Email 'hoax' almost blocked Caleb Falconer's route into The Hundred auction

Caleb Falconer said an ECB attempt to verify a suspected 'hoax' email nearly prevented him being entered into The Hundred auction while he was with England at the Under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia. His father, Stuart, eventually secured his place on the auction list and Falconer was later bought by Southern Brave for £55,000.

The 19-year-old, who was born and raised in South Africa and moved to the UK in 2023, had no agent and had not yet made a professional appearance when the incident occurred. He made his first-class debut for Middlesex against Lancashire in May. Falconer described ringing his father to ask him to put his name forward: "I actually gave him a call and said, 'It might be worth chucking my name in' for The Hundred auction," and said Stuart, a coach and major influence on his career, acted as his unofficial representative for one day.

The ECB initially questioned whether the contact was genuine and sought confirmation that Stuart was really Falconer's father. "They had to get back to him to find out if he actually was my dad and it wasn't just a hoax email," Falconer said. "It was a bit of a process and it took him a few hours to sort it. I've no idea what my dad wrote!" A series of phone calls and emails, and an identity check, followed before his name was added to the auction list.

Several months after being added to that list, Falconer's name attracted competitive bidding from two Hundred franchises. Southern Brave secured him for £55,000 after a bidding contest between the sides. Reflecting on the experience, Falconer said: "My mindset was that even being in the auction was a really cool achievement," and added: "To get picked up, and also getting a bit of a bidding war, that was unbelievable."

Falconer finished as the Under-19 World Cup's sixth highest run scorer, accumulating 309 runs from six innings at an average of 61.80. His batting is described in the article as built around power and inventive strokeplay all around the ground, with AB de Villiers cited among his inspirations. On his preferred shots he said: "I like playing the old paddle, or the scoop, especially when it's a big quick bowler and you just use their pace," and his father warned: "My dad is always telling me to pack them away until needed!"

Although Falconer has not yet made a senior appearance for Southern Brave this summer, he has been training with the squad and learning from the more experienced players. He said he has been "picking their brains as much as possible" while soaking up the experience. The article notes Brave have been unable to reach The Hundred knockout phase.

With Southern Brave already eliminated from the knockout stage, Falconer could be given his chance in their final group game against Trent Rockets on Monday.