Draft card: Stars go big to cap 'aggressive' off-season

Draft picks: Harry Brook (Platinum), Haris Rauf (Gold), Usama Mir (Bronze)

Draft spend: $780,000

Total payment pool post-draft: $2.22m of $3m

There's no more marquee than Harry Brook right now and the Melbourne Stars' "box office" platinum ($420,000) draftee will fill one of their six marquee spots for KFC BBL|13, as will Haris Rauf who the club picked with a gold ($300,000) level selection in last week's draft. Under new contracting rules announced in April – made possible by the new five-year Memorandum of Understanding between CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association – each club's total payments pool for players has increased by almost 58 per cent from $1.9m to $3m for BBL|13.

As part of that $3m, each BBL club must have a minimum of six players (whether domestic, overseas or CA-contracted) who are paid $200,000 or more per season. The six marquee players at each club must collectively be paid a minimum of $1.7m in BBL|13 with all overseas players taken with a silver selection or higher considered marquees, meaning Pakistan spinner Usama Mir, who the club drafted with a bronze ($100,000) selection, doesn't qualify.

Aussie white-ball superstars Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis will almost certainly take two of the Stars' remaining four marquee slots having dominated in the T20 format across the globe for the past decade. MCG cult hero Scott Boland could also be in line to fill one of the remaining spots, recruited to the club on a three-year deal after sitting out the Big Bash last season due to international commitments.

Overseas availability

Unfortunately for Stars fans, England have a T20I series scheduled against the West Indies from December 13-22 and a five-Test series in India beginning a day after the BBL|13 Final on January 25 which will cut into Brook's availability. Should he play the five T20s in the Caribbean, he will miss the Stars first three games of the season. He would then be available for the remaining seven home-and-away fixtures but would likely depart Australia before the finals get underway on January 19.

Rauf also has international commitments at the end of the season with Pakistan to travel to New Zealand for five T20s from January 12, but he potentially could be available for the BBL|13 Final should the Stars qualify. Pakistan are also touring Australia for three Tests this summer but while Rauf made his Test debut against England last year, he hasn't played in their two most recent series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand meaning he should be available for up to eight regular season matches for the Stars this season.

Mir, meanwhile, has played eight one-day internationals for Pakistan this year but is expected to be available for the full season and finals unless receiving a surprise national call up in NZ. The Stars will be able to sign overseas replacement players for when Brook and Rauf are unavailable at the start or end of the tournament, as long as those players were part of the original 353 that nominated but weren't selected in the BBL|13 Draft.

BBL|13 squad (so far): Scott Boland, Harry Brook (England), Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Sam Harper, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Joel Paris, Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster

Ins: Scott Boland (Hurricanes), Sam Harper (Renegades), Tom Rogers (replacement player), Joel Paris (Hurricanes), Mark Steketee (Heat)

Outs: Liam Hatcher (Thunder), Adam Zampa (Renegades)

Uncontracted from BBL|12: Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Clint Hinchliffe, Campbell Kellaway, Cameron McClure, Tom O'Connell

Draft strategy

As always, the Stars targeted the biggest overseas stars for BBL|13, first trying again to draft Rashid Khan before settling for England gun Brook after the Adelaide Strikers retained the Afghanistan leggie. While Rashid was a tactical pick to force the Strikers hand, it was also a list management one with the Stars squad in need of a leg-spinner after trading away Adam Zampa to crosstown rivals the Melbourne Renegades during the off-season.

After picking Trent Boult in the inaugural draft last year, they again drafted a fast bowler in Rauf to add some quality to their attack. The Stars then waited until the fourth round to secure their spinner, taking tall leg-spinner Mir with a bronze pick. Top pick Brook will add some much-needed depth to the Stars batting which has often been extremely inconsistent - the Stars lost seven or more wickets 16 times over the past two seasons.

"He does stretch our batting so we can probably reorder down to number seven, and maybe for some of the guys at the top of the order that can allow them to play really freely," Stars general manager Blair Crouch said. "Tommy Rogers and Sam Harper as a new opening combo can be really aggressive knowing you've got Maxwell, Stoinis, Brook, (Hilton) Cartwright and (Beau) Webster to come down the order."

Squad gaps

With Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott and Cameron McClure still uncontracted from last season, the Stars are in the market for some fast-bowling depth to cover for injury and international call ups to their reshaped pace attack after recruiting Boland, and Australia A quicks Joel Paris and Mark Steketee. With Maxwell and part-timer Webster – who bowled mostly medium pace last season – the only local spinners in the squad, the Stars could also be after another spinner to compliment Mir, who recently took 25 wickets at 18 across 17 Blast and Hundred matches across a breakout English domestic season.

"We've been pretty aggressive with our off-season to bring bowlers in … and Usama Mir just adds to that group," Crouch said. "We needed a leggie and he's someone I think will surprise a few people with his height. Leg-spin is needed at the 'G, we know that statistically, so we had to get someone in, and he was the one that we had our eye on potentially further up so we're very happy he slid down to our last pick."

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