Table of Contents
The Hundred Women’s 2026 arrives with a historic change that could reshape the future of women’s franchise cricket in England. Since the tournament began, teams had always assembled their squads through a draft system, but on March 11, 2026, all eight franchises took part in the competition’s first-ever player auction at Piccadilly Lights in London.
This isn’t a small tweak. Moving from a draft to an auction pushes the competition’s financial and competitive scale much closer to what fans already see in the WPL and IPL, where bidding wars between franchises for star players have become part of the spectacle itself. A total of 178 players went under the hammer, with every team required to end up with a squad of between 14 and 16 players.
The Hundred Women’s 2026 Schedule
The Hundred Women’s 2026 runs from July 21 to August 16, sharing the same double-header format as the men’s competition, with a women’s match played before the men’s fixture at the same ground on the same day. The tournament kicks off at the Kia Oval, where defending champions Sunrisers Leeds, formerly Northern Superchargers, open their title defence against MI London.
| Date | Fixture | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, July 21 | MI London vs Sunrisers Leeds | The Oval |
| Wednesday, July 22 | Southern Brave vs Welsh Fire | Utilita Bowl, Southampton |
| Thursday, July 23 | London Spirit vs Manchester Super Giants | Lord’s |
| Friday, July 24 | Birmingham Phoenix vs Trent Rockets | Edgbaston |
| Saturday, July 25 | Sunrisers Leeds vs Southern Brave | Headingley |
| Later in the group stage | Welsh Fire vs MI London | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff |
| Later in the group stage | Manchester Super Giants vs Birmingham Phoenix | Emirates Old Trafford |
| Later in the group stage | Trent Rockets vs London Spirit | Trent Bridge |
Each team plays eight group stage matches, facing every other side once plus a second meeting against their closest regional rival. The top two placed teams go straight through to the final, while the sides finishing second and third meet in an eliminator at The Oval, with a reserve day now built in to avoid the rain disruptions that have hit past editions. The final itself is at Lord’s on Sunday, August 16.
The Hundred Women’s 2026 Indian Players
Four Indian internationals will feature across the competition this year, a list that includes two direct retentions from before the auction and two picked up during the auction itself.
Smriti Mandhana was retained directly by Manchester Super Giants for £90,000, continuing an association with The Hundred that now stretches across four seasons. Jemimah Rodrigues was likewise a direct signing, joining Southern Brave for £60,000. During the auction proper, Richa Ghosh was picked up by Manchester Super Giants for £50,000, reuniting her with Mandhana after the pair won the WPL title together with Royal Challengers Bengaluru earlier this year. Deepti Sharma, fresh off being named Player of the Tournament at India’s ODI World Cup win, joined Sunrisers Leeds for a relative bargain of £27,500, with Leeds facing no competing bids at all.
Not every Indian name found a taker. Wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia and spinner N Shree Charani both went unsold, along with several other Indian all rounders who registered for the auction pool but failed to attract a single bid.
The Standout Signings
Sophie Devine’s move to Welsh Fire was the auction’s biggest financial statement, going for £210,000 and reflecting just how highly her power hitting is valued across franchise cricket right now, with her strike rate hovering near 150 in recent T20 cricket. Beth Mooney joined Trent Rockets, adding a proven anchor to a batting lineup that already includes England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Sunrisers Leeds, the defending champions under their old name, and Trent Rockets both look to have built some of the more balanced squads in the competition, blending established internationals with rising domestic talent. MI London leaned into their global franchise identity, keeping a core built around Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews.
The Hundred Women’s 2026 Full Squads
Birmingham Phoenix
Retained: Alice Capsey, Lauren Filer, Lucy Hamilton, Ellyse Perry.
Auction signings: Tammy Beaumont, Davina Perrin, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Alana King, Cordelia Griffith, Eva Gray, Phoebe Brett, Jemima Spence, Esmae Macgregor, Annerie Dercksen, Eve O’Neill.
London Spirit
Retained: Mahika Gaur, Marizanne Kapp, Charlie Dean, Grace Harris.
Auction signings: Amy Jones, Nadine De Klerk, Deandra Dottin, Seren Smale, Charis Pavely, Sterre Kalis, Marie Kelly, Josephine Groves, Phoebe Turner, Lucy Higham.
Manchester Super Giants
Retained: Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Ecclestone.
Auction signings: Grace Ballinger, Maitlan Brown, Kathryn Bryce, Richa Ghosh, Paige Scholfield, Grace Scrivens, Mady Villiers, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Jo-Anne Gardner, Natasha Wraith, Rebecca Tyson.
MI London
Retained: Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
Auction signings: Chinelle Henry, Kirstie Gordon, Hollie Armitage, Nicola Carey, Alice-Davidson Richards, Alice Monaghan, Alexa Stonehouse, Kira Chathli, Tara Norris, Ellie Threlkeld, Kalea Moore, Danielle Gregory.
Southern Brave
Retained: Jemimah Rodrigues, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Laura Wolvaardt.
Auction signings: Sarah Glenn, Sophie Molineux, Lizelle Lee, Issy Wong, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Jodi Grewcock, Rebecca Odgers, Phoebe Franklin, Daisy Gibb, Ellie Anderson.
Sunrisers Leeds
Retained: Kate Cross, Phoebe Litchfield, Annabel Sutherland.
Auction signings: Danielle Gibson, Deepti Sharma, Bryony Smith, Jess Jonassen, Hannah Baker, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Cassidy McCarthy, Maddie Ward, Rachel Slater, Florence Miller, Claudie Cooper.
Trent Rockets
Retained: Sophia Dunkley, Kim Garth, Ash Gardner, Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Auction signings: Beth Mooney, Ailsa Lister, Bess Heath, Millicent Taylor, Emma Jones, Georgia Elwiss, Katie Levick, Charley Phillips, Georgia Adams, Samantha Bates, Grace Johnson.
Welsh Fire
Retained: Freya Kemp, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.
Auction signings: Sophie Devine, Sophia Smale, Em Arlott, Ella McCaughan, Sarah Bryce, Grace Potts, Heather Graham, Fi Morris, Abi Norgrove, Grace Thompson, Rhianna Southby.
What Comes Next
With every squad now locked in and the schedule confirmed, attention turns to how these auction day investments actually translate on the field once the competition gets underway on July 21. Given how many current India, Australia, England and South Africa internationals are spread across these eight rosters, expect plenty of familiar names from the recent Women’s T20 World Cup showing up throughout the tournament, building all the way to the final at Lord’s on August 16.
Q: When does The Hundred Women’s 2026 start?
A: The tournament runs from July 21 to August 16, opening at the Kia Oval with MI London facing Sunrisers Leeds.
Q: How many teams play in The Hundred Women’s 2026?
A: Eight franchises: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, Sunrisers Leeds, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.
Q: How were squads picked for the 2026 season?
A: For the first time, through a proper auction rather than the draft system used in previous years, held on March 11, 2026 at Piccadilly Lights in London. A total of 178 players went under the hammer, alongside 28 players already retained or directly signed by franchises.
Q: Which Indian players are in The Hundred Women’s 2026?
A: Four. Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues were retained directly by Manchester Super Giants and Southern Brave respectively, while Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma were signed during the auction by Manchester Super Giants and Sunrisers Leeds.
Q: Who was the most expensive signing at the auction?
A: Sophie Devine, who joined Welsh Fire for £210,000, the largest fee of the entire auction.
Q: Where is The Hundred Women’s 2026 final being played?
A: Lord’s Cricket Ground, on Sunday, August 16.
Q: Who won The Hundred Women’s last year?
A: Northern Superchargers, now rebranded as Sunrisers Leeds, won the 2025 title and enter this season as defending champions.
Q: How many overseas players can each team field?
A: Up to four in the playing XI this season, up from three in previous years.