Moeen Ali hits out at ‘unfair’ Hundred auction omission

Moeen Ali has branded his absence from this week's Hundred player auction "unfair".

The former England all-rounder, previously captain at Birmingham Phoenix, had planned to return for this summer's tournament after missing the 2025 campaign to play in the Caribbean .

His was one of over 1,000 names registered for the new auction system, which will see the eight teams bid to fill their women's squads on Wednesday and their men's roster on Thursday, but he missed out on the shortlist after a nomination process.

Moeen, who has played Birmingham League cricket for Wolverhampton and West Bromwich Dartmouth, says he held private talks with more than one franchise. However, he was not formally proposed by any team and has therefore missed out - despite lingering interest in his signature.

"They all assumed I'd be on this list and didn't nominate my name, so I missed out on the whole thing," he said on his Beard Before Wicket podcast.

"I do feel it's a little unfair personally, but at the same time if they did put me in they feel it won't be fair on players who missed out and it opens a can of worms.

"What's really strange is I'm talking to teams about playing, on Zoom, where I fit into their squad etc but not being nominated. They assumed other teams would nominate me.

"If you put your name in the auction, it should be in the auction. They (teams) have also requested the ECB put my name in, but the ECB all out refused."