The Hundred 2026: men’s player auction updates – live

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David Howell writes in:

I genuinely did not see one of the literally IPL-branded teams acquiring a Pakistani player. In fact I assumed that all the Pakistani players would go unsold, the national team schedule to be cited, and probably an eventual discovery years down the line that the cynical explanation was the right one after all. Delighted to be proven wrong!

Wonder if the SunRisers mothership will get fan backlash for it back in Hyderabad?

James Coles is the most expensive buy of the auction, sold for £390,000 to London Spirit. He plays for Sussex, who aren’t having a great time with their own finances. I’d say that Abrar’s move to SunRisers is more eye-catching, a Pakistan international heading to an Indian-owned side. Phew.

I forgot to mention: London Spirit have got themselves Mason Crane for £31k.

Abrar Ahmed joins SunRisers Leeds for £190,000

Now this is worth noting: SunRisers Leeds, an IPL-affiliated team, bid for Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed. They take the leggie’s price to £130k, but Trent Rockets want him, too. SunRisers aren’t hesitating with that paddle – they go to £190k. And they’ve got him! That’s the most significant buy of the day.

Nathan Sowter’s leggies helped Oval Invincibles to three titles in a row so it’s no surprise that MI London want him back. Trent Rockets want in on the action but Sowter can keep his spot in the Oval dressing room. MI London buy him for £130k.

Tom Hartley joins Manchester Super Giants for £35k. Keshav Maharaj is spelt as Kehav Maharaj on the big screen and the Hundred website. Anyway, he’s unsold.

Dan Lawrence joins SunRisers Leeds for £210,000

Lewis Gregory rejoins Trent Rockets – he captained them to the title in 2022 – for £55k. Dan Lawrence, classed as an all-rounder in this auction because of those funky off-breaks, is in demand as his price rockets past £100k. He’s never starred in the Hundred, averaging 18 with the bat after five seasons, but his price moves past £200k. He’s going to Leeds for £210k.

Australia’s Ben Dwarshuis goes unsold, as does Pakistan Saim Ayub.

James Coles joins London Spirit for £390,000

James Coles, the England Lions all-rounder, is bound to get plenty of attention. His price flies quickly past £100k, with Phoenix and the Super Giants bidding against one another. Phoenix take the price to £170k, the Super Giants outbid them … before Trent Rockets rock up at £190k. Phoenix re-emerge at £200k … but SunRisers are up at £220k. The price goes beyond £250k … and London Spirit put their paddle up … we’re past £300k. Coles, 21 and uncapped, is the most expensive buy of the day.

SunRisers eventually say no to the man who won the SA20 with their affiliate team in that comp – he goes to London Spirit for £390k.

Olly Stone has a base price of £50k – no team makes a bid.

David Payne, player of the match in the Big Bash League final in January, is off to Trent Rockets for £130,000. He’s the first fast bowler to join them. The Rockets bid for Matt Potts, too, but the England quick joins SunRisers Leeds for £75k.

Chris Jordan, who has played a whopping 431 T20s, goes for £160,000 – Southern Brave are the victors.

Time for some quicks, with a New Zealand great on show. MI London bid for Trent Boult at £100k. They’re unchallenged and the left-armer is off to the Oval.

Will Smeed, top-order blaster at Somerset, hit the first hundred in the Hundred back in 2022. He’s back at Birmingham Phoenix for £55k.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore gets a bid from Manchester Super Giants but is off to Welsh Fire for £80k. That’s their first buy since spending big on Jordan Cox.

Somerset veteran Tom Abell is up – he goes unsold at £31k.

Leus Du Plooy is in the middle of a bidding war between Welsh Fire and Manchester Super Giants. The latter take him for £120k.

Time for the ‘Tier 2’ section of players in the auction. Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke, who has already played for three Hundred teams, is going back to Birmingham Phoenix – where he played last year – for £85k.

It’s Tom Curran’s birthday. Tidy time to get a £260,000 contract.

Sean Clayton writes in:

Admittedly, I’m not a Hundred fan at the best of times but why have the new owners rebadged the franchise as SunRisers Leeds, rather than, say, Northern SunRisers? That rebranding is not going to attract many new fans within the supposed franchise catchment area from Sheffield, Newcastle, Hull, etc...

They’re all quite silly, aren’t they? Also don’t get the rogue capital letter. That being said, it could be worse – at least they’ve not gone for ‘SunRiserz’ to get down with the kidz.

West Indies left-arm tweaker Akeal Hosein is unsold at £100,000.

Bangladesh’s Rishad Hossain is unsold, his base price at £75k.

Usman Tariq joins Birmingham Phoenix for £140,000

Here’s Pakistan’s Usman Tariq … and he’s got a bid from Birmingham Phoenix at his base price of £100k. Trent Rockets are in competition with him. A reminder: both teams are not IPL-affiliated. His price flies to £140k … and he’s off to Edgbaston.

Yorkshire’s Jafer Chohan, a product of the South Asian Cricket Academy, is unsold at £31k.

David Willey is on the move to London Spirit for £120k. Next up, some spinners.

Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai is ignored as well.

Pakistan’s Shadab Khan goes unsold.

Gus Atkinson joins Manchester Super Giants for £70,000

The England quick joins an attack featuring Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker and Liam Dawson.

Tom Curran joins MI London for £260,000

We’re looking at the top all-rounders now. Tom Curran is in demand; he was a key part of the Oval Invincibles team that won three titles in a row. MI London (the new Invincibles) want him back, taking the bidding to £200,000. Curran’s price continues to climb – he’s going to end up as one of the day’s biggest earners … MI London take him for £260,000.

Saqib Mahmood joins Birmingham Phoenix for £150,000

Saqib Mahmood, previously part of Oval Invincibles, is off to Edgbaston. Birmingham Phoenix have their first signing of the day.

Sonny Baker joins Manchester Super Giants for £95,000

Sonny Baker played for Manchester Originals last year. And he’s playing for Manchester Super Giants this year. Again, all this faff to end up in the same place.

Luke Wood joins Southern Brave for £130,000

Luke Wood, that nippy left-armer, will share the new ball with Jofra Archer.

Josh Tongue joins Manchester Super Giants for £200,000

Josh Tongue, a standout for England during the Ashes, hasn’t played much short-form cricket. But he’s got wheels and impressed last year for Manchester Originals. Birmingham Phoenix really need to start buying some players and they’re in a bidding war with Manchester Super Giants. Phoenix pull out at £200k though and Tongue is staying at Old Trafford.

Tim Seifert, despite his pyrotechnics at the T20 World Cup, goes unsold.

Zak Crawley joins SunRisers Leeds for £180,000

Zak Crawley had a very decent time of it at Northern Superchargers last year. And he’s getting plenty of love around the tables, several teams enchanted by those straight drives. He climbs from a base price of £31k to £180km, joining SunRisers. After all that faff, he’s staying at Headingley.

Ryan Rickelton joins SunRisers Leeds for £150,000

South Africa’s batters are very much in demand. Ryan Rickelton is off to Headingley.

Finn Allen joins Trent Rockets for £160,000

Right then, here’s Finn Allen, who slapped that 33-ball ton against South Africa at the World Cup. He has the Rockets, Super Giants and Spirit all going for him … and he’s heading to Trent Bridge.

Something I failed to clock: Aiden Makram is part of the Super Giants teams in the IPL and SA20, too.

Phil Salt, Welsh Fire’s captain, is looking fairly dapper at the auction. He’s got quite a decent crew of teammates: Marco Jansen, Rachin Ravindra, Chris Woakes, Joe Root and Jordan Cox.

Welsh Fire, having spent big on Joe Root and Jordan Cox, have £487,000 left in their purse. Trent Rockets, SunRisers Leeds and Birmingham Phoenix are yet to sign a player today.

Aiden Markram joins Manchester Super Giants for £200,000

Aiden Markram, South Africa’s T20 captain, is quickly in the middle of a bidding war between Trent Rockets and Manchester Super Giants. He’ll join his compatriot Heinrich Klaasen at Old Trafford.

David Miller joins Southern Brave for £110,000

Now South Africa’s David Miller, who does get a bid for £100,000 from Trent Rockets. Southern Brave want him, too, and they get him for £110,000.

The Southern Brave table discuss tactics. Photograph: John Phillips/ECB/Getty Images

Here’s Pakistan’s Haris Rauf … his base price at £100,000. He, too, goes unsold.

Daryl Mitchell, a solid all-format operator for New Zealand, does not attract any bids. His base price was £75,000.

The domestic marquee names are done. Time for the big overseas stars.

Jonny Bairstow joins London Spirit for £160,000

The Yorkshireman could be coming home … SunRisers Leeds have the paddle up. But London Spirit, quiet so far today, put their name in the ring. And he’s off to Lord’s for £160,000.

James Vince joins MI London for £190,000

James Vince, very much on the T20 treadmill nowadays, finds love from MI London and Manchester Super Giants. Alec Stewart and Kieron Pollard, on the MI table, get their man for £190k.

Jordan Cox joins Welsh Fire for £300,000

Here’s Cox, once of the Oval Invincibles. Trent Rockets and Birmingham Phoenix go at one another, before MI (Mumbai Indians) London and the Rockets start their battle.

SunRisers are late entrants … as are Southern Brave. The price goes to £270k and the Brave aren’t that brave, pulling out. But now come Welsh Fire. The price goes to £300k and SunRisers pull out. Cox is off to Wales with Joe Root. They’re spending big early.

Adil Rashid joins Southern Brave for £250,000

England’s masterful leggie is up next. Southern Brave and Trent Rockets are raising their paddles, and SunRisers enter the mix, too. Southern Brave take it to £250k – Rashid is off to Southampton, joining forces with Jofra Archer.

Joe Root joins Welsh Fire for £240,000

Richard Madley welcomes us to this “historic” auction. Joe Root is the first name up, his base price at £75k. Manchester Super Giants open things up and are in competition with Southern Brave. The price balloons past £100k … the two teams tap out as Welsh Fire and SunRisers Leeds start going at each other. We’re past £200k … and it’s the Fire who get him for £240k. He’s off to Cardiff, not Headingley.

Here are the “marquee” names on the Hundred auction longlist: Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, James Vince, Jordan Cox, Joe Root, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Haris Rauf and Daryl Mitchell.

I reckon Cox could be the most expensive: top run-scorer in last year’s tournament, 25 years young and one to build your team around for the next few years.

Here’s your guide for today. The key thing to note: each team has a salary cap of £2.05m. There are only 16 overseas spots still available.

Here’s Andy Bull’s great piece on the women’s auction yesterday.

Preamble

Welcome to another day of gavel-slamming, subcontinental tensions and hefty sums. Am I alone in feeling a touch icky about these auctions? Or are we all OK with watching a room of people bid for other human beings? Am I just overthinking this? Anyway, let’s get out of my head: Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid and Jordan Cox are some of the big domestic names up for grabs.

Among the overseas, there’s been an update overnight from the ECB: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock, Shaheen Afridi, Allah Ghazanfar and Peter Siddle (still going!) are no longer on the auction list. Of course, we’ll keep a close on eye on those Pakistan players in the mix, not just to see if they get a gig, but whether any of the Indian-owned teams place a bid on them. It’s quite grim that this is a storyline, but here we are.