BBL Player Draft: Ferguson, Pope bag maiden contract, Duckett moves to Stars

Lockie Ferguson, Ollie Pope, Shai Hope, Fabian Allen and Sherfane Rutherford bagged their maiden Big Bash League (BBL) contract in the recently concluded players draft on Sunday (September 1). Ferguson was the first pick for Sydney Thunder and Hope, and with his rising credentials in T20 cricket, he was snaffled by Hobart Hurricanes. 

The Ricky Ponting connection might have worked in Hope’s favor. He featured for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year, coached by Ponting, currently the head of strategy at Hurricanes. 

Thunder also picked Rutherford as their third pick, alongside retaining Sam Billings with their second selection of the day.

Adelaide Strikers, alongside retaining Jamie Overton, acquired the England batter Pope and West Indies’ spin-bowling all-rounder Fabian Allen. 

The BBL teams also invested in emerging talent, with Melbourne Renegades signing England’s 20-year-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell, Brisbane Heat going for wicketkeeper batter Tom Alsop, and Perth Scorchers signing Matthew Hurst. The Sixers opted for England-born leg-spinner Jafer Chohan, who has played 23 T20s. 

Meanwhile, Tim Seifert will represent the Renegades, and Keaton Jennings will play for the Scorchers. The Hurricanes signed the leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, who nabbed 14 wickets in the seven 2024 T20 World Cup matches at an economy of 7.8. 

He will be the second Bangladeshi to play in Big Bash after Shakib Al Hasan featured for the Renegades in 2015.

Round 1 ✅
Round 2 ✅
Round 3 ✅
Round 4 ✅

Here's every pick from the #BBL14Draft... pic.twitter.com/aEDCYMfbgh

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) September 1, 2024

A lot of personnel shifts also took place in the process. Tom Curran, having played six seasons for Sydney Sixers, will now play for Melbourne Stars. Ben Duckett will now be seen in the Stars’ green instead of the Heat’s aqua blue. Laurie Evans, a BBL winner with the Scorchers, has moved to the Renegades. After three seasons with Rengades, Akeal Hosein will now feature for the Sixers. 

Usama Mir (Stars), Billings (Thunder), Chris Jordan (Hurricanes), James Vince (Sixers), Paul Walter (Heat) will continue to represent their previous teams. 

Colin Munro (Heat) and Finn Allen (Scorchers) were the pre-signed players. Munro has represented Heat and Scorchers before but for Allen, it will be his first BBL season. 

The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) player draft also took place. The details are here. 

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