We'll leave it out there in 'cup final'

FEARS of Pakistani players being frozen out of The Hundred proved unfounded at the inaugural men's auction where spinner Abrar Ahmed was signed by Indian-owned Sunrisers Leeds and Usman Tariq joined Birmingham Phoenix.

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In financial terms, Sussex's 21-year-old upcoming all-rounder James Coles was the biggest winner as he attracted the deal of the day with a startling £390,000 bid from London Spirit but, in terms of optics, the move by Indian-owned Sunrisers for Abrar was even more profound.

The England and Wales Cricket Board had been compelled to issue formal denials that an effective 'shadow ban' was being employed by some of the sides who have taken Indian investment, releasing a joint statement from all eight franchises affirming players would not be excluded on nationality.

But Pakistan's only female representatives - Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal - went unsold in the women's auction, star seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi withdrew from the men's sale on Wednesday evening and fellow quick Haris Rauf failed to attract an offer when he was put up for his reserve price of £100,000.