Bowlers charge in for looming Big Bash draft

South Africa speedster Shabnim Ismail and England short-form specialist Chris Jordan are among the latest big names to nominate for the upcoming Big Bash drafts.

Ismail is joined by Jess Kerr (New Zealand), Pooja Vastrakar (India) and Kate Cross (England) as the most recent nominations for the inaugural Weber WBBL draft set to be held on September 3, in an event set to shake up team lists.

One of the world’s quickest bowlers, Ismail is ranked second and ninth respectively in the ICC’s ODI and T20I rankings and is eligible to be retained by the Melbourne Renegades for the upcoming season.

However a difficult decision looms for the Renegades with fellow international stars Harmanpreet Kaur (India), Hayley Matthews (West Indies) and Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka) also eligible to be retained by the club, and rules dictating teams can only hold onto one eligible international player.

Confirmed WBBL|09 Draft nominees

England: Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Katie Levick, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Mady Villiers, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt

India: Harmanpreet Kaur, Pooja Vastraka

New Zealand: Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Hayley Jensen, Frances Jonas, Jess Kerr

Pakistan: Fatima Sana

South Africa: Suné Luus, Shabnim Ismail

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu

West Indies: Hayley Matthews, Karishma Ramharack

The move could see a number of recently-listed Renegades players on their way to new WBBL homes.

Dependable seamer Cross, who featured throughout the recent Women’s Ashes series in the UK, is the only player from the fresh nominations that does not hold retention eligibility, which could create a bidding war among clubs.

Elsewhere Jordan, Reece Topley (England), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Tabraiz Shamsi and Imran Tahir (South Africa) have all completed their nominations ahead of the second ever KFC BBL draft, set to be held on the same day.

Jordan (Sixers), Hosein and Mujeeb (Renegades) can similarly be retained on draft day, however Topley and Tahir are deemed free agents.

The latest bowler-dominated group of nominations follows a recent batch of star international batters to put their names forward, including Faf du Plessis, Alex Hales and Nicholas Pooran.

Confirmed BBL|13 Draft nominees

Afghanistan: Shafiqullah Ghafari, Izharulhaq Naveed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

England: Rehan Ahmed, Laurie Evans, Richard Gleeson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Callum Parkinson, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Matt Potts, Olly Stone, Josh Tongue, Reece Topley, Luke Wood, Dan Worrall

Ireland: Josh Little

New Zealand: Colin Munro

South Africa: Marchant de Lange, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Wayne Parnell, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir

Sri Lanka: Lakshan Sandakan

West Indies: Joshua Bishop, Sheldon Cottrell, Akeal Hosein, Nicholas Pooran, Jayden Seales, Ramon Simmonds

Cricket Australia’s General Manager of Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson said the list of names available on draft day was building nicely.

"The calibre of players nominating for the upcoming Drafts is really exciting and it’s no doubt going to give clubs some tough decisions to make," Dobson said.

"We know how much overseas players love coming to Australia and taking part in the WBBL and to have another four world-class athletes return is a testament to that.

"Fans should be excited about some of the new faces we’re seeing nominate for the BBL Draft and with a shortened season, I encourage them to secure their tickets to what’s building as a cracking summer of Big Bash action."

Both the WBBL and BBL drafts will be held on Sunday, September 3, in a televised event on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, with the WBBL draft taking place from 3pm, ahead of the BBL draft from 4.30pm.

The drafts for both leagues will follow the same guidelines and format as the inaugural men's event last year – there will be four rounds, with clubs able to select a minimum of two and a maximum of three players in total.

The first two rounds will go in the order of the lottery, while rounds three and four will 'snake', which means the team picking last in the second round will pick first in the third round.

Both leagues have had a cash injection after a new Memorandum of Understanding between Cricket Australia and the players' union, the Australian Cricketers' Association, was agreed earlier this year.

That has seen the total payment pool for BBL clubs rise to $3m, while Platinum level players in the BBL draft will be able to earn $420,000 – an increase of 23.5 per cent on last year's fee.

The latest batch of draft nominations comes as tickets for both Big Bash leagues go on sale from midday AEST today, with early-bird pricing available for KFC BBL matches until October 24.