Draft card: Runs are currency for Heat's three picks

Draft picks: Colin Munro (Platinum), Sam Billings (Gold), Paul Walter (Silver)

Draft spend: $880,000

Total payment pool post-draft: $2.12m of $3m

Brisbane Heat locked away half of their six marquee player spots in the draft by taking Colin Munro, Sam Billings and Paul Walter with platinum ($420,000), gold ($300,000) and silver ($200,000) selections respectively. 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 KFC BBL|13.

A 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.

Aussie Test opener Usman Khawaja – who has more than 2000 runs averaging almost 34 across his Big Bash career – and possible Test opener in waiting, Matthew Renshaw, would be among the local players in line for the remaining three marquee spots on the Heat's roster. Michael Neser has also upped his T20 game over the past year, finishing last season as the competition's second-leading wicket-taker. Queensland and Heat stalwart Jimmy Peirson has also had two of his best BBL campaigns over the past three seasons, while Marnus Labuschagne, although yet to fully excel in T20 format, is synonymous with the Heat and could be among those vying for an upgrade.

Overseas availability

Both Munro and Billings are off to the UAE's ILT20 competition in late January meaning their availability for BBL|13 will be limited to nine regular season games and they will miss the finals should the Heat qualify. However, hard-hitting English allrounder Walter – a surprise pick by the Heat in the third round – will be staying put for the full season and finals where the Heat will be hoping to emulate their run to last season's decider. The club will be able to sign overseas replacement players for when Munro and Billings depart, 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): Xavier Bartlett, Sam Billings (England) Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Paul Walter (England), Jack Wildermuth

Ins: Josh Brown, Nathan McSweeney

Outs: James Bazley (Strikers), Mark Steketee (Stars)

Uncontracted from BBL|12: Sam Heazlett

Draft strategy

"We need runs," Heat assistant coach Andy Bichel said during a pre-draft strategy meeting, and it proved to be the key theme of the club's strategy on draft night. They re-drafted Munro to partner Josh Brown at the top, and seasoned middle-order batter Billings, with the pair both averaging more than 30 across their Big Bash careers. "Continuity" was another theme with the pair both contributing a combined 465 runs from eight games each for the Heat last season. "Getting a couple of players back that we had last year was big on our list," head coach Wade Seccombe told cricket.com.au after the draft. "We weren't sure whether that was going to fall our way – luckily it did, so getting Munro and Billings back into the fold is nice."

But the Heat, like a lot of other clubs, also wanted an allrounder who can "whack" it and bowl at the death. Having watched Tom Curran and Jamie Overton disappear off the board across the first two rounds, they settled on Walter in the third, a tall left-hander who averages 21 with the bat striking at more than 143, and 25 with the ball, impressing for the Manchester Originals with his changes of pace and cutters.

"We stumbled on him," Seccombe said. "We looked at the analytics; we did the analytics first in that situation, saw what he could do, and then we looked at the footage and saw how he was used through the Hundred. And the more we looked at him, the more we realised he could play a really good role for us, particularly in Brisbane – I think he'll be well suited to our wicket there."

Squad gaps

Last season's runners-up have most bases covered heading into the new BBL campaign – two of Australia's top spinners in Mitch Swepson and Matthew Kuhnemann, several international-quality batters and bowlers in Khawaja, Labuschagne, Renshaw, Munro, Billings and Neser, and emerging stars in big-hitting opener Josh Brown and left-arm quick Spencer Johnson. They'll be hoping the likes of Nathan McSweeney and Will Prestwidge continue their development this season and having lost fast bowlers James Bazley and Mark Steketee during the off-season, they could be looking to add pace depth with their final domestic spot to complete their roster for BBL|13.

Draft Card 2023: Strikers | Heat | Hurricanes | Scorchers | Renegades | Stars | Sixers | Thunder