinner Courteen Coleman, 18, was also in Pretoria celebrating an impressive six-figure result with his former franchise Southern Brave.
Courteen-Coleman became the Hundred’s youngest player when he first appeared in 2024 at the age of 16, and is highly regarded as a promising player who specializes in power play overs.
She has an outside chance to play in this summer’s T20 World Cup in her home country, but she lags behind world No. 1 left-handers Sophie Ecclestone and Lindsay Smith in the standings.
Smith was also a big winner, picking up £100,000 from Birmingham Phoenix.
Southern Brave paid £130,000 for pace bowler Issie Wong, but rising star Davina Perrin, who became the first female player to hit a century for the Hundred last year, was a relative bargain at £50,000 for Birmingham Phoenix, who first went under the hammer.
England’s South African-born batsman Paige Scholfield moved to Manchester Supergiants for £115,000, while talented spin-bowling all-rounder Caris Paveley earned £85,000 after being contacted by the Spirit.
The women’s total annual salary is £880,000 each, with a budget of £2.05 million for the men’s slot, which will be auctioned on Thursday.
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Former England spinner Alex Hartley has reacted to big-money moves at the Hundred auction, including Tyrie Courteen-Coleman’s move to Southern Brave.
When is the 2026 edition of The Hundred?
The tournament will run from Tuesday 21st July to Sunday 16th August, with Sunrisers Leeds Women and MI London Men beginning their title defense on the first day at Kia Oval.
All of the men’s and women’s matches, including the eliminator on Friday 14 August and the final two days later, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with the women’s matches taking place at the same venue each day before the men’s matches.
How does the tournament work?
Each team will play eight group games, once against six teams and twice against local rivals.
MI London will play London Spirit twice, with other home and away matches being Sunrisers Leeds vs Manchester Super Giants, Trent Rockets vs Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave vs Wales Fire.
The male and female teams that take first place in the league match will directly qualify for the finals, and both teams will play the second and third matches in an eliminator to determine the opponent of the top team.
