Piccadilly Circus is more accustomed to film trailers than cricketing drama, yet on Thursday evening it hosted the tournament’s inaugural men’s Hundred auction. Eight sides spent briskly beneath the neon lights, chasing marquee names and last-minute bargains in almost equal measure. Below are the squads as they stand, followed by a few first-look observations.
Birmingham Phoenix
Jacob Bethell (£340,000), Rehan Ahmed (£250,000), Donovan Ferreira (£210,000), Mitchell Owen (£130,000), Saqib Mahmood (£150,000), Usman Tariq (£140,000), Joe Clarke (£85,000), Will Smeed (£55,000), Jordan Thompson (£60,000), Scott Curie (£210,000), Laurie Evans (£85,000), Chris Wood (£70,000), Ethan Brookes (£70,000), Mustafizur Rahman (£100,000)
London Spirit
Liam Livingstone (£350,000), Jamie Overton (£225,000), Adam Zampa (£190,000), Dewald Brevis (£185,000), Jonny Bairstow (£160,000), David Willey (£120,000), James Coles (£390,000), Mason Crane (£31,000), Adam Milne (£50,000), Adam Hose (£31,000), Tymal Mills (£130,000), James Rew (£31,000), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (£31,000), Matt Fisher (£31,000)
Manchester Super Giants
Jos Buttler (£350,000), Heinrich Klaasen (£250,000), Noor Ahmad (£175,000), Liam Dawson (£175,000), Aiden Markram (£200,000), Josh Tongue (£200,000), Sonny Baker (£95,000), Gus Atkinson (£70,000), Leus du Plooy (£120,000), Tom Hartley (£35,000), Tim Seifert (£100,000), Tom Moores (£50,000), Max Holden (£31,000), Tawanda Muyeye (£50,000), George Scrimshaw (£31,000), Paul Walter (£31,000)
MI London
Sam Curran (£350,000), Will Jacks (£250,000), Nicholas Pooran (£175,000), Rashid Khan (£175,000), James Vince (£190,000), Tom Curran (£260,000), Trent Boult (£100,000), Nathan Sowter (£130,000), Sherfane Rutherford (£100,000), Richard Gleeson (£65,000), Ollie Pope (£31,000), Olly Stone (£50,000), Ollie Sykes (£31,000), Callum Parkinson (£31,000), Jason Roy (£31,000)
Southern Brave
Jofra Archer (£400,000), Jamie Smith (£300,000), Marcus Stoinis (£150,000), Tristan Stubbs (£100,000), Adil Rashid (£250,000), David Miller (£110,000), Luke Wood (£130,000), Chris Jordan (£160,000), Ben McKinney (£45,000), Thomas Rew (£80,000), Michael Pepper (£31,000), Tom Abell (£31,000), Dan Worrall (£80,000), Caleb Falconer (£55,000), Nikhil Chaudhary (£31,000)
Sunrisers Leeds
Harry Brook (£465,000), Mitchell Marsh (£200,000), Nathan Ellis (£145,000), Brydon Carse (£140,000), Ryan Rickelton (£150,000), Zak Crawley (£180,000), Matthew Potts (£75,000), Dan Lawrence (£210,000), Abrar Ahmed (£190,000), Benny Howell (£50,000), Tom Lawes (£40,000), Tom Alsop (£31,000), Liam Patterson-White (£31,000), Reece Topley (£31,000), Ed Barnard (£31,000)
Trent Rockets
Tim David (£350,000), Tom Banton (£225,000), Ben Duckett (£200,000), Mitchell Santner (£175,000), Finn Allen (£160,000), David Payne (£130,000), Lewis Gregory (£55,000), Craig Overton (£120,000), Dan Mousley (£40,000), Matt Henry (£75,000), Sam Billings (£180,000), Aneurin Donald (£31,000), Ben Mayes (£31,000), Danny Briggs (£70,000), Brad Currie (£31,000), Louis Kimber (£31,000)
Welsh Fire
Phil Salt (£450,000), Marco Jansen (£250,000), Rachin Ravindra (£120,000), Chris Woakes (£110,000), Joe Root (£240,000), Jordan Cox (£300,000), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (£80,000), Ben Kellaway (£37,500), Lockie Ferguson (£75,000), Asa … (remaining picks to be confirmed once paperwork clears)
Early talking points
• Top tag: Harry Brook’s £465k deal with Sunrisers Leeds edges him past Jofra Archer’s £400k as the most expensive buy of the night.
• Pace premium: Archer, Nathan Ellis and Brydon Carse highlight how sought-after quicks remain, even in a format that often leans on power-hitters.
• Bargain bin: Thirty-one-grand signings are scattered through every squad. Some – Mason Crane, James Rew and Reece Topley – could end up playing major roles for pocket-change fees.
• Local flavour: Phoenix keeping faith with Bethell and Ahmed, and Spirit snapping up Coles, hints at a continued push to develop home-grown talent alongside imported stars.
• Injury watch: “You’ve got to roll the dice with class,” one analyst muttered off-mic when Southern Brave banked on Archer. Fitness updates in June may tell us whether £400k was brave or rash.
Squad balance
On paper, MI London appear stacked with all-round options in Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Rashid Khan. The counter-argument is that they might lack a specialist finisher if Nicholas Pooran heads to the CPL late in the window.
Trent Rockets look deep in batting depth but slightly light on spin beyond Santner; a dry August could nudge them into the loan market. Meanwhile, Welsh Fire – assuming the last couple of names are lower-budget locals – will rely heavily on Phil Salt’s starts and Joe Root’s anchor role.
What next?
Central-contracted players still need final availability sign-off from the ECB, and all eight coaches have the right to call one replacement should injury strike before the opening double-header. Training camps open in early July; the fixture list drops next week.
There is already the usual mix of optimism and mild panic within back-room teams. As one assistant coach sighed with a grin, “You never really know what you’ve bought until the first powerplay.” We will, soon enough.
