England superstar Sophie Ecclestone has been chosen as the No. 1 pick in the WBBL overseas player draft, with the Sydney Sixers securing the spinner with their retention pick.
The Hobart Hurricanes, fortunate to receive the coveted first pick in a weighted lottery, called Ecclestone’s name first up in Sunday afternoon’s draft, but the Sixers didn’t hesitate using their retention pick for the 25-year-old. It means the ladies in magenta will have Ecclestone, New Zealand leg-spinner Amelia Kerr and Australian all-rounder Ash Gardner in their squad.
The Hurricanes also attempted to poach England captain Heather Knight and South African opener Laura Wolvaardt, who were retained by the Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers respectively.
However, the Perth Scorchers chose not to retain England batter Danni Wyatt after the Hurricanes called her for their fourth choice.
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Elsewhere during the first round, the Melbourne Renegades signed West Indies veteran Deandra Dottin, while Indian superstars Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues were chosen by the Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat respectively.
Meanwhile, South African quick Shabmin Ismail will return to the Thunder after the Sydney-based club poached her in the second round, while the Hurricanes grabbed South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon, who represented the Sixers last season.
The complete list of nominations was revealed on Wednesday, with 432 men and 161 women from 30 nations throwing their hat in the ring for this summer’s Big Bash.
Availability will once again be an issue – while the likes of Jofra Archer and Ben Duckett are up for grabs, they won’t feature in the finals series if they’re snapped up.
The WBBL Draft got underway at 3pm, with the BBL Draft commencing immediately afterwards.
WBBL DRAFT PICKS
1. Sydney Sixers — Sophie Ecclestone (ENG), retention pick
2. Sydney Thunder — Heather Knight (ENG), retention pick
3. Adelaide Strikers — Laura Wolvaardt (RSA), retention pick
4. Hobart Hurricanes — Danni Wyatt (ENG)
5. Melbourne Renegades — Deandra Dottin (WI)
6. Melbourne Stars — Deepti Sharma (IND)
7. Brisbane Heat — Jemimah Rodrigues (IND)
8. Perth Scorchers — Sophie Devine (NZ), pre-draft signing
9. Hobart Hurricanes — Chloe Tryon (RSA)
10. Sydney Sixers — Amelia Kerr (NZL), pre-draft signing
11. Melbourne Renegades — Hayley Matthews (WI), pre-draft signing
12. Melbourne Stars — Marizanne Kapp (RSA), pre-draft signing
13. Sydney Thunder — Shabnim Ismail (RSA)
14. Adelaide Strikers — Pass
15. Brisbane Heat — Shikha Pandey (IND)
16. Perth Scorchers — Amy Jones (ENG)
17. Perth Scorchers — Hemalatha Dayalan (IND)
18. Brisbane Heat — Pass
19. Melbourne Renegades — Alice Capsey (ENG)
20. Sydney Thunder — Chamari Athapaththu (SL), pre-draft signing
21. Melbourne Stars — Yastika Bhatia (IND)
22. Adelaide Strikers — Smriti Mandhana (IND), pre-draft signing
23. Sydney Sixers — Pass
24. Hobart Hurricanes — Lizelle Lee (RSA), pre-draft signing
25. Hobart Hurricanes — Pass
26. Sydney Sixers — Hollie Armitage (ENG)
27. Adelaide Strikers — Orla Prendergast (IRE)
28. Melbourne Stars — Pass
29. Sydney Thunder — Georgia Adams (ENG)
30. Melbourne Renegades — Pass
31. Brisbane Heat — Nadine de Klerk, pre-draft signing
32. Perth Scorchers — Pass
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BBL DRAFT PICK ORDER (First round)
1. Melbourne Stars
2. Melbourne Renegades
3. Sydney Thunder
4. Hobart Hurricanes
5. Adelaide Strikers
6. Brisbane Heat
7. Perth Scorchers
8. Sydney Sixers