Draft watch: Every player available for retention at the Big Bash drafts

New Zealand great Suzie Bates and England’s Alice Capsey, Laurie Evans and Pakistan's Usama Mir are among the latest names revealed for the Big Bash drafts, after the league confirmed every player available for retention across the men’s and women’s competitions.

A further 39 nominated players have been named ahead of the drafts on June 19, following Monday’s initial drop of 20 players.

While Evans failed to fire in BBL|14 in his first season at the Renegades, he has an impressive record in the Big Bash for the Scorchers that will surely make the Melbourne club think long and hard at this year's draft where they hold retention rights for the Englishman.

His countryman Joe Clarke has nominated with full-season availability after featuring in just two matches for the Stars last season, which could tempt the Stars with Ben Duckett involved in the Ashes, while leg-spinner Mir is also available for the entire season.

Indeed, the majority of the men’s players revealed in today’s nomination drop are available for the entire season plus finals, although England’s Jacob Bethell and Ollie Pope are expected to be only available following the Ashes Tests.

Rashid Khan has nominated for the draft, with the Strikers holding retention rights, but the Afghanistan T20 star has only a small window of availability before heading to South Africa.

It makes the prospect of him being drafted unlikely given the salary band he would command, but nominating opens the door for him to be picked up by a club as an early-season replacement player.

BBL players available for retention

Adelaide Strikers: Fabian Allen (West Indies), Adam Hose (England), Rashid Khan (Strikers), Ollie Pope (England)

 

Brisbane Heat: Tom Alsop (England), Paul Walter (England)

 

Hobart Hurricanes: Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Waqar Salamkheil (Afghanistan)

 

Melbourne Renegades: Jacob Bethell (England), Laurie Evans (England), Hassan Khan (United States), Tawanda Muyeye (England)

 

Melbourne Stars: Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Joe Clarke (England), Dan Lawrence (England), Usama Mir (Pakistan)

 

Perth Scorchers: Stevie Eskinazi (England), Matthew Hurst (England), Keaton Jennings (England), Tymal Mills (England)

 

Sydney Sixers: Jafer Chohan (England), Izharulhuq Naveed (Afghanistan) 

 

Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales (England), Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand), George Garton (England), Mohammad Hasnain (Pakistan)

Rising England allrounder Dani Gibson, who was unavailable last season, has nominated this time around and could be retained by Adelaide Strikers, who have already pre-signed Laura Wolvaardt, while their other big-name recruit of WBBL|10, India’s Smriti Mandhana, has not nominated this season.

Meanwhile Amy Jones and Linsey Smith’s recent limited-overs heroics for England could prove a timely boost to their stocks ahead of next week’s Big Bash drafts.

Wicketkeeper-batter Jones, a Scorchers regular, was snapped up by Perth with pick No.16 at last year’s draft but could find her name called earlier this time around after she smashed back-to-back centuries against West Indies last week – the first international centuries of her career following a move to the top of the order under new coach Charlotte Edwards.

Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith has been signed as a replacement player for the Stars, Sixers and most recently Melbourne Renegades, but a strong white-ball showing against the Windies this month, where she picked up 10 wickets in five games after replacing the absent Sophie Ecclestone, could see her picked in the draft.

All of the WBBL nominees revealed so far have indicated they are available for the full season plus finals.

WBBL players available for retention

Adelaide Strikers: Danielle Gibson (England), Orla Prendergast (Ireland)

 

Brisbane Heat: Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Shikha Pandey (India), Lauren Winfield-Hill (England)

 

Hobart Hurricanes: Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Chloe Tryon (South Africa), Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Kathryn Bryce (Scotland), Rosemary Mair (New Zealand)

 

Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Alice Capsey (England), Eve Jones (England), Tara Norris (United States), Grace Scrivens (England), Linsey Smith (England)

 

Melbourne Stars: Yastika Bhatia (India), Maia Bouchier (England)

 

Perth Scorchers: Amy Jones (England), Brooke Halliday (New Zealand)

 

Sydney Sixers: Sophie Ecclestone (England), Sarah Bryce (Scotland)

 

Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight (England), Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Georgia Adams (England)

Each club has one retention pick to use per draft. Pre-signed overseas players don't affect retention picks either, with each club still eligible to retain one player in the BBL|15 and WBBL|11 drafts.

A retention pick must be used by a club in the same round that a rival club selects their desired player, and can only be used by a club that hasn't already picked a player in that round.

The Heat, for example, hold WBBL retention rights for India stars Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey but would only be able to retain one if both are picked in the same round of the draft.

The drafts will be broadcast across 7mate, 7plus, Fox Sports and Kayo Sports from 4pm on June 19.

Of the eight clubs, only Hobart Hurricanes (WBBL) are yet to announce both of their pre-draft signings.

The pre-draft signing provision enables each club to sign one overseas female and male player for up to three years outside of the draft, securing high-profile talent for clubs on a longer-term basis.

All remaining overseas players must be secured by clubs via either the draft on June 19, or alternatively, signed as a replacement player in place of a full-time squad member post-draft.

Pre-signed players will not appear on the nominations list but must still be selected by their club during the draft with a pick that matches the salary band of their playing contract.

Nominations for the drafts have now closed, with 601 female and male overseas players throwing their hats in the ring.

The Big Bash Draft Hub, now exclusively available in the Big Bash App, houses a live player nomination table which includes player availability and retention status as well as draft information and latest news.

Further player nominations and international pre-signings will be announced in the lead up to the draft.

This season’s draft has been brought forward to June to provide club’s more certainty about player selection as they use the available recruiting mechanisms to build their lists for the season to come.

Both drafts consist of four rounds, with all clubs receiving one pick in each round. 

On draft night, clubs can select a player who has made themselves available to be drafted in one of four overseas player salary bands: Platinum (Round 1 or 2), Gold (Round 2 or 3), Silver (Round 3 or 4) or Bronze (Round 4 only).

Clubs must use at least three picks including pre-signed players and can pass once.