Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney walked away as the highest-paid players on the opening morning of the inaugural Women’s Hundred auction, each landing a £210,000 deal that comfortably eclipses the tournament’s previous salary ceiling. Devine, 36, joins Welsh Fire; Mooney, three years younger, is heading to Trent Rockets after a brief but fierce bidding tussle with Manchester Super Giants.
Those figures are striking when set against the £65,000 top bracket that existed only last season, and the £15,000 ceiling when the women’s competition launched in 2021. The uplift stems from private investment: all eight franchises now have outside shareholders, allowing the salary cap to double to £880,000 per side.
Early drama
The auction’s first lot provided an immediate talking point. Birmingham Phoenix picked up 19-year-old Davina Perrin for £50,000, a nod to the 43-ball hundred she struck in last year’s Eliminator. Moments later, Sunrisers Leeds stunned the room by paying £190,000 for England all-rounder Dani Gibson, a figure few observers had pencilled in.
Gibson endured a patchy 2025: 33 runs for London Spirit in the Hundred, no bowling thanks to a back stress fracture, and omission from England duty since the 2024 T20 World Cup exit. Even so, Leeds out-bid Southern Brave, Manchester Super Giants and Welsh Fire to make her the third-highest purchase of the morning.
London Spirit, meanwhile, dipped into the overseas pool to secure South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk for £170,000. De Klerk’s stock rose sharply after 16 wickets for champions RCB in the most recent WPL and an eye-catching World Cup campaign with the bat.
Quiet morning for India stars
India’s established names fetched more modest sums. Deepti Sharma attracted only her £27,500 base price – another buy for Sunrisers Leeds – while wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh went to Manchester Super Giants for £50,000. Both prices feel low by comparison with the WPL, though neither player has previously dominated the Hundred.
How the deals stack up
• £210,000 – Sophie Devine (Welsh Fire), Beth Mooney (Trent Rockets)
• £190,000 – Dani Gibson (Sunrisers Leeds)
• £170,000 – Nadine de Klerk (London Spirit)
The previous top wage in the women’s Hundred stood at £65,000; Devine and Mooney now earn more than triple that mark and draw level with the leading salaries on offer in India’s WPL.
Career context
Devine steps into a new chapter after relinquishing New Zealand’s T20 captaincy and retiring from ODIs last year. Her power-hitting and canny seam bowling still make her a marquee draw, though workload management is likely to be part of Welsh Fire’s planning.
Mooney remains one of Australia’s most reliable top-order players and continues to keep wicket at international level. Trent Rockets, already stocked with high-profile all-rounders, prioritised Mooney’s consistency, seeing her as an anchor around which to rotate their more explosive hitters.
Elsewhere, Southern Brave retained pace bowler Lauren Bell at £140,000 ahead of the auction, then strengthened further by adding Issy Wong for £130,000. Wong has flirted with England selection over the past two seasons; Brave clearly feel there is another gear to unlock.
What the numbers mean
An £880,000 cap leaves room – on paper – for balanced roster construction, yet today’s early splurges reinforce how scarce genuine match-winners remain. One franchise analyst, requesting anonymity, put it simply: “Spend big on three or four, fill the rest with value picks, hope your stars stay fit.”
Looking ahead
The auction continues this afternoon with uncapped domestic players and remaining overseas slots. Expect tighter bidding once headline names are off the board, though at least one franchise still has half its purse intact.
For now the take-away is clear: the women’s Hundred has entered a new financial era, aligning more closely with global leagues and, crucially, rewarding the players driving the product.
