Speedsters up for grabs as full draft nominations revealed

A star-studded list of international quicks – including Big Bash favourites Haris Rauf and Jofra Archer – headlines the full list of player nominations for this year's overseas players draft.

The league has today unveiled the 593 overseas players – 432 men and 161 women – that have nominated for selection across Sunday's Weber WBBL|10 and KFC BBL|14 drafts.

South African speedster Lungi Ngidi is another box office addition to the men's draft pool, as are Proteas teammates Tabraiz Shamsi – the No.12-ranked men's T20 international bowler – and opener Reeza Hendricks.

Players from 30 countries have nominated across both drafts, including all the major cricketing nations as well as those further afield like Hong Kong, Uganda, Japan, Greece, Indonesia and Romania.

The full list of nominees for both WBBL and BBL drafts, and their availability and retention rights, can be viewed on the Big Bash app.

The drafts will be broadcast live across The Seven Network, 7plus, Fox Sports and Kayo Sports with the WBBL|10 Draft to begin at 3pm AEST followed by the BBL|14 Draft immediately after.

While Ngidi and Archer are no certainty to be selected on Sunday, with clubs believed to be hesitant over whether they will be able to gain clearance from their home boards due to their history with injuries, both have nominated availability between six and nine home-and-away games for the upcoming season.

Across both drafts, players fall into one of the following categories: full availability including finals, full regular season availability, 6-9 games and 4-6 games.

Shamsi and Hendricks, who were both part of the Proteas’ devastating loss to India in the T20 World Cup final in June, have also nominated 6-9 games availability before they are required back in South Africa for their respective SA20 franchises.

In the WBBL|10 Draft, star England quicks Kate Cross and Lauren Filer (both full regular season availability) are up for grabs, as is South African speedster Shabnim Ismail (full including finals), who can be retained by the Hobart Hurricanes.

Proteas opener Tazmin Brits and allrounder Sune Luus (both full including finals) are also available for selection.

Availability has been a massive factor in the first two BBL drafts due to a congested international schedule and the proliferation of rival domestic T20 leagues in the men's Big Bash window, and it's beginning to play a role in the WBBL draft too.

South Africa is set to host England in a multi-format series beginning with three T20Is on November 24 – the same day as the end of the WBBL|10 regular season – with England nominees Heather Knight, Sophie Ecclestone, Danni Wyatt, Amy Jones, Alice Capsey and Sophia Dunkley set to miss the finals if picked up in the draft.

India and New Zealand are scheduled to play three ODIs immediately after the T20 World Cup final in late October, and star nominees from both countries including Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Suzie Bates and Jess Kerr have all indicated availability of 6-9 games plus finals.

England men, meanwhile, don't have any white-ball cricket scheduled until a five-match T20 tour of India gets underway in Kolkata on January 23, two days after the end of the BBL|14 regular season.

Archer has put his hat in the ring for a potential return to the competition for the first time since BBL|08 following his successful international comeback during this year's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.

The 29-year-old pace ace, who was this week also named in England's white-ball squads to face Australia next month, rose to prominence during his two seasons with the Hobart Hurricanes that led to helping England to ODI World Cup glory and a stunning Test debut in the 2019 Ashes.

While Archer has nominated availability for most of the BBL|14 regular season prior to England's five-T20I and three-ODI tour of India, clubs are wary about picking him given the ECB have carefully managed his return from his latest elbow injury.

The right-armer hasn't been made available for Test selection in 2024 and would need a No Objection Certificate from the ECB to be cleared to play in the Big Bash this summer.

While the Hurricanes high performance boss Salliann Beams ruled out making a move on Archer in June given the strength of the club's fast bowling stocks, it remains to be seen if rival clubs could be tempted to take a punt on his potential availability given his immense marketability and previous Big Bash success.

Archer claimed 34 wickets in 27 matches for the Hurricanes from 2017-19 operating at a superb economy of 7.72. Hobart do not have retention rights under the draft’s rules as it has been more than three years since he featured in the competition.

Several newcomers in England's white-ball squads to face Australia in three T20Is and five ODIs in September are also up for grabs in the men's draft, including wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox (6-9 games) who is eligible to be retained by Melbourne Renegades after playing four games last season.

Pace bowler John Turner (6-9 games), spin-bowling allrounders Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley (both 4-6 games), and left-arm seamer Josh Hull (full including finals) have also nominated, with 'Bazball' star Ben Duckett (6-9 games) another targeting a return to the Big Bash after 12 games for the Brisbane Heat in BBL|11.

However, fellow English quicks Reece Topley, Jamie Overton, Paul Walter and Brydon Carse have a much clearer window, declaring full availability for BBL|14 including finals.

Pakistan speedster Rauf (eligible for retention by the Melbourne Stars) has nominated for 6-9 games as well as finals following the subcontinent nation's limited-overs tour of South Africa in December, with compatriots Zaman Khan and Muhammad Hasnain indicating they have full availability for the season including finals.

Duckett's Test opening partner Zak Crawley and England women's quick Dani Gibson have withdrawn their nominations after previously being announced.

Clubs must select at least two overseas players across four rounds in both the WBBL|10 and BBL|14 drafts, as well as allocating one of their picks to their pre-draft overseas player signing.

The 16 players contracted before the drafts under the league's new multi-year pre-signing mechanism for overseas players will not appear on the nominations list but must be selected by their club during the draft with a pick that matches the salary band of their playing contract.

A comprehensive rundown of all the draft rules, order of picks and salary bands can be found here.