The Hundred player auction set to take place at Piccadilly Lights

London’s Piccadilly Lights will provide a glittering backdrop for cricket history on 11 and 12 March when The Hundred stages its first-ever player auction, ushering the competition into a new era of open-market squad building.

Wednesday’s session will open with the women’s auction, where more than 100 eligible players will be available to the eight franchises. Australia wicket-keeper batter Beth Mooney, South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk and England’s Amy Jones headline the list of marquee names, with teams able to spend up to the remaining portions of their £880,000 salary cap.

Thursday shifts the spotlight to the men’s competition, where England Test captain Joe Root, Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid and West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder sit at the top of a 100-plus player pool. Each men’s team enters the room with up to £1.1m left to spend after pre-auction retentions and signings removed £950,000 from the original £2.05m budget.

The auction will be conducted in three phases. Hero players—those who attracted the highest pre-registration interest—will be bid on first, followed by Ranked and Nominated tiers. Franchises can select a maximum of 14 players for both their men’s and women’s squads, and are now permitted four overseas signings per side, an increase from the previous limit of three.

Retention activity has already reshaped the financial landscape. Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Southern Brave and Trent Rockets Women have each had £360,000 deducted after making four pre-auction moves, leaving them £520,000 to manoeuvre. Manchester Super Giants Women, MI London Women, Sunrisers Leeds Women and Welsh Fire Women parted with only £310,000 after signing three players apiece, giving them deeper auction purchasing power.

On the men’s side, every franchise has exhausted its four permitted pre-auction slots, meaning all eight teams will enter with identical remaining purses of £1.1m. Notable retained players include Birmingham Phoenix batter Jacob Bethell, Manchester Super Giants wicket-keeper Jos Buttler and Trent Rockets all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, while new deals have brought Mitchell Marsh to Sunrisers Leeds, Alice Capsey to Birmingham Phoenix and Smriti Mandhana to Manchester Super Giants.

Sky Sports will broadcast every match of the 2026 competition, starting with the group stage and culminating in the women’s and men’s finals on Sunday 16 August. Each match-day will feature a women’s fixture followed by a men’s game at the same venue, including the eliminators on Friday 14 August.

Fans can follow the auction live via the Sky Sports website and app, with coverage beginning ahead of the first hammer fall on 11 March.