The Hundred 2026 Auction: How the squads stack up after James Coles and Jordan Cox land huge deals

The first-ever player auction in British sport has now taken place. It was chaotic, gripping and somewhat tedious all in equal measure – in many ways reminiscent of the Hundred’s first televised draft back in 2019.

As widely predicted, 21-year-old Sussex all-rounder James Coles and England batter Jordan Cox were the big winners on the day as they were snapped up by London Spirit (£390,000) and Welsh Fire (£300,000) respectively following intense bidding wars.

Joe Root and Adil Rashid both face new chapters in Cardiff and Southampton, meanwhile there were also handsome deals in excess of £200,000 earned by Tom Curran, Scott Currie and Dan Lawrence.

Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed was the headline overseas capture as the Pakistan international was bought by the IPL-affiliated Sunrisers Leeds, whilst a trio of England’s Under-19 World Cup squad were also picked up which included exciting talent Thomas Rew for £80,000 at Southern Brave.

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Birmingham Phoenix

Scott Currie (£210k) – an eyebrow-raising price, but the 24-year-old’s stocks have risen dramatically over the past two years with his bowling variations, which has elevated the Scotland-capped seamer firmly onto England’s white-ball radar.

Usman Tariq (£140k) – a T20 World Cup with so much attention around the unique action of the X-factor spin bowler, but it is his impressive underlying numbers that are doing much of the talking (11.16 average and 6.66 economy rate in T20Is).

Will Smeed (£55k) – Phoenix were in need of top order batters and turned to a couple of familiar faces, with explosive Somerset opener Smeed representing arguably one of the best bargain buys.

Potential XI: Will Smeed, Joe Clarke, Jacob Bethell, Rehan Ahmed, Mitchell Owen (o), Donovan Ferreira (o), Jordan Thompson, Scott Currie, Saqib Mahmood, Mustafizur Rahman (o), Usman Tariq (o).

Verdict: An underrated auction and a well-balanced squad of short-format talent assembled, led by Jacob Bethell, with an array of bowling options throughout, but perhaps a little shy in star power and international pedigree.

London Spirit

James Coles (£390k) – Spirit gatecrashed the bidding war to land the hot property in a statement signing, but there will be immense pressure on the young man to live up to the hype as the most expensive player signed at the auction for a price which blew many established names out of the water. 

Jonny Bairstow (£160k) – a fresh beginning for the former England international at the Home of Cricket after his long association with the Welsh Fire, but still with the same challenge remains of helping change the fortunes of a perennial struggler.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius (£31k) – a new-look destructive top order and a value pick-up at the base price for the highly-rated South African teenage wicketkeeper.

Potential XI: Jonny Bairstow, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (o), Dewald Brevis (o), Liam Livingstone, James Coles, Adam Hose, David Willey, Jamie Overton, Adam Milne (o), Tymal Mills, Adam Zampa (o).

Verdict: A significant upgrade in boundary-hitting prowess from last season, with a nice mix of experience and young stars to complement a varied bowling attack with all bases covered – early indications point to a much better foundation for the Spirit to compete towards the right end.

Manchester Super Giants

Aiden Markram (£200k) – the most sought-after overseas player at the auction, but it was no surprise to see the South Africa T20I captain remain with the Super Giants family as he also represents the Lucknow (IPL) and Durban (SA20) franchises.

Tim Seifert (£100k) – another aggressive wicketkeeper-batter at their disposal and purchasing the Kiwi at his base price unchallenged should prove an inspired selection.

Sonny Baker (£95k) – retaining the services of effective pace duo Baker and Josh Tongue was a priority, but can the 23-year-old speedster build on his impressive campaign in 2025, which earned him an England call-up?

Potential XI: Jos Buttler, Tim Seifert (o), Aiden Markram (o), Heinrich Klaasen (o), Leus du Plooy, Tom Moores, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Noor Ahmad (o), Sonny Baker, Josh Tongue.

Verdict: Two gun overseas secured and plenty of domestic batting depth in reserve, whilst also adding a third frontline spinner to the ranks and serious pace in the attack – top-heavy batting lineup and a lack of genuine all-rounders a slight drawback.

MI London

Tom Curran (£260k) – there was no hiding MI London’s enthusiasm to reunite the Curran brothers at the Kia Oval, but the price was a lofty one and demonstrates the supply-demand balance for domestic all-rounders.

Sherfane Rutherford (£100k) – expect fireworks at the defending champions as Rutherford joins Nicholas Pooran for some Caribbean flair in South London, fresh off his impressive display with the bat in the SA20 and against England in Mumbai at the T20 World Cup.

Ollie Sykes (£31k) – an exciting 21-year-old batter to add to a strong local core, who has already cemented himself as a white-ball regular for Surrey.

Potential XI: Will Jacks, James Vince, Nicholas Pooran (o), Sam Curran, Sherfane Rutherford (o), Ollie Sykes, Tom Curran, Rashid Khan (o), Nathan Sowter, Richard Gleeson, Trent Boult (o).

Verdict: A number of astute additions as expected and a plethora of left-handed batting options throughout the middle order, but a tough task to rebuild their settled three-peat squad, and their depth feels a little short.

Southern Brave

Adil Rashid (£250k) – no messing around from the Brave, who saw off strong interest from Sunrisers Leeds to sign the England spin wizard.  

David Miller (£110k) – seemingly a steal at just a fraction above the base price for the hard-hitting South African middle order batter.

Thomas Rew (£80k) – one of the most exciting buys at the auction and a sizeable price tag for someone with just 18 T20 career runs to their name, but a more than justified investment on England’s U-19 captain.

Potential XI: Jamie Smith, Ben McKinney, Tom Abell, Tristan Stubbs (o), David Miller (o), Marcus Stoinis (o), Nikhil Chaudhary (o), Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.

Verdict: Once again, the pace bowling attack down at Southampton is a standout one in the competition, but this time with an elite spinner added. The batting offers an intriguing blend of overseas class and emerging domestic talent – Australian all-rounder Chaudhary was a left-field choice for their final overseas slot, but no real glaring issues of note.

Sunrisers Leeds

Dan Lawrence (£210k) – a hefty winning bid for a player who has only averaged 18 in his Hundred career but enjoyed form over the winter and is a classy operator who could have a big role to play in the middle order on his return to Headingley.

Abrar Ahmed (£190k) – a landmark moment in the auction as an IPL-owned team turned to the world number three-ranked T20I bowler from Pakistan, who has yet to play in England after they missed out on first-choice spinner Adil Rashid.

Ryan Rickelton (£150k) – the South African wicketkeeper appears a very clever pick-up, with the stylish left-hander boasting a superb record over the years in the SA20 and during his first IPL season.

Potential XI: Mitch Marsh (o), Zak Crawley, Ryan Rickelton (o), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Benny Howell, Liam Patterson-White, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Nathan Ellis (o), Abrar Ahmed (o).

Verdict: A couple of eye-catching overseas signings but an otherwise slightly underwhelming outcome. Some returning faces and canny additions after failing to secure a number of high-profile targets, but both the batting and bowling feels a little too dependent on a couple of big names to deliver.

Trent Rockets

Sam Billings (£180k) – a new home for Billings after five seasons with Oval Invincibles at a price perhaps above expectation, but his reliability behind the stumps and leadership expertise in the format could be priceless.

Finn Allen (£160k) – the headline selection for the Rockets, commanding a fairly reasonable fee for the New Zealand record-breaker who should feast on the smaller boundary dimensions at Trent Bridge.

David Payne (£130k) – a smart investment for the consistent yet vastly underrated 35-year-old left-arm county stalwart who experienced a highly productive winter on the franchise circuit and should form an effective partnership in the powerplay with fellow swing bowlers Matt Henry and Craig Overton.

Potential XI: Finn Allen (o), Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Tim David (o), Sam Billings, Dan Mousley, Lewis Gregory, Mitchell Santner (o), Craig Overton, Matt Henry (o), David Payne.

Verdict: Close but no cigar with a host of early bids, but a strong squad nonetheless with some serious hitting capability (including the shrewd acquisition of Aneurin Donald at base price) and new-ball operators – death bowling does look light though and also hampered by no mystery spin, which has typically been at the forefront of their strategy in previous years.

Welsh Fire

Jordan Cox (£300k) – the Fire needed to lay down a mark with their squad selection, and they did just that by securing the services of in-demand batter Cox, who top-scored in the 2025 edition for the champions with 367 runs at a strike rate of 173.93.

Joe Root (£240k) – the Cardiff-based franchise raced out of the traps with the first purchase of the day in the form of England batting legend Joe Root, who should enjoy the short straight boundaries at Sophia Gardens for his trademark reverse scoop.

Asa Tribe (£70k) – a name to keep an eye on across all formats in 2026 after SA20 and England Lions exposure over the winter, whilst also maintaining a valuable Glamorgan identity to the team alongside highly-rated all-rounder Ben Kellaway.

Potential XI: Phil Salt, Joe Root, Rachin Ravindra (o), Jordan Cox, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asa Tribe, Matt Short (o), Marco Jansen (o), Chris Woakes, Lockie Ferguson (o), Sam Cook.

Verdict: If Welsh Fire struggle to get a tune out of this new batting lineup, then there may be no hope for the competition’s worst-performing franchise. Seam options also look useful, but the spin department is heavily reliant on young Chohan and Kiwi part-timer Ravindra.

Who went unsold?

Daryl Mitchell and Haris Rauf were the big overseas names who did not attract a buyer in the first round of the auction.

There were also no suitors for the likes of Sikandar Raza, Akeal Hosein or Lungi Ngidi, who all went under the hammer, whilst Australian quick Riley Meredith was among those who failed to be nominated despite impressing with 12 wickets for Welsh Fire last campaign.

Sam Hain and Saif Zaib were two notable domestic batters overlooked, as was 2025 T20 Blast top run-scorer Toby Albert.

It was a similar outcome for impactful all-rounders Dan Douthwaite, James Fuller and George Garton.

Likewise, young quicks John Turner and Josh Hull will now be eyeing a wildcard selection, with the same applying for teenage spinner Farhan Ahmed.

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