Stars align as big-hitting Duckett returns to BBL

A year out from the Ashes tour, England's Ben Duckett is the No.1 draft pick in the BBL. (AP PHOTO)

Australia will have a preview of Bazball a season out from the Ashes, with big-hitting English batter Ben Duckett the No.1 BBL draft pick.

The left-hander will return to the league with the Melbourne Stars, after previously playing for the Brisbane Heat in 2021-22.

Duckett opens for England in Tests and is one of the keys to the fast-scoring "Bazball" strategy they will unleash again on Australia in next summer's Ashes tour.

While English paceman Jofra Archer was a big name to miss out during Sunday's international draft, compatriot James Vince was in hot demand.

The Melbourne Renegades called out Vince with the No.2 pick, but the Sydney Sixers were having none of it, keeping him as a retention pick.

That prompted the Renegades to name another English player, Laurie Evans, who has impressed over the past two seasons at the Perth Scorchers.

Perth raised eyebrows by not retaining Evans, saying it was a salary-cap call.

Sixers coach Greg Shipperd said there was no chance they would let Vince go, saying he was "part of the furniture".

Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine will make his BBL coaching debut this season in charge of the Adelaide Strikers and he went for England's Jamie Overton as their round-one selection.

Amid a succession of passes in the fourth and final round, there were some left-field selections: Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain (Hobart Hurricanes), England batter Keaton Jennings (Perth) and English leg-spinner Jafer Chohan (Sixers).

The biggest surprise in the women's draft was the non-selection of Indian captain Harmenpreet Kaur, a WBBL mainstay.

Harmenpreet Kaur.
Harmenpreet Kaur, who has played for the Thunder and the Renegades, was not picked for the WBBL.

While six Indian players were recruited in the women's draft, the Melbourne Renegades opted not to bring back Kaur.

New Sixers general manager and former Australian star Rachael Haynes was surprised the Indian captain was not picked, while noting she could still join the league as a replacement player.

"It was an odd one ... it's a big surprise she's not part of the tournament," Haynes said.

"It just shows perhaps teams are really looking at skill set, so they're getting very picky and then perhaps once that skill set has been met, they're moving on to the next priority on their list."

The Hobart Hurricanes went on a fishing expedition with the No.1 women's pick, naming a succession of players who were likely to be retained by rival clubs before picking England's Danni Wyatt with their fourth try.

Hobart's first target was English star Sophie Ecclestone, and the Sixers quickly knocked that on the head, meaning she was the No.1 selection.

"When you have a player of that calibre ... you have to try to make it work, and that was certainly a bit of a no-brainer for us," Haynes said.

ROUND-ONE SELECTIONS

BBL

1. Melbourne Stars - Ben Duckett (England)

2. Sydney Sixers - James Vince (England)

3. Melbourne Renegades - Laurie Evans (England)

4. Sydney Thunder - Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)

5. Hobart Hurricanes - Shai Hope (West Indies)

6. Adelaide Strikers - Jamie Overton (England)

7. Brisbane Heat - Colin Munro (New Zealand)

8. Perth Scorchers - Finn Allen (New Zealand)

WBBL

1. Sydney Sixers - Sophie Ecclestone (England)

2. Sydney Thunder - Heather Knight (England)

3. Adelaide Strikers - Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)

4. Hobart Hurricanes - Danni Wyatt (England)

5. Melbourne Renegades - Deandra Dottin (West Indies)

6. Melbourne Stars - Deepti Sharma (India)

7. Brisbane Heat - Jemima Rodrigues (India)

8. Perth Scorchers - Sophie Devine (New Zealand)

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