Women cricketers to earn £210,000 from month’s work at The Hundred this summer
Women’s cricket made history today as the UK’s first major sports auction unfolded at Piccadilly Lights in London, with top players securing absolutely remarkable deals.
New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Australian star Beth Mooney both walked away with contracts worth £210,000 each for this summer’s Hundred competition.
Devine will be heading to Welsh Fire, while Mooney joins Trent Rockets for what amounts to roughly a month’s work during the 27-day tournament.
It’s a brilliant moment for the women’s game, with the eight Hundred teams bidding openly for talent in a format that’s never been seen before in British sport.
Cricketers such as New Zealand’s Sophie Devine will earn £210,000 at The Hundred
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The transformation in women’s cricket pay has been nothing short of extraordinary.
When the Hundred kicked off five years ago, the best female players could earn just £15,000 for the entire competition.
Last season, that ceiling had risen to £65,000 – already a significant jump.
But this year’s figures blow everything out of the water, with top earners now pocketing fourteen times what the original maximum was.
It’s a complete revolution in how women cricketers are valued, and it’s happened remarkably quickly.
The competition runs for eight regular season matches plus finals, making these some of the most lucrative short-term contracts in women’s sport anywhere in the world.
So what’s behind this massive surge in salaries?
The Hundred auction went ahead at Piccadilly Lights in London where it made history
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It all comes down to private money flowing into the sport for the first time.
The England and Wales Cricket Board sold stakes in the eight Hundred teams last year, with investors snapping up between 49 per cent and 100 per cent of each franchise.
Most of these new owners come from overseas, and four of the teams now have Indian Premier League franchises as part-owners.
The IPL connection has been so significant that three teams have even changed their names and colours to reflect their new ownership.
It’s a whole new era for the competition.
Private money has bolstered The Hundred and made huge investments
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The auction threw up plenty of other eye-catching deals too.
English all-rounder Dani Gibson was the first player to break the six-figure barrier, with Sunrisers Leeds paying £190,000 for her services.
Perhaps the most remarkable signing was 18-year-old spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman, who hasn’t even been capped for England yet but secured £105,000 from Southern Brave.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt had already agreed a £140,000 deal with Trent Rockets before the auction began.
When you add her Women’s Premier League contract worth £320,000, she’s almost certainly the best-paid team sportswoman in the country right now.
