Sophie Devine, Beth Mooney Top the Bids in Inaugural Women’s Hundred

In a thrilling start to the inaugural Women's Hundred auction held in London on Wednesday (March 11), New Zealand's Sophie Devine and Australia's Beth Mooney emerged as the top picks, each fetching an impressive GBP 210,000. Following closely was Dani Gibson, who was snapped up by Sunrisers Leeds for GBP 190,000, despite not having played for England in the past 18 months. 

Mooney, now a part of the Trent Rockets, is recognized as one of the leading wicketkeepers in the game today and boasts multiple world championship titles. Meanwhile, Devine, who will be playing for Welsh Fire, recently earned the title of player of the tournament in the Women's Premier League.

South African allrounder Nadine de Klerk also made waves, being the fourth highest bid at GBP 170,000 for London Spirit, where she’ll reunite with her WPL teammate Grace Harris. 

The auction kicked off with 19-year-old Davina Perrin making history as the first pick at GBP 50,000 for Birmingham Phoenix. The Spirit then secured their wicketkeeper, Amy Jones, for GBP 70,000. While no players from Pakistan were selected, Indian talents Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma were both surprisingly picked up at their base price. 

Devine & Mooney Top Bids, South Africans Unsold

Unfortunately, the South African quartet of Chloe Tyron, Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, and Shabnim Ismail went unsold, as teams are limited to just four overseas players on their rosters. Tilly Corteen-Coleman emerged as the most expensive uncapped English player, going for GBP 105,000 after a bidding battle that saw Spirit lose out to Southern Brave. 

This inaugural Women’s Hundred auction showcased the rising profile of women’s cricket, with stars like Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney commanding GBP 210,000. While some Indian players like Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma were picked up at base price, several South African players remained without a team due to roster restrictions.