The first-ever draft for overseas players in Weber’s Women’s Big Bash League was conducted on 3rd September in South Melbourne, Australia. There were a few picks that really stunned the fans. All in all, the inaugural draft was quite a good thing for the league as the teams have become more competitive now.
Let’s have a look at the players picked by a few of the clubs.
Sydney Thunder
Sydney Thunders had the chance to pick the first-ever player in the inaugural overseas players draft, and there were not many surprises with the player they opted for! They went for the experienced Proteas all-rounder Marizanne Kapp. Perth Scorchers had the option of retaining Kapp but they decided against it. Kapp has played in all the seasons of the league, featuring in a total of 111 games across seasons. She has garnered a total of 1164 runs at an average of 21.55 and a strike rate of 107.97. Kapp has also scalped 114 wickets at an economy rate of 5.36.
Sydney Thunder’s second pick in the draft was English batter Heather Knight. Knight returns to the Thunder squad after a gap of almost 3 years. She has played a total of 71 matches in the competition, accumulating a total of 1799 runs at an average of 29.01 and a strike rate of 111.46.
Thunder’s last pick was a young English fast bowler Lauren Bell. Bell will be playing in her maiden WBBL. She has played a total of 12 T20Is, picking 16 wickets at an economy rate of 6.85.
(Players – Marizanne Kapp, Heather Knight, Lauren Bell)
Melbourne Renegades
Renegades’ first pick in the draft was star West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews. Hayley was a part of the Renegades’ squad last season, she was one of the 3 players available for retaining for the Melbourne side. As expected, Hayley was retained by the Renegades’ with pick 3. Hayley has played a total of 70 matches for the Renegades as well as for the Hobart Hurricanes, scoring a total of 1118 runs at an average of 18.32 and a strike rate of 100.53. Hayley has also picked 49 wickets at an economy rate of 6.74.
Harmanpreet Kaur was the player Renegades picked in the second round of the draft. Harmanpreet was also one of the possible options for the Renegades to be retained. But they had gone with Hayley in the first round. Despite this, they still got the hold of the Indian skipper. Indian all-rounder has featured for the Renegades and the Sydney Thunder in the past. Harmanpreet has featured in a total of 48 matches amassing a total of 1119 runs at an average of 41.44 and a strike rate of 121.63. Kaur has also picked 27 wickets in her WBBL career.
(Players – Hayley Matthews, Harmanpreet Kaur)
Perth Scorchers
Perth Scorchers activated their retention card and secured services of the White Ferns’ skipper Sophie Devine. Sophie has played a total of 106 games for Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers scoring a total of a whopping 3258 runs at an average of 37.02 and a strike rate of 126.52.
Star English batter Danni Wyatt was picked by Perth Scorchers in the second round. Danni has played a total of 68 games in the WBBL, scoring a total of 1608 runs at an average of 26.36 and a strike rate of 116.01.
(Players – Sophie Devine, Danni Wyatt)
Melbourne Stars
Young English all-rounder Alice Capsey was the Stars’ first pick in the draft. This will be Capsey’s second season in the tournament. In her inaugural season, Capsey returned with the numbers of – runs – 259, average- 25.90, strike rate- 128.85. Capsey also scalped 9 wickets in the tournament at an economy rate of 6.98.
Stars’ second pick in the draft was yet another English batter, Maia Bouchier. Bouchier was a part of the Stars squad in the 21/22 season, scoring a total of 185 runs at an average of 23.12 and a strike rate of 95.36.
(Players – Alice Capsey, Maia Bouchier)
Click here to read draft picks of Brisbane Heat, Sydney Sixers, Adelaide Strikers, and Hobart Hurricanes
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