Welcome back: Teams prioritise continuity at BBL draft

There weren't too many risks taken with lots of players returning to the team they had previously represented

Continuity was the key word mentioned throughout the BBL draft as teams erred on the side of caution and backed in familiar faces on Thursday afternoon.

Aside from the seven pre-selected players who had to be taken with one of each team's picks, eight of the remaining 17 selections were players who had previously represented their club.

It means fans only have nine new international players to look forward to watching but thankfully the quality of those BBL freshmen is elite, beginning with the draft's number one selection, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The Brisbane Heat didn't hesitate to select the Pakistan spearhead with the opening pick, adding the tall left-armer to their already impressive battery of fast bowlers of Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett and Michael Neser.

Afridi has a great international record on Australian pitches, which most recently included taking eight wickets in three ODIs late last year, and now gets to showcase his talents on the domestic scene.

"He loves bowling in fast, bouncy conditions and the Gabba’s exactly that," Heat captain Nathan McSweeney said.

"Pakistan had some great success last time they were out here against Australia so we're looking for more of the same from him.

"Thankfully he's on our side, I'm not going to have to face him this year."

International selections for BBL|15: Adelaide Strikers: Hasan Ali (Pakistan), Jamie Overton (England) Luke Wood (England) Brisbane Heat: Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan), Tom Alsop (England), Colin Munro (New Zealand) Hobart Hurricanes: Rehan Ahmed (England), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Chris Jordan (England) Melbourne Renegades: Hassan Khan (Pakistan), Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan), Tim Seifert (New Zealand) Melbourne Stars: Joe Clarke (England), Tom Curran (England), Haris Rauf (Pakistan) Perth Scorchers: Finn Allen (New Zealand), Laurie Evans (England), David Payne (England) Sydney Sixers: Babar Azam (Pakistan), Jafer Chohan (England), Sam Curran (England) Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings (England), Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand), Shadab Khan (Pakistan)

Alongside Afridi and modern-day great Babar Azam, who was announced as a Sydney Sixer on Friday, Mohammad Rizwan completes a trio of high-profile Pakistanis making their first Big Bash appearances.

Rizwan was taken by the Melbourne Renegades with the fourth selection in the draft and the 'Gades' high performance manager Wade Seccombe said he was the perfect addition to an otherwise relatively youthful top order.

"Mohammad Rizwan comes with a wealth of international experience, so that's what we're excited about … he'll help in the batting innings, controlling the innings," Seccombe said.

The Melbourne Stars and the Perth Scorchers meanwhile played it safe, going back to the well with players they knew they could rely on.

The Stars matched on the Adelaide Strikers' first pick of the night (No.2 overall) to keep Haris Rauf a one-club player, before locking in wicketkeeping opener Joe Clarke, who has had three seasons in green, with a selection in round three.

With their pre-signing Tom Curran into his second year with the club, there are no fresh faces for the Stars to get familiar with.

“Great to get the continuity, those guys (Curran and Clarke) played last year so really good to see they want to come back,” said Stars recruit Mitch Swepson.

"Continuity is always good."

The Hurricanes brains trust at the BBL draft on Thursday // Getty

It was a sentiment shared by Perth, who in addition to their pre-signing Finn Allen brought in some old Scorchers, albeit none from last year.

Big-hitter Laurie Evans will return in orange after he was poached by the Renegades last season, while left-arm swing bowler David Payne, who featured for the Scorchers in BBL|12, returns as a ready-made replacement for Jason Behrendorff, who has moved to the Renegades.

"Both our picks, Laurie (Evans) and David Payne, are people who've been with us before and experienced success (with us)," said coach Adam Voges.

"We know we're welcoming back two great characters and great cricketers."

Added general manager Kade Harvey; "(Laurie) plays our conditions really well and he fits in really well, so we were pleased he got through to silver (round three) and his full availability is really important for us.

"(Payne) can bowl in all phases of the game … to bring him and his experience back into the group at the back end of the tournament is important for us."

The only clubs to deviate from the trend and select new players with both of their non-pre-signing selections were the Hobart Hurricanes and the Adelaide Strikers.

The Hurricanes selected 20-year-old England spinning allrounder Rehan Ahmed in one of the bigger surprises of the night as well as Rishad Hossain, the tall leg-spinner from Bangladesh.

The 'Canes drafted Hossain in last year's draft but he was unable to travel to Australia as the Bangladesh Cricket Board denied his No Objection Certificate on the eve of the tournament.

The Thunder were delighted with their selections // Getty

"We've gone for the two spin options there, we wanted to strengthen our wicket-takers through the middle (overs)," captain Nathan Ellis said.

"We tried to get (Rishad) last year and we managed to do it this year so excited to have him on board. He's shown some glimpses in international cricket and franchise cricket of being a really promising leg-spinner."

The Strikers meanwhile went pace-heavy with their selections, adding two international fast bowlers in Pakistan's Hassan Ali and England's Luke Wood to their pre-signing Jamie Overton.

Finding bowlers who would succeed at the uniquely-shaped home ground was a focus, where the short square boundaries can be targeted if the bowling isn't precise enough.

"We'd identified that Adelaide Oval is a really tough ground to bowl (at), so we were really keen to add to our bowling stocks," said assistant coach Luke Williams.

Head coach Tim Paine agreed, saying he was delighted to add the overseas talent to complement their strong local spin stocks.

"Hassan Ali (will be) well suited to Adelaide Oval," Paine said.

"Luke Wood is improving every year, he's highly regarded in England. The real key for us is getting that left-armer … a guy who can swing the ball early was really important to us."

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