Franchise Cricket

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Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is the only England player to be retained by her franchise for the fourth season of the Women's Premier League.

Sciver-Brunt, 33, will stay at defending champions Mumbai Indians but spinners Sophie Ecclestone (Up Warriorz), Charlie Dean (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge (RCB) and all-rounders Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals) and Danielle Gibson (Gujarat Giants) have all been released.

India stars Smriti Mandhana (RCB), Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians) and Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals) have been retained but Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz) has been released.

West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews will stay at Mumbai, South Africa's Marizanne Kapp remains with Delhi and Australia's Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney (both Gujarat), Annabel Sutherland (Delhi) and Ellyse Perry (RCB) have also been kept.

However Australia's Meg Lanning (Capitals), Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath (UP Warriorz), Phoebe Litchfield (Giants) have been released, while Mumbai have let New Zealand's T20 World Cup winner Melie Kerr go too.

There will be an auction for the teams to complete their squads, with the date yet to be confirmed. The dates for the tournament are also unknown.

WPL 2026 retentions

Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp and Niki Prasad

Gujarat Giants: Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney

Mumbai Indians: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur and G Kamalini

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil

UP Warriorz: Shweta Sehrawat

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Ex-England and Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper Chris Read has been appointed head coach of Trent Rockets' women's team.

Lancashire coach Read, 47, steps up to take the reins from Jon Lewis, under whom he has worked as an assistant coach for the past three editions of The Hundred.

Read's former Notts team-mate Luke Fletcher also joins as an assistant coach.

"It's a deeply proud moment to take on a head coaching role based at the ground that I have a huge number of unbelievably special memories at," said Read.

"I've really enjoyed developing my coaching skillset with the Rockets over the last three summers, and the opportunity to continue that journey is really exciting.

"I felt the impact of a sold-out Trent Bridge crowd first-hand over many years, and I know how much their support can change the course of games.

"With all the fresh energy and investment into The Hundred, I'm really looking forward to starting the preparation for 2026 and beyond as we bid to deliver success."

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Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has been appointed head coach of Birmingham Phoenix in the men's Hundred.

Bond, 50, replaces former Black Caps team-mate Daniel Vettori, who left after four years in the role as the Hundred franchises continue to be shaped by their new investors.

Vettori is currently coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Sunrisers' owners bought a 100% stake in Leeds-based Northern Superchargers earlier this year.

Earlier this week Tom Moody left his position as Oval Invincibles coach to take up a role as the global director of cricket for the owners of Indian Premier League franchise Lucknow Super Giants.

LSG's owners, Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group, bought a 70% stake in Manchester Originals during the Hundred sales process.

Bond has experience in a number of global franchise leagues.

He has worked as a head coach at Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash and is currently bowling coach for IPL side Rajasthan Royals. He has also worked in the IPL with Mumbai Indians.

A fragile bowler capable of extreme pace, Bond played 18 Tests, 82 ODIs and 20 T20s in an international career blighted by injuries.

Phoenix's men were runners-up in the first Hundred season in 2021 but have not reached the final since and finished fifth last year.

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Head coach Daniel Vettori has left Birmingham Phoenix after four years at the club.

The ex-New Zealand spin bowler, 46, led Phoenix's men's team to a runners-up finish in 2021 and third place in 2024, though they finished fifth last summer.

James Thomas, Birmingham Phoenix performance director, said: "Dan's prior experience of working in franchise cricket has been invaluable during the formative years of the Birmingham Phoenix and he leaves us in a great position to grow and progress in the years to come."

Vettori added: "I have loved every minute of working with the Birmingham Phoenix and will look back on my time at Edgbaston with nothing but fondness."

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The new owners of the Northern Superchargers have changed The Hundred franchise's company name to Sunrisers Leeds.

A document which confirmed a change of name, which was long expected to incorporate the word 'Sunrisers', was submitted to Companies House, external on 31 October.

The Headingley-based franchise were brought by the Sun Group, owners of Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad during the sale of the Hundred franchises.

Sun Group paid just over £100m for a 100% stake stake in the franchise - one of only two sides alongside Southern Brave to sell up entirely.

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Tom Moody has left his position as Oval Invincibles coach to take up a role as the global director of cricket for the owners of Indian Premier League franchise Lucknow Super Giants.

The 60-year-old Australian has been with The Hundred franchise since the competition's inception and has guided them to the men's title in the last three years.

A statement from the Invincibles said Moody's "outstanding leadership" had been an "integral part" of their "unprecedented success".

"Together, we have achieved great success, winning three titles in a row and Tom played a crucial role in building this winning culture," the Invincibles said.

"Everyone at the franchise respects Tom's decision to pursue a new and exciting opportunity. We thank him for his invaluable contributions over the past five years and wish him the very best for the future."

Moody will oversee cricket strategy, player auction, player retention and global talent scouting across RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) franchises.

That includes in the IPL with LSG, Manchester Originals in The Hundred and Durban's Super Giants in the SA20.

Moody, who played eight Tests and 76 one-day internationals for Australia, said it was a "privilege to accept the role" with RPSG and it represented "an exciting opportunity".

"I look forward to helping build a unified cricketing philosophy across the franchises," Moody said.

"I'm excited to work alongside all the players, coaches and management to achieve our goals."

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Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will miss the forthcoming Big Bash League after undergoing a knee operation.

Ashwin was set to play for Sydney Thunder in Australia's domestic T20 tournament in what was described as "one of the biggest signings in BBL history".

The 39-year-old sustained the injury while training in Chennai and said in a statement he was "gutted" to miss the tournament.

Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024, and from the Indian Premier League earlier this year, which made him eligible for global franchise leagues.

He would have been the first player capped by India at international level to play in the BBL.

"My focus now is recovery and coming back stronger," said Ashwin, who has taken 765 wickets in 287 international matches across formats for India.

"For now it is rehab, recovery, and doing the work to come back stronger. If rehab and travel plans allow, I'd love to be around the group later in the season and meet the fans."

The BBL is scheduled from 14 December until 25 January.

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England batter Davina Perrin and bowler Issy Wong have been signed by Melbourne Renegades in the Women's Big Bash.

Perrin, 19, will play in the tournament for the first time and has been signed as an injury replacement for West Indies' Hayley Matthews, who is recovering from shoulder surgery.

The right-hander smashed 101 not out in The Hundred eliminator in August to guide Northern Superchargers to the final, where they lifted the title for the first time.

Wong, 23, has played for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash previously, taking nine wickets in 13 matches.

Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said: "Davina brings power and presence, she's a player who really suits our fearless approach at the top of the order.

"Issy offers genuine pace and a competitive edge that few can match. She's shown her quality on the international stage and will add another dimension to our attack this season."

The pair will be joined by England all-rounder Alice Capsey at the Renegades.

The tournament begins on 9 November, with commentary on BBC Sounds and daily posts on BBC Sport's Franchise Cricket page.

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

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The Caribbean Premier League hope to add a new team from the United States to its women's tournament within the next two years.

CPL chief executive Pete Russell has made it a strategic priority to expand the women's T20 franchise competition from three teams to four in the near future.

BBC Sport understands the CPL want to bring the plan to fruition for the 2026 edition, which is set to be held in Barbados, and will to engage the relevant stakeholders over the next 11 months.

Should ongoing governance issues involving USA Cricket delay that process then CPL officials are confident they can deliver it the following year.

The plans are still at an early stage but it is anticipated an American team would mirror existing women's CPL rules with only four overseas players and the rest made up of USA-qualified players.

Such a step would also provide valuable exposure for some of the USA's national team players before cricket's return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in 2028.

A men's team from the USA are set to automatically qualify for LA 2028, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) are yet to decide whether a women's team will be included amid concerns over their competitiveness.

The USA's women's T20 team are ranked 25th in the world and have never qualified for a major ICC event.

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West Indies duo Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard have been signed as wildcards by MI Emirates in the International League T20.

Pooran scored 301 runs at an average of 37.62 last season and Pollard added 182 runs at 45.50.

The pair were part of the MI squad that won their first title in 2024.

Pollard, 38, is the second-highest run-scorer in T20 history and is 325 runs behind compatriot Chris Gayle.

There are 10 group games in the tournament or Pollard to close on, or surpass, Gayle.

The ILT20 has been brought forward because of the T20 World Cup in February and will take place between 2 December and 4 January.

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Shai Hope has signed for SA20 side Pretoria Capitals, replacing England all-rounder Will Jacks.

The West Indies batter will be playing in the SA20 for the first time but again links up with the Capitals having previously played for both Delhi in the IPL and Dubai in the ILT20.

In his one ILT20 season with the Capitals earlier this year, the 31-year-old scored a tournament-high 527 runs at an average of 59 to lead the franchise to their first title.

He is currently playing for West Indies on their white-ball tour of Bangladesh.

Jacks has been ruled out of the SA20 after being named in England's Test squad for this winter's tour of Australia.