Middlesex all-rounder Caleb Falconer almost missed out on entering The Hundred auction because an email from his father, acting as his unofficial representative, was initially mistaken for a phishing attempt by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Falconer, then away with England's Under-19 side in Zimbabwe and Namibia and without an agent, had asked his father Stuart to put his name forward, but the ECB needed several hours to verify the email genuinely came from his dad before adding him to the list. The mix-up nearly cost the teenager a lucrative opportunity, as he went on to be the subject of a bidding war between two franchises.

Southern Brave ultimately signed the South African-born 19-year-old for £55,000. Falconer, who moved to the UK in 2023 and made his first-class debut for Middlesex in May, impressed at the Under-19 World Cup with 309 runs in six innings at an average of 61.80. He has yet to play for Brave this season but could feature in their final group match against Trent Rockets on Monday, with the player citing AB de Villiers as an inspiration and expressing ambitions to represent England across all three formats.