Hundred payday huge 'shock' for Dani

DANI Gibson needed a "a cold shower" after becoming the Hundred's highest paid Englishwoman, landing a £190,000 payday from Sunrisers Leeds as investors splashed the cash at the inaugural player auction.

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Gibson's deal dwarfed the contracts handed to England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and star seamer Lauren Bell, who were among a raft of pre-auction 'direct signings' and signed for £140,000 each.

The hard-hitting all-rounder picked up the top domestic offer on a landmark day for the women's game, which saw Australia's Beth Mooney and New Zealand's Sophie Devine pick up record salaries of £210,000 and another five English players clear the sixfigure mark as money poured down from the franchises' new private investors.

The level of spending at the United Kingdom's first player auction in a major professional sport represents a huge uplift in the women's game, where the top salary band in the previous system started at £15,000 in 2021 and was still capped at £65,000 last summer.