by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Tue, Jan 13, 2026 • 9:34 PM

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Jofra Archer has been retained by the Southern Brave © Getty

January 21

Fire unveil new direct signings

South African all-rounder Marco Jansen and Australian batter Georgia Voll have signed for the Welsh Fire’s men’s and women’s teams respectively.The lanky South African has not featured in the Hundred since the tournament’s inception in 2021 and this will be his first foray in the tournament.

Voll, 22, has directly signed for the Cardiff based side. She featured in the Hundred last season as well for Birmingham Phoenix and had modest returns with 111 runs in eight games.

South African superstars land in Southampton

Laura Wolvaardt, the South Africa women’s captain has been retained by the Southern Brave ahead of the 2026 season of The Hundred. Tristan Stubbs has been signed directly for the men’s team.

Having spent a season with them last year, Wolvaardt scored 207 runs in eight matches and will now return to Southampton for the upcoming season. Stubbs meanwhile, returns to the Hundred for the first time since 2022. He featured for the Manchester Originals and scored 157 runs in nine games in that season.

January 19

Garth, Santner sign for Rockets

The Trent Rockets have signed New Zealand’s limited-overs captain Mitchell Santner to their men’s team. Santner has moved from the Sunrisers Leeds, formerly Northern Superchargers, after representing them for two seasons.

The Australian, Kim Garth, returns to the Hundred after not having featured in the 2025 competition. She has played in only one season so far which was in 2024 for the Manchester Super Giants, formerly Manchester Originals where she picked up four wickets in seven outings.

Southern Brave retain pace spearheads in Archer, Bell

Southern Brave have retained ace fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Lauren for their men’s and women’s team for The Hundred ahead of the auction. English batter Maia Bouchier is their second retention for the women’s team.

Archer picked up 17 wickets across the last two seasons with the Brave as the men’s team finished runners-up and fourth in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Bell and Bouchier were part of the 2025 women’s team that finished runners-up losing to the Northern Superchargers in the final. Bouchier scored 173 runs in eight games for the Brave during the campaign and was their third-highest scorer in the campaign. Meanwhile, Bell had a standout campaign picking up 19 wickets last year in just 159 balls bowled.

Jamie Smith has been directly signed for the Brave and moves from London Spirit. He scored 203 runs for the Middlesex-based club last season and was their second-highest run scorer last year.

London Spirit secure Brevis, Zampa in eight direct signings

Dewald Brevis, Adam Zampa and Marizanne Kapp are among the eight international cricketers directly signed by London Spirit ahead of the 2026 season of The Hundred, completing their first major squad moves before the player auction in March.

The full list of signings also includes Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Mahika Gaur, Charlie Dean and Grace Harris.

Dean, Harris and Overton all represented Spirit in 2025, while the remaining five are set to join the franchise ahead of the new campaign.

The announcements come on the day London Spirit unveiled a new brand identity and digital platforms. Ahead of this upcoming season, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) transferred a 51% stake in the Lord’s-based franchise to MCC, with the remaining 49% acquired by US-based tech investment group Tech Titans.

Mo Bobat was earlier appointed the franchise’s first Director of Cricket and Heather Knight the first Women’s General Manager.

The London Spirit board will be chaired by Julian Metherell and includes Rob Lawson, Donna Marie-Cullen, Eoin Morgan, Nikesh Arora, Egon Durban and Satyan Gajwani.

The remainder of the squads will be finalised at the Hundred auction in March.

January 17

MI London announce blockbuster signings

Rashid Khan, the joint-highest wicket-taker for the Oval Invincibles last year with 12 scalps, has been retained by the rebranded franchise – MI London – ahead of the auction. In addition to Rashid, MI London have also directly signed West Indian Nicholas Pooran.

Rashid and Pooran have played for the MI franchises around the world. They feature for MI Emirates, MI Cape Town and MI New York in the ILT20, SA20, and MLC respectively. Pooran has moved to the London based side after playing one season of the Hundred back in 2024 for the Northern Superchargers. The duo will join Sam Curran and Will Jacks who have already been retained by the side heading into the third season.

For the women’s team, Mumbai Indians regulars in the Women’s Premier League – Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr have directly signed for the franchise. Matthews has moved to The Oval after spending five years with the Welsh Fire while Kerr is moving after spending the 2025 season up north with the Manchester Originals.

Ravindra, Wareham, Kemp sign for Fire

New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra has signed for the Welsh Fire ahead of the upcoming season of the men’s hundred. Ravindra, who has had a tough 2025 in T20s. He scored 902 runs across 35 innings at 28.18 in T20s last year. He was also released by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL auction but has found a new home there in Kolkata Knight Riders who purchased him at base price. He is their second direct signing of the season following the signing of Phil Salt.

Meanwhile, for the women’s side, the Cardiff-based side have signed Georgia Wareham. The Australian, currently plying her trade with the Gujarat Giants in the WPL, has moved from the Northern Superchargers where she played for the last three seasons.

The second addition to the women’s side is the signing of talented English all-rounder Freya Kemp. The 20-year-old is moving to Wales from Southampton after featuring for the Southern Brave for the last four seasons. She too, like Wareham, has also been signed directly by the Fire.

January 16

MI London announce coaches for The Hundred 2026

Kieron Pollard has been named the men’s team coach of MI London while Lisa Keightley will take charge of affairs for the women’s team.

Pollard, the current batting coach of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, played for the London Spirit and Southern Brave in the competition previously. He was also an assistant coach with England in the T20 World Cup 2024 and will take up his first role as head coach.

Keightley, on the other hand, brings a vast amount of coaching experience with her. She was head coach when Northern Superchargers won the women’s Hundred in 2025 and also coaches the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League and the Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League.

Gardner, Banton join Rockets; Hamilton signs for Phoenix

The Rockets continue to dip into the player market with world-class Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner being retained by the side. They have also retained Tom Banton for the men’s side ahead of the 2026 season.

Gardner has enjoyed a fruitful time since she began to feature in the tournament with 363 runs and 18 wickets to her name across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Banton, meanwhile, has been retained after two good seasons in Nottingham. He has scored 468 runs since he joined them in 202, and has now renewed his contract with the team. He scored 257 runs in 10 innings last year as the Rockets finished runners-up, losing to the Oval Invincibles in the final.

Birmingham Phoenix have signed Australian youngster Lucy Hamilton to their women’s side. The 19-year-old has put pen to paper on her first Hundred contract. The left-arm fast bowler is yet to feature for Australia but has picked 20 wickets across her last two seasons with the Brisbane Heat, in 16 innings, in the WBBL .

January 15

Manchester Super Giants announce blockbuster signings

The newly rebranded Manchester Super Giants, formerly Manchester Originals, have announced a blockbuster set of signings. Jos Buttler has been retained by the Super Giants along with Heinrich Klaasen and Noor Ahmad while 35-year-old Liam Dawson has been named as a direct signing for the men’s side. The left-arm spinner has moved from the capital after featuring for the London Spirit over the last four seasons.

Meanwhile, for the women’s side, Indian batter Smriti Mandhana has moved north from Southern Brave while top-scorer from the previous edition of the Hundred, Meg Lanning has also directly signed with the Super Giants. Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been retained by the franchise heading into the season.

Justin Langer has been named head coach of the men’s team while Matthew Mott will oversee proceedings of the women’s side. Tom Moody has been named as the Director of Cricket. Manchester Super Giants owner, Sanjiv Goenka, made the announcement with a post on social media on Thursday while also unveiling the franchise’s new logo.

January 14

Salt signs for Welsh Fire, Duckett moves to Rockets

Player moves continued to be made by the teams as Phil Salt joined Welsh Fire as a direct signing for the upcoming season of The Hundred. Meanwhile, Ben Duckett and Sophia Dunkley have signed for the Trent Rockets while Lauren Filer has moved from Manchester to join Birmingham Phoenix.

Salt, who has played for the Manchester Originals since inception, enjoyed five fruitful seasons there scoring 1138 runs in 43 innings. He was part of the top five run-getters of the Hundred in three of the five seasons and played a pivotal role as the Originals finished runners-up in 2022 and 2023. The Welshman will now don the red and represent his home franchise.

Duckett has moved to his third team of the Hundred, having represented Fire in the first two seasons before playing for the Birmingham Phoenix from 2023-25. He was prolific in 2024 with 269 runs in seven innings as the Phoenix entered the Eliminator, losing to eventual runners-up Southern Brave.

Dunkley has moved to the Rockets after three good seasons with Fire. She scored over 200 runs in two of those three seasons and qualified in 2023 and 2024 to the knockouts but couldn’t clinch the trophy. Meanwhile, fast-bowler Filer has moved from the Originals to the midlands to link up with Ellyse Perry and Alice Capsey at Birmingham Phoenix. She picked up eight wickets in the 2025 season as the Originals could only finish fifth in the league.

January 13

MI London, Sunrisers Leeds, Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets announce pre-auction signings

Three-time men’s and two-time women’s champions MI London, rebranded from Oval Invincibles, have named a trio of Surrey players as part of their retentions. Sam Curran and Will Jacks have been retained by the franchise for the men’s team while Danielle Wyatt-Hodge has been named the first of their direct signings for the women’s team.

This means that so far MI London haven’t retained last year’s Player of the Series for the Men’s Hundred, Jordan Cox, who scored 327 runs in eight innings. They have also let go of their captain Sam Billings who guided them to the three-peat.

Up north, the second newly rebranded franchise – Sunrisers Leeds, formerly Northern Superchargers, have announced all four pre-signings for the men’s team while naming three players for the women’s side. Harry Brook has been retained along with Brydon Carse while Nathan Ellis and Mitchell Marsh will also don the orange as their direct signings. Kate Cross, Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland have all been retained for the women’s side. The women’s team are the reigning champions of the Hundred.

Slightly down south, the two sides based in the Midlands – Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets – have also named their retentions. The Phoenix made one retention and a direct signing for each of their two sides. Legendary Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry has been retained while 21-year-old Alice Capsey is their direct signing. For the men’s side, Ashes centurion and English wonderkid Jacob Bethell has been retained while all-rounder Rehan Ahmed was signed. Rehan featured for the Southern Brave last year, where he scored 189 runs and picked up 10 wickets in last edition.

Rockets, meanwhile, have only named a single player for each side. Tim David has been signed directly while no retentions have been made yet so far for the men’s team while English all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt has been retained for the women’s team.

The other four teams – Manchester SuperGiants, Southern Brave, London Spirit and Welsh Fire – are yet to announce their retentions and direct signings.

Pre-auction Signings so far (Updated till January 23)

LONDON SPIRIT

Men’s team– Dewald Brevis (direct signing), Liam Livingstone (direct signing), Adam Zampa (direct signing), Jamie Overton (retained)

Women’s team – Marizanne Kapp (direct signing), Grace Harris (retained), Mahika Gaur (direct signing), Charlie Dean (retained)

MI LONDON

Men’s team – Sam Curran (retained), Will Jacks (retained), Rashid Khan (retained) Nicholas Pooran (direct signing)

Women’s team – Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (direct signing), Hayley Matthews (direct signing), Amelia Kerr (direct signing)

SUNRISERS LEEDS

Men’s team – Harry Brook (retained), Brydon Carse (retained), Nathan Ellis (direct signing), Mitchell Marsh (direct signing)

Women’s team – Kate Cross (retained), Phoebe Litchfield (retained), Annabel Sutherland (retained)

BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX

Men’s team – Jacob Bethell (retained), Rehan Ahmed (direct signing),Donovan Ferreira (direct signing), Mitchell Owen (direct signing)

Women’s team – Ellyse Perry (retained), Alice Capsey (direct signing), Lauren Filer (direct signing), Lucy Hamilton (direct signing)

TRENT ROCKETS

Men’s team – Tim David (direct signing), Ben Duckett (direct signing), Tom Banton (retained), Mitchell Santner (direct signing)

Women’s team – Nat Sciver-Brunt (retained), Sophia Dunkley (direct signing), Ashleigh Gardner (retained),Kim Garth (direct signing)

WELSH FIRE

Men’s team – Phil Salt (direct signing), Rachin Ravindra (direct signing), Marco Jansen (direct signing), Chris Woakes (retained)

Women’s team – Georgia Wareham (direct signing), Freya Kemp (direct signing), Georgia Voll (direct signing)

MANCHESTER SUPER GIANTS

Men’s team – Jos Buttler (retained), Heinrich Klaasen (retained), Noor Ahmad (retained), Liam Dawson (direct signing)

Women’s team – Sophie Ecclestone (retained), Smriti Mandhana (direct signing), Meg Lanning (direct signing)

SOUTHERN BRAVE

Men’s team – Jofra Archer (retained), Jamie Smith (directly signed), Tristan Stubbs (direct signing), Marcus Stoinis (direct signing)

Women’s team – Lauren Bell (retained), Maia Bouchier (retained), Jemimah Rodrigues (direct signing), Laura Wolvaardt (retained)

Short Explainer leading into The Hundred Auction

Ahead of the sixth season of the Hundred, the eight teams have been given a retention window spanning two-and-a-half months from mid-November 2025 to the end of January 2026.

The teams can make up to four pre-auction signings with a maximum of three of these signings capable of being direct signings, who can be centrally contracted English players or overseas signings. They can also have at least one retention who can be any player- a centrally contracted England player, overseas or domestic.

As the teams gear up for the first-ever Hundred auction, teams can sign up to two centrally contracted England players and two overseas players. There will be no right-to-match in the auction this season. The auction will take place in March 2026 after the pre-signing window closes.

The squad size for the men’s team will be 16-18 players while 15 players will be the maximum squad size for the women’s squads. The salary pot for the Men’s competition has increased by 45% to GBP 2.05 million while there is a 100% increase in the pot for women’s side to GBP 880,000.

Based on the number of pre-auction signings a cumulative deduction will be applied per team as follows from the overall salary pool.

Men’s Competition – GBP 350,000 (one signing), GBP 650,000 (two players), GBP 850,000 (three players), GBP 950,000 (four players).

Women’s Competition – GBP 130,000 (one signing), GBP 240,000 (two players), GBP 310,000 (three players), GBP 360,000 (four players).

After the auction, the Vitality wildcard will take place closer towards the Hundred, rewarding players who do well in the T20 blast and haven’t picked up a contract in the auction. The system will continue as it strengthens the link