‘Box office’: Rashid, Kapp headline acts in BBL, WBBL drafts

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Melbourne Stars failed in their audacious bid to snare Rashid Khan but secured “box office” blazing English batsman Harry Brook in the men’s Big Bash League international draft, while South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp emerged as the prized top selection in the Women’s Big Bash League draft.

The inaugural women’s draft and second men’s draft were held in Melbourne on Sunday, with the Stars taking superstar batsman Brook. The Sydney Thunder opted for Kapp, a Perth Scorcher last season, as their top platinum selection.

Melbourne bound: Big-hitting England batsman Harry Brook was taken with the No.1 pick in the BBL international draft.Credit: Reuters

The Stars, with the No.1 pick, bid for Rashid, the Afghan leg-spinning maestro, but the Adelaide Strikers, as they did last year when the Stars also bid for Rashid, again used their retention selection on their long-time fan favourite. The Stars then opted for Brook, a three-format slasher who prospered during the Ashes this year.

“We think he is box office. We think he is going to bring us something that will really lengthen our batting as well,” Stars general manager Blair Crouch said.

The Hobart Hurricanes plumped for English all-rounder Tom Curran, but he was retained by the Sydney Sixers. The Hurricanes then went for Chris Jordan, a “three-dimensional cricketer,” said Hurricanes recruiting chief, Ricky Ponting.

The Melbourne Renegades took South African batsman-wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock. “We had him No.1 overall,” Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said.

Alex Hales, the all-time leading BBL international run-scorer, was retained by the Sydney Thunder. “He is part of the furniture,” coach Trevor Bayliss said.

The Brisbane Heat rounded out the round-one selections by drafting big-hitting New Zealander Colin Munro. The Perth Scorchers passed on their opening pick.

Thunder bound: Marizanne Kapp was the inaugural No.1 pick in the international WBBL draft.Credit: Getty Images

Under the drafting system, there are four payment bands for overseas players: Platinum (BBL $420,000 and WBBL $110,000), Gold (BBL $300,000 and WBBL $90,000), Silver (BBL $200,000 and WBBL $65,000) and Bronze (BBL $100,000 and WBBL $40,000).

In the women’s draft, Thunder coach Lisa Keightley said Kapp, a specialist at bowling in the power play, was the ideal No.1 selection. Kapp, also a former Sydney Sixer, supplied 229 runs at 28.62 (strike rate 143.12) and 12 wickets at 22.5 last season.

“She knows what to do. For a young playing group, she will definitely add off the park as well as on the park. We are really excited to have her,” Keightley said.

The Scorchers had the option of using their one retention selection on Kapp, but instead had privately chosen to retain skipper Sophie Devine. The Renegades then initially opted for Devine with the second overall selection, meaning the Scorchers had to officially confirm Devine’s spot on their list.

The Renegades, still with pick No.2 to use, then chose to retain West Indian all-rounder Hayley Matthews, whom coach Simon Helmot said had been a “calming experience” last season.

The Stars, with pick No.4, opted to retain hard-hitting England all-rounder Alice Capsey, who has 360-degree capabilities with her shot making. Crouch said Capsey, 19, “was the perfect player” for the club.

The Sydney Sixers went for Proteas all-rounder Chloe Tryon, a powerful ball striker who can also provide left-arm orthodox spin. Sixers captain Elysse Perry said Tryon, 29, will deliver heavy hitting late in an innings. “I think it’s going to be a great pick-up for us,” Perry said.

There was also a direct nominations option in the WBBL, with players able to avoid the draft and negotiate directly with a club after the draft. However, this came at a cost financially to the player.

England trio Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley and Amy Jones, South Africa pair Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee, and New Zealand’s Suzie Bates took this option.

There has been a significant increase in player payments this summer, with the WBBL cap doubling to $732,624, while the men’s cap has jumped from $1.9 million to $3 million. The top WBBL players can now earn more than $100,000 per season (average contract $54,200), while the leading men’s players can earn more than $400,000 (average contract $167,000).

BBL INTERNATIONAL DRAFT 2023-24

Round One

1. Adelaide Strikers: Rashid Khan (Retention)
2. Melbourne Stars: Harry Brook
3. Sydney Sixers: Tom Curran (Retention)

4. Hobart Hurricanes: Chris Jordan
5. Melbourne Renegades: Quinton De Kock
6. Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales
7. Brisbane Heat: Colin Munro
8. Perth Scorchers: pass

Round Two

9. Melbourne Stars: Haris Rauf
10. Adelaide Strikers: Jamie Overton
11. Hobart Hurricanes: Sam Hain
12. Melbourne Renegades: Mujeeb Ur Rahman
13. Sydney Thunder: Zaman Khan
14. Sydney Sixers: James Vince
15. Brisbane Heat: Sam Billings
16. Perth Scorchers: Zac Crawley

Round Three

17. Perth Scorchers: Laurie Evans
18. Brisbane Heat: Paul Walter
19. Sydney Sixers: pass
20. Sydney Thunder: pass
21. Melbourne Renegades: pass
22. Hobart Hurricanes: Corey Anderson
23. Adelaide Strikers: pass
24. Melbourne Stars: pass

Round Four

25. Melbourne Stars: Usama Mir
26. Adelaide Strikers: Adam Hose
27. Hobart Hurricanes: pass
28. Melbourne Renegades: pass
29. Sydney Thunder: pass
30. Sydney Sixers: Rehan Ahmed
31. Brisbane Heat: pass
32. Perth Scorchers: pass

WBBL INTERNATIONAL DRAFT

Round One:

1. Sydney Thunder: Marizanne Kapp
2. Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (retained)
3. Melbourne Renegades: Hayley Matthews
4. Melbourne Stars: Alice Capsey
5. Hobart Hurricanes: Shabnim Ismail
6. Brisbane Heat: Amelia Kerr
7. Sydney Sixers: Chloe Tryon
8. Adelaide Strikers: Pass

Round Two
9. Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight
10. Melbourne Renegades: Harmanpreet Kaur
11. Perth Scorchers: Danni Wyatt
12. Adelaide Strikers: Laura Woldvaardt (retained)
13. Melbourne Stars: Maia Bouchier
14. Hobart Hurricanes: Bryony Smith
15. Brisbane Heat: Pass
16. Sydney Sixers: Pass

Round Three
17. Adelaide Strikers: Dani Gibson
18. Sydney Thunder: Lauren Bell
19. Brisbane Heat: Bess Heath
20. Hobart Hurricanes: Pass
21. Melbourne Stars: Pass
22. Perth Scorchers: Pass
23. Melbourne Renegades: Pass
24. Sydney Sixers: Pass

Round Four
25. Sydney Sixers: Jessica Kerr
26. Melbourne Renegades: Pass
27. Perth Scorchers: Pass
28. Melbourne Stars: Pass
29. Hobart Hurricanes: Pass
30. Brisbane Heat: Pass
31. Sydney Thunder: Pass
32. Adelaide Strikers: Pass

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.

Most Viewed in Sport

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article