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Harry Brook is set to earn nearly £500,000 for playing in the Hundred next year as the tournament’s new investors scramble to secure their direct signings and retentions ahead of March’s auctions.Brook, who is in Noosa on England’s mid-Ashes break after their eight-wicket defeat to Australia at the Gabba, has captained Northern Superchargers for the last two editions of the Hundred and has agreed a deal worth around £470,000 to stay with the team in their new guise as Sunrisers Leeds, which could make him the tournament’s highest earner.Brook is serving a two-year ban from the IPL after withdrawing from a contract with Delhi Capitals, and said when he was named England’s white-ball captain last year that overseas franchise cricket would have to take “a step back”. But new investment in the Hundred ensures that he will still secure a hefty payday on top of his two-year England central contract.The eight Hundred teams were centrally run for the tournament’s first five seasons but operational control has now transferred to host counties and private investors, who will run the franchises as joint ventures. Sunrisers are the only exception, having bought out Yorkshire’s entire 51 percent stake earlier this year.The recruitment model has changed from a draft to an auction, and teams can only pre-sign a maximum of four players since the ECB are keen to maintain competitive balance. Of those, at least one must be a retention from last year’s squad; at most two can be overseas players; and at most two can have held a central contract in either 2024-25 or 2025-26.The retention window opened on November 27 and teams have been quick off the mark to make their signings as early as possible. The ECB have specified set deductions from team salary caps depending on the number of players pre-signed, but teams can split the money however they see fit within those constraints.Brook’s new deal means that top wages in the Hundred have nearly quadrupled in the space of two years. The highest salary band increased from £125,000 (2024) to £200,000 (2025) in the men’s competition, and from £50,000 (2024) to £65,000 (2025) in the women’s.Phil Salt has been a fixture at Manchester Originals but is set to sign for Welsh Fire•Nathan Stirk/ECB via Getty Images

Phil Salt is also in line for a substantial payday of around £450,000 after Welsh Fire won a three-way race for his services, beating London Spirit and Manchester Super Giants. Salt has been with Manchester Originals since inception and captained them for the last two seasons, but was born in North Wales and has been openly targeted by the franchise.ESPNcricinfo has learned Sunrisers have also signed Brydon Carse and Mitchell Marsh along with Brook, and may yet sign an overseas fast bowler before the auction. They will be coached by Daniel Vettori next year, after Andrew Flintoff quit citing a low-ball contract offer from the new owners.Fire are leaning on their sister franchise Washington Freedom, which is also run by new co-owner Sanjay Govil, with Marco Jansen and Rachin Ravindra both targets along with Salt. Mike Hussey will continue as coach, with Michael Klinger joining in a joint role as general manager and women’s coach.Manchester Super Giants are set to retain Jos Buttler, Noor Ahmad and Heinrich Klaasen from their 2025 squad, with Tom Moody taking charge in his new global role as director of cricket and Justin Langer in line to replace Simon Katich as head coach.Trent Rockets, under Peter Moores (head coach) and Adam Voges (assistant), have lined up Joe Root and Ben Duckett, while Birmingham Phoenix are interested in signing Rehan Ahmed and Donovan Ferreira as well as retaining Jacob Bethell under new coach Shane Bond.MI London are expected to retain Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Rashid Khan, with either Nicholas Pooran or Trent Boult rounding out their overseas contingent. London Spirit, under Mo Bobat (director of cricket) and Andy Flower (head coach), have signed Liam Livingstone and Jamie Overton, and are targeting Adam Zampa. They have also announced Dinesh Karthik as their batting coach and mentor.Jofra Archer is understood to have signed a lucrative deal to stay at Southern Brave under new owners GMR Group, who have also lined up Jamie Smith, Marcus Stoinis and Tristan Stubbs. Hemang Badani, the Delhi Capitals head coach, is the favourite to take over from Adi Birrell.Related

• The Hundred to introduce player auction for 2026 season

• Harry Brook pulls out of IPL for second year running

In the women’s Hundred, Marizanne Kapp is expected to move across the Thames to London Spirit after five years with Oval Invincibles. Meg Lanning is understood to have signed for Manchester Super Giants, who have lined up Matthew Mott as their new women’s head coach.Lauren Bell has signed a lucrative new deal with Southern Brave despite significant interest elsewhere, while allrounder Freya Kemp is set to join Welsh Fire on a six-figure deal. Sunrisers, the defending champions, are expected to retain both Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland.The eight men’s and women’s teams must finalise their retentions by January 16, ahead of the inaugural auctions in March. The Hundred will run from July 21 to August 16 next summer, sandwiched between England men’s series against India (five T20Is and three ODIs) and Pakistan (three Tests).Several prominent England players are hoping for paydays in next Tuesday’s IPL auction, with Livingstone expected to attract several bids after his release by Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Jonny Bairstow, Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith are also likely to win deals, while Josh Tongue is a notable name on the longlist after finishing last season as the Hundred’s leading wicket-taker.

No result India claimed a 2-1 series victory over Australia in an anti-climax after the fifth and final T20I was abandoned due to heavy rain and thunderstorms in Brisbane.After being sent in to bat, there had been intrigue over how India’s top-order would fare on a Gabba surface with plenty of bounce and carry. But with their nemesis Josh Hazlewood in Ashes prep mode and again not in the line-up, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill plundered 52 runs before play came to a halt after 4.5 overs.Abhishek did have luck having been dropped twice, but Gill was in sweet touch as he smacked 29 off 16 balls.The series ended the same way it began after rain ruined the opening T20I in Canberra. Australia dominated game two in front of 82,000 fans at the MCG, largely thanks to a rampant Hazlewood but India ultimately prevailed in the series after their spinners gained a stranglehold on slower surfaces in Hobart and the Gold Coast.The India T20I squad with the series trophy in Brisbane•Matt Roberts/CA/Getty Images

India will head home well pleased ahead of their T20 World Cup title defence on home soil.”The way everyone chipped in every game, it was a complete team effort with the bat, ball and in the field,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.”I saw what happened with the women’s team winning the World Cup in India, having unbelievable support. When you play at home there is pressure but at the same there is a lot of excitement.”In their final hit-out in the format before the T20 World Cup, Australia’s aggressive batting approach against high-quality spin attacks has come under scrutiny although recriminations are unlikely amid Ashes hysteria.”I don’t think I can remember the last time we had so many rain interruptions,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said. “I think there are a lot of learnings to take forward, a lot of positives. The flexibility of our group and the squad that we’re trying to build in a World Cup year has been amazing.”Earlier, a grinning Marsh once again won the toss but his mood soon soured after the start India’s openers got.There was no settling in for left-arm quick Ben Dwarshuis as Abhishek bludgeoned a trademark boundary over mid-off on the fourth delivery of the match.He tried to repeat the dose on the next ball only to miscue high into the air where Glenn Maxwell nestled under having trudged back from mid-off. A resigned Abhishek had already begun walking off only for the unthinkable to happen, with Maxwell spilling a straightforward catch.While Abhishek lived dangerously, Gill was in sublime touch as he stroked four boundaries off Dwarshuis’ second over with the best being a gorgeous cover drive. Gill was in the type of commanding form that had eluded him during a tough tour – which started with an ODI series defeat in his captaincy debut in the format – and he looked determined to finish on a high.Abhishek, on 11, received another life when he was dropped by Dwarshuis who ran in from fine-leg before compounding Nathan Ellis’ misery by smashing him over midwicket for six.Typical for Brisbane this time for year, bad weather loomed large and the players went off due to lightning before heavy rain cascaded onto the ground in a major disappointment for the sold-out crowd.

It will be Trent Rockets, not Northern Superchargers, who face Oval Invincibles in Sunday’s Hundred final at Lord’s after a soggy night in south London ended in an abandonment. Showers delayed the start by 20 minutes, prompted two hour-long interruptions, and eventually wiped the game out altogether, with Rockets progressing by virtue of their higher group-stage finish.The final call came at 9.52pm, nearly four hours yet only 80 legal balls after the scheduled 6pm start. Rockets twice started to chase adjusted targets – 134 off 75, then 105 off 55 – only for the drizzle to turn into rain, and the crowd had thinned by the time a final heavy downpour prompted umpires James Middlebrook and Martin Saggers to finally pull the plug.The final will start barely 20 hours after the Eliminator ended, and a stop-start night hardly served ideal preparation. “It’s been a long day… I thought you had to wait until the rain stops before you start,” reflected Rockets’ Marcus Stoinis, who removed Harry Brook and David Miller before the rain took over. “It’s a bit of chaos, but I think it will be fine.”Invincibles, by contrast, have had since Monday to prepare for Sunday’s final as table-toppers, and will welcome back Stoinis’ close friend Adam Zampa as a handy replacement for Rashid Khan. Jordan Cox and Sam Curran helped them to surge home against Rockets in the stand-out match of the group stage, and they are gunning for a third successive title.David Willey struck with his third ball to remove Zak Crawley•ECB/Getty Images

“It was a good contest last time,” Stoinis said of their meeting at The Oval earlier this month. “We probably had the better of them for the majority of that game and they played really well. Credit to them for winning… It was some of the best hitting that there’s been in any cricket, really. But to be honest, we haven’t really thought about it – we haven’t had a chance!”This was a cruel end for Brook’s Superchargers, but one they could have avoided. These two teams were level on points heading into the final week of the group stage, but Superchargers lost their last fixture on Tuesday, and Rockets clinched second place with a win on Wednesday. With no reserve day for the Eliminator, it proved enough for them.”I think everybody in the world knew that was going to happen,” Brook said, ruefully. “Everyone saw the forecast was going to be shocking from about five or six o’clock. It is what it is. We can’t do anything about it.”It’s easy to say loads of things when you’re sat on the losing side. You could say we could have played last night, knowing that it was going to rain tonight; or we could have brought the game earlier, say the girls play at 11 and we play at 2. But this is how they’ve set the schedule… There’s so many things you could say.”Harry Brook was cleaned up by Marcus Stoinis•ECB/Getty Images

Rockets shaded the limited action there was, with captain David Willey setting the tone after winning what looked like an important toss. He struck with his third ball, which Zak Crawley edged to slip, and frontloaded his 20-ball allocation into the first 40 in the knowledge that the innings was unlikely to last its scheduled duration.Dan Lawrence top-scored with an unbeaten 44 from No. 3 around cameos from Dawid Malan and David Miller as Superchargers reached 76 for 3 after 50 balls at the first rain break, and 119 for 5 after 75 at the second. Lawrence was unusually due to keep wicket, but the discarded Michael Pepper took the gloves as a substitute fielder after Malan tweaked a muscle.After the first long delay, Jacob Duffy pushed the first ball of Rockets’ chase past Tom Banton’s pad; after the second, Banton slashed him over slip for four and picked up four leg-byes from an attempted scoop. But no sooner had Matthew Potts removed his cap to bowl the second set, than the rain returned with a vengeance, sending Superchargers’ season down the drain.

On a day of remarkable drama in the Asia Cup, Pakistan did just about enough to keep their focus and secure the win that guarantees them safe passage to the Super Four. But they had to weather a spirited bowling performance from UAE who gave them a mini-scare. However, an all-round performance from Shaheen Shah Afridi and a team effort from the Pakistan bowlers ultimately sealed a 41-run victory.After the game started an hour late as the PCB threatened brinksmanship over the status of match referee Andy Pycroft, Pakistan appeared to have left all their fire and fury off the field. They scratched and poked timidly in the first four overs, limping to 17 for 2, and it wouldn’t get much better for most of the innings. Junaid Siddique took wickets at top and tail while Simranjeet Singh punctured Pakistan with three in the middle. It was only Fakhar Zaman who was left holding the innings together, but even his 36-ball 50 barely got Pakistan’s run rate above a run a ball.Related

• The arrival of Shaheen Afridi, lower-order basher

• The Pakcroft drama: everything, everywhere, all at once

• PCB clears Pakistan to play UAE; says Pycroft apologised

Afridi’s unbeaten 29 off 14 balls at the end gave his side some breathing room, but after a third successive below-par game with the bat, it was Pakistan’s bowlers left to bail them out. Afridi enjoyed his best bowling display of the tournament, crucially breaking through with Alishan Sharafu’s wicket, while Haris Rauf, playing his first match of the Asia Cup, took the wicket of Dhruv Parashar to break a 48-run fourth wicket stand whose menace had slowly been increasing.Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub were operating in conditions conducive to their skillset, and they kept their end of the deal, their eight overs combining for 3 for 31 as the UAE’s innings ran out of steam. With six overs to go – they needed 62 runs with six wickets in the bag – the game still in the balance. However, as the pressure piled on, the Associates would crumple in a heap, the last seven wickets falling for 20 runs in 23 balls.

Junaid Siddique doubles up

In a tournament dominated by spin bowling, UAE fast bowler Junaid Siddique has become the top wicket-taker. Not for nothing has he amassed 105 T20I wickets, four of which came in a masterful spell of bowling against Pakistan on Wednesday.Following on from his 4 for 23 against Oman earlier in the tournament, Siddique drew Saim Ayub into a lash outside off for his third successive duck of the tournament. Varying his pace and lengths beautifully, he went the other way for Sahibzada Farhan, denying him room to induce a feeble chip into the infield.It meant Pakistan started off painfully – they were 9 for 2 in the third over – and Waseem squirelled away Siddique’s remaining two overs for the death. There, Siddique delivered like a charm once more, Pakistan’s lower-middle order finding him as difficult to put away as well. He struck once more in each of his two overs, outfoxing Mohammad Haris as he tried to paddle him, before signing off with a slower delivery that had Mohammad Nawaz holing out to leave Pakistan eight down.1:49

Jaffer: Junaid Siddique was ‘spot on’ in a must-win game

Shaheen injects batting momentum

It was fast bowler Afridi whose last-gasp cameo with the bat against India established some competitiveness to Pakistan’s total, and he came to the rescue in similar circumstances against UAE. With Pakistan 110 for 7 in the 17th over, Afridi almost single-handedly got Pakistan up to and beyond par. He found a way to fetch a pair of boundaries off Siddique, but the bulk of the runs came in a thrilling final over.Freeing his arms to get that windmill of a swing going, he began by slapping Muhammad Rohid over mid-off for six before whipping him over square leg for six more. Eighteen would come off that over, and of the 28 that came off the final two, with Afridi scoring 27 in 10 deliveries. It pushed Pakistan up to 146, placing a level of scoreboard pressure on the hosts that ultimately weighed them down throughout the chase.

When the moment slipped away

The game was going perfectly to plan for UAE. A superb bowling performance was being followed by a brisk start with the bat. Alishan Sharafu caressed the first ball of the innings from Afridi for four, and the first two overs produced 19 for 0.But there were signs that Afridi would back up his batting cameo with the ball when he coaxed Sharafu into dragging on. UAE’s captain Waseem then tried to keep the innings going. Five wides from Haris Rauf helped the run rate, and Waseem thwacked him for a boundary in the same over. By the end of the fourth, UAE were 35 for 1.The final two overs of the powerplay, though, damaged their chase. Salman Agha turned to Abrar whose carrom ball deceived Waseem. Mohammad Nawaz threw in a dive to take a stunning low catch to deal a hammer blow to their chances of an upset. In the next over, Saim Ayub cleaned up Muhammad Zohaib to leave UAE tottering at 38 for 3. As the asking rate rose into the ether, it took UAE’s hopes with it.

Sharjah Warriorz have signed former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik for the upcoming season of the ILT20 in the UAE. Warriorz unveiled Karthik as a replacement for Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis, ahead of the league’s first player auction on October 1.At Warriorz, Karthik, 40, will reunite with the big-hitting Tim David with whom he had won IPL 2025 though as a batting coach and mentor at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).”I am very excited to be joining the Sharjah Warriorz team for the DP World ILT20 tournament,” Karthik said in a statement. “I know they are a young team, aspiring to do some special things, and I am happy to be here. Sharjah is also one of those iconic stadiums one always wants to play at. And to be a part of the franchise Sharjah Warriorz, makes a dream come true.”Related

• R Ashwin goes unsold in inaugural ILT20 player auction

• ILT20 games in future seasons could be held in Saudi Arabia

• Will Ashwin be the most expensive buy at inaugural ILT20 auction?

• ILT20: Powell, Ghazanfar retained; Hales, Livingstone among new signings

Warriorz head coach JP Duminy welcomed Karthik into their set-up. “Dinesh Karthik is one of the most experienced hands and an incredibly innovative mind when it comes to T20 cricket, and I am chuffed to have him in our corner,” Duminy said. “The whole world has seen what he is capable of with the bat, and his explosive batting, dynamic personality, and immense experience will surely benefit the younger players significantly during the course of the tournament. I look forward to working with him closely.”This will be Karthik’s fourth stint as a player in franchise cricket outside of the IPL after being part of Bangla Tigers in the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10, Southern Superstars in the 2024 Legends League, and Paarl Royals in the 2025 SA20. Karthik forayed into the global franchise circuit after retiring from Indian and international cricket in June 2024.Dinesh Karthik represented Paarl Royals in the 2025 SA20•SA20

Karthik brings with him a wealth of T20 experience: he has played 412 matches so far, scoring 7537 runs at an average of 27.01 and strike rate of 136.66. In the IPL, he played for six teams, which included leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He also was among the fittest players in the IPL, having missed just two matches across 17 seasons.In the upcoming season of the ILT20, Karthik could play with or against R Ashwin, his former India and Tamil Nadu team-mate. Ashwin has entered the ILT20 auction with the highest base price – the only player at the auction with a base price in six figures.With LPL 2025 set to clash with the ILT20, Mendis has pulled out along with allrounder Dasun Shanaka, who was earlier retained by defending champions Dubai Capitals.

Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to be Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) captain for IPL 2026. In a social-media post, the franchise wrote, “Lead the way, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad,” ending the speculations that Sanju Samson could be the captain.CSK had traded in Samson from Rajasthan Royals in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. He comes with plenty of captaincy experience in the IPL but will not lead the franchise. It is understood, though, that he will open the innings.