Sophie Devine of Birmingham Phoenix hits out during The Hundred women's match against the Oval Invincibles. Photo: photosport
The Hundred will introduce its first-ever player auction in March, England's cricket board (ECB) said, with an improved salary pot of more than £2 million (NZ$4.6 million) per team in the men's competition.
The tournament's sixth edition will ditch its current player selection model in favour of the format inspired by the Indian Premier League (IPL) - an auction system with teams bidding for talent, including four overseas players.
Squads will be made up of between 16 and 18 players while there is a salary cap along with a salary collar, a minimum amount teams must spend.
The steep rise in salaries makes the competition one of the most lucrative franchise tournaments for players behind the IPL and the Indian Women's Premier League.
Salary pot
"The overall salary pot in The Hundred men's competition will increase 45 percent for the 2026 season, rising to £2.05 million (NZ$4.7m) per team," the ECB said in a statement.
"The overall salary pot in The Hundred women's competition will increase 100 percent for the 2026 season, rising to £880,000 (NZ$2m) per team.
"The increase to the salary pot in The Hundred women's competition will also see the base price salaries for the lowest-paid player increase considerably to £15,000 (NZ$34,422), up by 50 percent."
The changes came through The Hundred Playing Working Group, featuring representatives from all eight teams, the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) and the ECB, before they were agreed by The Hundred's board.
Teams are allowed up to four pre-auction signings from mid-November to the end of January.
The Wildcard Draft will also remain in place so teams can reward strong domestic form by finalising their squads with two final selections in June, before the competition gets underway in the English summer.
UK sport milestone
"These changes will help us make the competition even better, ensuring we get the best players in the world and improving the standard of cricket and level of entertainment further again," said Vikram Banerjee, managing director of The Hundred.
"Working alongside our new partners we've been exploring how we can take The Hundred forward and we've decided that moving to an auction will allow us to improve the competition."
Banerjee said the salary pot for the women's competition in the first year of The Hundred was only £120,000 (NZ$275,376), with the top-earning players earning £15,000 (NZ$34,422).
But the pot has since risen for the third year in a row and at £880,000 (NZ$2m), top-earning players can earn in the region of £130,000 (NZ$298,324).
- Reuters
