Big Bash drafts brought forward, Heat claim first BBL pick

The Big Bash drafts will be brought forward by more than two months this year in a bid to widen the talent pool and ensure the league continues to attract the biggest global stars.

Brisbane Heat claimed the KFC BBL|15 Draft's first pick as the league today revealed the order and June 19 date for the event's fourth year.

The new date – two-and-a-half months earlier than the previous three BBL drafts held in September – helps the Big Bash get ahead of rival tournaments such as South Africa's SA20 and the United Arab Emirates' ILT20 and have first crack at securing overseas players for next season.

Both competitions have gradually been eating into the BBL's window since their inception three years ago, with this year's SA20 beginning on January 9 and the ILT20 on January 11.

BBL clubs have struggled to keep their overseas stars for the entire season since both leagues were launched with players like Sydney Sixers stalwart James Vince and former Perth Scorchers now Melbourne Renegades' batter Laurie Evans missing Big Bash finals campaigns to play in the UAE.

"We're confident bringing the draft date forward will ensure greater certainty for clubs as they build their squads in the lead-up to another highly competitive season," said Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia's general manager of Big Bash Leagues.

An earlier BBL Draft means overseas players who want to feature in the Australian competition can still nominate for the draft without forgoing opportunities in other leagues if they don't get picked by one of the eight clubs.

BBL league bosses will also be hoping it has a positive effect on the availability of overseas players as they won't have already signed deals in rival leagues by the time the Big Bash draft takes place.

The Heat, who finished seventh in BBL|14 and therefore had a 30 per cent chance of being drawn first in a weighted lottery to determine the draft order, ended the run of Melbourne-based clubs scoring the No.1 pick.

The Stars, who couldn't claim the first pick this year by virtue of qualifying for the finals last season, have had the No.1 selection the past two years while the Renegades had it for the inaugural overseas draft for BBL|12.

Adelaide Strikers, who had the best odds (40 per cent) of receiving the first pick after finishing last in BBL|14, were drawn second, followed by the Renegades and Scorchers.

Picks 1-4 were drawn from teams that did not participate in the BBL|14 finals, while the four finalists from last season were in the running for picks 5-8.

Reigning champions Hobart Hurricanes emerged as big winners from the second lottery pool, claiming the draft's fifth pick despite having just a one in 10 chance of doing so.

It breaks a run of bad draft luck for the Hurricanes following their maiden Big Bash triumph in January after they held the last pick in the inaugural overseas player draft and were drawn fourth for BBL|14 (the highest pick among the non-finalists the previous season).

The Sixers will have the sixth pick this year, followed by the Stars and last season's runners-up Sydney Thunder.

The draft will follow a 'snake' format from the start of the second round, with round three conducted in reverse order, meaning the Thunder will select first (pick 17).

The Heat already have New Zealand batter Colin Munro returning next summer after signing a two-year deal and they'll be hoping for a bigger impact in BBL|15 after a largely forgettable season for all their overseas recruits last season.

Munro managed just 46 runs in six games, while English allrounder 'Tall' Paul Walter took four wickets in his six games, and wicketkeeper-batter Tom Alsop missed the first six games after suffering a quad injury.

Heat general manager of elite cricket, Joe Dawes, said they would look be trying to get overs out of their top order next season, but they could also turn to the draft for another spinner to replace Mitch Swepson, who has signed with the Stars until the end of BBL|17.

"We'll be looking at bringing guys in or different roles for who we have to get overs out of our top three and potentially our top six to help us with our balance," Dawes said.

"We struggled for team balance (in BBL|14) with couple of guys that didn't do as well as they did the (previous season)."

Each club will have access to a retention pick during the draft, provided they are not one of the players pre-signed by either the Sixers or Strikers, who are the only clubs that have the direct overseas signing option available for BBL|15.

From this season, all eight overseas players signed under this contracting mechanism are required to be available for the entire tournament including finals, pending international selection.

Joining Munro in returning for BBL|15 is Chris Jordan (Hurricanes) Sam Billings (Thunder), Tom Curran (Stars), Finn Allen (Scorchers) and Tim Seifert (Renegades).

Pre-signed players must be allocated to one of their club's picks on draft night based on the value of their contract for the season, with all except Seifert (Gold salary band) listed above assigned to a Platinum salary pick ($420,000) last season. But player contracts could be front- or back-loaded, meaning they may not all be allocated the same pick this year.

The league confirmed the draft salary bands were unchanged from last year.

Sydney Sixers have the first pick in the Weber WBBL|11 Draft, which will also be held on June 19. Both drafts will be broadcast by Seven, 7plus, Foxtel and Kayo Sports with overseas players able to nominate from April 28.