The Hundred Women’s 2026: England's Dani Gibson named captain of Sunrisers Leeds

England all-rounder Dani Gibson has been appointed as captain of the Sunrisers Leeds (previously Northern Superchargers) ahead of The Hundred Women's 2026. She will lead a side for the first time in her professional career when the tournament kicks off towards the end of July.

During the inaugural The Hundred auction earlier this year, Gibson was signed by the Headingley-based franchise for a whopping GBP 190,000 to become England's highest-paid female cricketer in the tournament and the third-highest overall, behind both Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine, who pocketed GBP 210,000, respectively.

Gibson effectively replaces Hollie Armitage as the franchise's captain ahead of the 2026 season. The 28-year-old led the Northern Superchargers to their maiden title last year, where they defeated the Southern Brave in the final by seven wickets. Title-winning captain Armitage, however, will not form part of the Sunrisers Leeds' setup in 2026 after being signed up by MI London (previously Oval Invincibles) for GBP 45,000 and was named captain of the South London franchise instead.

The 25-year-old will be tasked to lead a strong Sunriser Leeds side comprising some high-profile international players, including Annabel Sutherland, last year's Most Valuable Player (MVP), Phoebe Litchfield, Kate Cross, Deepti Sharma and Yorkshire's in-form player Jess Jonassen, to name a few.

It is worth mentioning that Gibson becomes the second England all-rounder to be named captain of a Hundred franchise ahead of the 2026 season. Charlie Dean was also announced as the skipper of the London Spirit earlier this month.

Charlie Dean named permeant captain of London Spirit

Gibson represented the London Spirit since the inception of The Hundred in 2021, making 39 appearances and contributing towards 444 runs and 20 wickets. She currently forms part of the England squad that is set to compete in the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup on home soil, which commences on Friday, June 12.

The Sunrisers Leeds are set to open the 2026 The Hundred campaign with an away game against MI London at the Oval on Tuesday, July 12. The women's game kickstarts the double header, with the men's side of both franchises taking the field later that evening.