Danni Wyatt and Kate Cross snapped up at WPL auction

Wyatt was distraught to miss out on the inaugural WPL earlier this year, but she was picked up by UP Warriorz – led by England head coach Jon Lewis – at base price in Saturday's auction

Danni Wyatt earned her first Women's Premier League deal at the second time of asking, while Kate Cross was also picked up in the auction ahead of the 2024 competition.

Wyatt was openly distraught to miss out on the inaugural WPL earlier this year, but she was picked up by UP Warriorz – led by England head coach Jon Lewis – at base price in Saturday's auction.

She had smashed 75 against India three days earlier in a T20I victory, and The Cricketer understands that Wyatt had pre-auction interest from most of the franchises, albeit for a role where several big-name overseas players were also looking for a deal.

Australia opener Phoebe Litchfield was signed up by Gujarat Giants, who had plenty of work to do at the auction after releasing the most players from their 2023 squad, but there was surprisingly no offer for Chamari Athapaththu, the Sri Lanka allrounder who was named player of the tournament in the recent Women's Big Bash. Deandra Dottin, the former West Indies star, also missed out.

Wyatt's deal is worth approximately £30,000, the same amount as Cross' contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Scotland allrounder Kathryn Bryce, who represents The Blaze in English cricket's regional system, was also snapped up by Giants as an associate player.

^{England are well represented at the WPL (Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)}

Several England players missed out though, with Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier and Bess Heath among those in England's squad currently in India not selected.

Wyatt joins a Warriorz squad that, along with Lewis, also includes compatriots Lauren Bell and Sophie Ecclestone, both of whom were retained after the first season.

Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Issy Wong and Heather Knight were also retained by their respective franchises. Capsey will be joined at Delhi Capitals by Annabel Sutherland, the biggest overseas winner of the day. She was released by Gujarat but is seen as a quality, all-round addition for the 2023 losing finalists.

The reigning champions, Mumbai Indians, added to their overseas stocks with the acquisition of Shabnim Ismail.

Related Topics

• Alyssa Healy replaces Meg Lanning as Australia captain
• Amy Jones backs teammates to remain focused in spite of WPL auction clash