The BBL and WBBL drafts will soon take place, with the eight clubs in each competition signing foreign players for the 2024-25 season. Here’s everything you need to know about the process.
When does the draft take place?
It all happens on September 1st. First is the WBBL Draft, which starts at 3pm AEST, followed directly by the BBL Draft.
In what order do the teams vote?
This was determined a few months ago through a weighted lottery based on last season’s finishes. In the WBBL, the Hobart Hurricanes finished last with pick No. 1 and the Perth Scorchers with pick No. 8. In the BBL, the Melbourne Stars have the first pick and the Sydney Sixers have the eighth.
There are four rounds in total. In round one there are only platinum players, in round two there are platinum and gold, in round three there are gold and silver, and in round four there are silver and bronze.
In the BBL, Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder swapped their second round picks following Wes Agar’s move to Thunder. In this round, Strikers have pick 11 and Thunder have pick 13. In the WBBL, Strikers traded picks 19 and 30 to Melbourne Renegades and received picks 22 and 27 in return.
The third round (Gold and Silver) of each draft is done in reverse order, so in the WBBL the Scorchers have consecutive picks at 16th and 17th and in the BBL the Sixers have the same selection.
The order of the first round of the WBBL is: 1 Hobart Hurricanes, 2 Sydney Sixers, 3 Melbourne Renegades, 4 Melbourne Stars, 5 Sydney Thunder, 6 Adelaide Strikers, 7 Brisbane Heat, 8 Perth Scorchers
The order of the first round of the BBL is: 1 Melbourne Stars, 2 Melbourne Renegades, 3 Sydney Thunder, 4 Hobart Hurricanes, 5 Adelaide Strikers, 6 Brisbane Heat, 7 Perth Scorchers, 8 Sydney Sixers.
How many foreign players will be drafted?
Each team must sign at least two foreign players in addition to those already under contract, meaning they can only pass in one round. The new mechanism was introduced this season to allow clubs in both competitions to sign a player before the draft and also sign multi-year contracts if they wish. All clubs have already used this option.
During the draft itself, clubs will have to determine which round their already signed foreign players will be assigned to based on the value of their contract. While many of them will be platinum – the highest paid – that will not be the case for all of them. Renegades, for example, have already confirmed that Tim Seifert will not be a platinum pick. It is also clear that in the WBBL, Brisbane Heat all-rounder Nadine de Klerk will be selected in one of the lower groups.
Clubs can sign a fourth foreign player during the draft if required, but this will be considered a reserve player. A maximum of three players can be used in an XI.
Full list of players already signed
Adelaide Strikers: Smriti Mandhana, Ollie Pope
Brisbane Heat: Nadine de Klerk, Colin Munro
Hurricanes in Hobart: Lizelle Lee, Chris Jordan
Melbourne Renegades: Hayley Matthews, Tim Seifert
Melbourne Stars: Marizanne Kapp, Tom Curran
The Scorchers of Perth: Sophie Devine, Finn Allen
Sydney Sixers: Amelia Kerr, Akeal Hosein
Sydney Thunder: Chamari Athapaththu, Sam Billings
How much do the players earn?
There are four price ranges. These figures are given in Australian dollars.
WBBL
Platinum: $110,000 (subject to availability)
Gold: $90,000
Silver: $65,000
Bronze: up to $40,000
BBL
Platinum: $360,000-$420,000 (subject to availability)
Gold: $300,000
Silver: $200,000
Bronze: up to 100,000 US dollars
Can players be transferred from their current team?
Yes, every club receives a retention pick. The basic example of a player that can be retained is one who played for the club in the previous season. But there are other ways players qualify for retention. If they were signed last year but didn’t play (like Sophie Ecclestone at the Sixers), they can be retained this year. When a club confirms which round their pre-signed player goes into, that counts as their pick in that round and therefore they cannot then use their retention as well.
What is the player availability?
Both competitions have now been reduced to regular 40-match seasons, with the WBBL’s new structure coming into effect this year after the 2023-24 BBL. This year, the WBBL is under more pressure, while the BBL faces the usual headwinds from rival T20 leagues (SA20 and ILT20) and international cricket.
The WBBL begins just seven days after the end of the T20 World Cup. There are also various bilateral cricket matches at either end of the competition. India will play New Zealand straight after the World Cup, while South Africa will face England, which will clash with the finals. The English players selected for this tour will be leaving the WBBL, but a number of South Africans, including Marizanne Kapp, will be available throughout the tour and will miss the T20Is.
In the BBL, it’s even more of a puzzle, although most of the players already signed have committed to a full season including the finals (this will be a requirement from the 2025/26 season, but optional for this season). Last season’s finals were decimated by an exodus of players to the UAE. However, some signed in the draft itself are likely to leave early again, with many of them stating that they are available for six to nine games.
This season’s schedule has become even more packed, with the ILT20 being brought forward to make way for the Champions Trophy in February and starting on January 11, two days after the start of the SA20.
When do the competitions take place?
The WBBL runs from October 27th to December 1st and the BBL from December 15th to January 27th.
