Sciver-Brunt & Ecclestone earn six-figure WPL deals

England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt was sold for about £320,000 and spinner Sophie Ecclestone £180,000 in the Women’s Premier League auction.

Ecclestone, who is the number one T20 bowler in the world, joins England head coach Jon Lewis at UP Warriorz.

India opener Smriti Mandhana signed for Royal Challengers Bangalore for £340,000 in the biggest deal.

Australia’s Ash Gardner was bought by Gujarat Giants for £320,000, joining Sciver-Brunt as the most expensive overseas star.

Seven of the 27 England players that put themselves into the auction were signed, with captain Heather Knight initially going unsold before joining Royal Challengers Bangalore for £40,000.

All-rounder Alice Capsey signed for Delhi Capitals for £75,000, opener Sophia Dunkley joined Gujarat Giants for £60,000, while bowlers Lauren Bell and Issy Wong earned £30,000 contracts at UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians respectively.

Opener Danni Wyatt, wicketkeeper Amy Jones and bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt were among the England players who went unsold.

Other overseas stars who were not purchased include Australia leg-spinner Alana King, New Zealand batter Suzie Bates and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt.

The Women’s Premier League is the women’s equivalent of the men’s Indian Premier League and will run from 4 to 26 March, with 22 matches played in total.

The highest salary in the Women’s Hundred – a franchise tournament run by the England and Wales Cricket Board – is £31,250.

A total of 448 players were auctioned, with 87 earning deals. Teams had a budget of around £1.2m to build a squad of between 15 and 18 players.

Nat Sciver-Brunt’s deal will make her one of the highest-earning female sportspeople in England, with the deal in addition to her England central contract, which is worth between £60,000 and £100,000 per year, and Hundred salary.

The England women’s football team earn a reported £2,000 per match, with central contracts starting from £15,000 and typically paying around £30,000.

England’s rugby team have central contracts worth between £26,000 and £32,000, plus match fees of £800.

Who went where in the Women’s Premier League auction?

‘I hope it captures the nation’ – analysis

Former England bowler and Test Match Special commentator Isa Guha

The WPL is a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of the best talent in the world, and, having been to the IPL, I know just how much of a craze the tournament is.

From the moment you land on Indian soil it is all consuming, on the TV, in the newspapers, on the billboards. It captures the attention of households every night and I am hoping it will be the same for the women’s tournament.

It is a wonderful platform for the seven England players who have been selected to reach legend status in a country that breathes cricket. It is an experience like no other and being able to play in front of huge crowds in the sub continent is always special.

As a result, the England and Wales Cricket Board and national boards globally will be challenged to look at how they are remunerating their players given the pull of big money contracts.

I was surprised that opening batters like Danni Wyatt, Chamari Atapaththu and Suzie Bates missed out – you would expect them to get picked up every day of the week. Sometimes that is the nature of an auction where teams are set on certain players and if they don’t pick them up they suddenly start scrambling around having to think quickly with their remaining purse. Experience of the women’s game comes in handy in a situation like that.

I’ve always favoured the idea of teams with strong Indian players to build around and generally they have performed the best in the IPL. That’s why I think Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indianslook the strongest on paper.

There is a large England and Australia contingent of overseas players because they are two of the best teams in the world. However, I do think teams could have utilised the ruling of an additional associate player better.