The Lord’s-based Hundred franchise London Spirit fetched the highest price in the auction, with a consortium including the India-born chief executives of Google and Microsoft valuing the team at £295m, and Middlesex’s long association with the home of cricket makes the club particularly attractive to overseas investors.
Middlesex are exploring a possible sale of shares in the club amid an explosion of interest in English cricket from outside investors following the Hundred auction.
Also among the new signings are Smith's compatriots Meg Lanning (Oval Invincibles), Megan Schutt (Birmingham Phoenix) and Marcus Stoinis (Trent Rockets), New Zealand's Trent Boult (Birmingham Phoenix) and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (Oval Invincibles).
Middlesex will receive a £20m divided from their share of the Hundred sale which will provide security after several years of losses, but senior figures at the club are convinced that the chance to attract outside investment triggered by the auction is too good to miss.
The unexpectedly high sale prices in the Hundred auction, which raised £520m for the sport with the eight franchises valued at over £975m, has sparked renewed interest in English cricket from investors who missed out or declined to bid.
