WBBL 2023 Draft For Overseas Players: Ahead of the WBBL 2023, Cricket Australia introduced the overseas players’ draft for the first time. Women’s Big Bash League 2023 is scheduled to kickstart on October 19 while the inaugural edition of the WBBL 2023 Draft for overseas players will be held on September 3 instead of privately recruiting the players.
WBBL 2023 Overseas Players Draft
WBBL 2023 Draft: WBBL teams will have the opportunity to pick up to a total of 3 overseas stars through the draft, with a retention pick allowing them to secure one of their WBBL|08 key players. The draft process is expected to mirror the BBL’s draft introduced last summer.
The late announcement of the WBBL draft creates concerns about its overlap with the Women’s Premier League (WPL), scheduled to take place around the Diwali period this year.
WBBL 2023 Draft Process
WBBL 2023 Draft: WBBL teams no longer recruit their three overseas players privately. The BBL held an overseas draft for the first time last year and the WBBL will hold a draft for the first time this year.
- They will select a minimum of two or a maximum of three overseas players from the drafts that will be held back-to-back in Melbourne on September 3.
- The draft will only be for overseas players.
- Domestic players will be contracted in the same way they always are although there has been a new marquee rule in the BBL introduced for CA contracted players.
WBBL 2023 Draft Selection Order
WBBL 2023 Draft: On July 14, weighted lotteries were undertaken to determine the order of selections for the WBBL overseas draft. The selection order for the inaugural Weber WBBL Overseas Player Draft has been revealed with the Sydney Thunder receiving the first-ever pick.
After failing to qualify for the Weber WBBL|08 Finals, four teams were entered into the first draw: Perth Scorchers (one entry), Melbourne Stars (two entries), Melbourne Renegades (three entries) and Sydney Thunder (four entries). The Clubs who played in the Finals last year, including reigning champions Adelaide Strikers, were placed in the second draw.
In WBBL drafts, the first two rounds of the draft will run in order from one to eight. Round three will run in reverse order, so team eight will get two selections in a row (pick 16 and 17). Round four will run in normal order again. So team one will get two selections in a row (picks 24 and 25). Following the Lottery, the order of selections for the Weber WBBL|09 Overseas Player Draft is confirmed as follows:
- Pick 1: Sydney Thunder
- Pick 2: Melbourne Renegades
- Pick 3: Perth Scorchers
- Pick 4: Melbourne Stars
- Pick 5: Hobart Hurricanes
- Pick 6: Brisbane Heat
- Pick 7: Sydney Sixers
- Pick 8: Adelaide Strikers
WBBL 2023 Overseas Players Draft Nomination
Players will be put into four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The players themselves can choose to enter the Gold, Silver, or Bronze band. Platinum players will be decided by Cricket Australia based on the nominations.
WBBL 2023 Draft Players’ Salary Band
In the WBBL, Platinum players will earn AUD$110,000 to be paid by the clubs from the AUD$732,000 salary cap.
- Platinum – AUD 110,000
- Gold – AUD 90,000
- Silver – AUD 65,000
- Bronze – AUD 40,000
Confirmed WBBL 2023 Overseas Players Draft nominees
Platinum
A total of 25 players have been elevated to Platinum status ahead of the WBBL 2023 Draft. Check out the Platinum tyre status players below with their nationality.
| Player | Country |
| Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka |
| Lauren Bell | England |
| Tazmin Brits | South Africa |
| Alice Capsey | England |
| Kate Cross | England |
| Nida Dar | Pakistan |
| Sophie Devine | New Zealand |
| Deandra Dottin | West Indies |
| Richa Ghosh | India |
| Sarah Glenn | England |
| Shabnim Ismail | South Africa |
| Marizanne Kapp | South Africa |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | India |
| Amelia Kerr | New Zealand |
| Heather Knight | England |
| Hayley Matthews | West Indies |
| Nonkululeko Mlaba | South Africa |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | India |
| Deepti Sharma | India |
| Stafanie Taylor | West Indies |
| Chloe Tryon | South Africa |
| Pooja Vastrakar | India |
| Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa |
| Issy Wong | England |
| Danni Wyatt | England |
Check out the full list of WBBL 2023 Draft nominees below with their nationality and Retention Rights below:
| Player | Country | Retention Rights |
| Jahanara Alam | Bangladesh | None |
| Georgia Adams | England | None |
| Emily Arlott | England | None |
| Hollie Armitage | England | None |
| Hannah Baker | England | None |
| Tammy Beaumont | England | None |
| Lauren Bell | England | None |
| Maia Bouchier | England | None |
| Alice Capsey | England | Stars |
| Kate Cross | England | None |
| Naomi Dattani | England | None |
| Freya Davies | England | None |
| Sophia Dunkley | England | None |
| Katie George | England | None |
| Dani Gibson | England | None |
| Sarah Glenn | England | None |
| Kirstie Gordon | England | None |
| Bess Heath | England | Stars |
| Amy Jones | England | None |
| Eve Jones | England | Renegades |
| Marie Kelly | England | None |
| Heather Knight | England | Thunder |
| Emma Lamb | England | None |
| Katie Levick | England | None |
| Kalea Moore | England | None |
| Fi Morris | England | None |
| Grace Scrivens | England | None |
| Seren Smale | England | None |
| Sophia Smale | England | None |
| Bryony Smith | England | None |
| Linsey Smith | England | None |
| Eleanor Threlkeld | England | None |
| Mady Villiers | England | None |
| Lauren Winfield-Hill | England | Stars |
| Issy Wong | England | Hurricanes |
| Danni Wyatt | England | Heat |
| Kary Chan | Hong Kong | None |
| Yastika Bhatia | India | None |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | India | Renegades |
| Harleen Deol | India | None |
| Hurley Gala | India | None |
| Richa Ghosh | India | None |
| Mannat Kashyap | India | None |
| Amanjot Kaur | India | None |
| Veda Krishnamurthy | India | None |
| Shikha Pandey | India | None |
| Shreyanka Patil | India | None |
| Sneh Rana | India | None |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | India | Stars |
| Meghana Sabbineni | India | None |
| Deepti Sharma | India | None |
| Meghna Singh | India | None |
| Renuka Thakur | India | None |
| Pooja Vastrakar | India | Heat |
| Radha Yadav | India | None |
| Laura Delany | Ireland | None |
| Gaby Lewis | Ireland | None |
| Orla Prendergast | Ireland | None |
| Sterre Kallis | Netherlands | None |
| Suzie Bates | New Zealand | None |
| Bernadine Bezuidenhout | New Zealand | None |
| Eden Carson | New Zealand | None |
| Sophie Devine | New Zealand | Scorchers |
| Kate Ebrahim | New Zealand | None |
| Maddy Green | New Zealand | Scorchers |
| Hayley Jensen | New Zealand | Hurricanes |
| Xara Jetly | New Zealand | None |
| Fran Jonas | New Zealand | None |
| Leigh Kasperek | New Zealand | None |
| Amelia Kerr | New Zealand | Heat |
| Jessica Kerr | New Zealand | Heat |
| Rosemary Mair | New Zealand | None |
| Nensi Patel | New Zealand | None |
| Molly Penfold | New Zealand | None |
| Lea Tahuhu | New Zealand | Thunder |
| Jess Watkin | New Zealand | None |
| Aiman Anwar | Pakistan | None |
| Nida Dar | Pakistan | None |
| Iram Javed | Pakistan | None |
| Fatima Sana | Pakistan | None |
| Syeda Aroob Shah | Pakistan | None |
| Kaia Arua | Papua New Guinea | None |
| Sibona Jimmy | Papua New Guinea | None |
| Tanya Ruma | Papua New Guinea | None |
| Isabel Toua | Papua New Guinea | None |
| Abtaha Maqsood | Scotland | None |
| Anneke Bosche | South Africa | None |
| Tazmin Brits | South Africa | None |
| Nadine de Klerk | South Africa | Heat |
| Annerie Dercksen | South Africa | None |
| Mignon du Preez | South Africa | None |
| Shabnim Ismail | South Africa | Renegades |
| Sinalo Jafta | South Africa | None |
| Marizanne Kapp | South Africa | Scorchers |
| Michaela Kirk | South Africa | None |
| Masbata Klaas | South Africa | None |
| Lizelle Lee | South Africa | None |
| Sune Luus | South Africa | None |
| Eliz-Mari Marx | South Africa | None |
| Nonkululeko Mlaba | South Africa | None |
| Robyn Searle | South Africa | None |
| Chloe Tryon | South Africa | Thunder |
| Faye Tunnicliffe | South Africa | None |
| Jane Winster | South Africa | None |
| Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa | Strikers |
| Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka | Renegades |
| Esha Oza | UAE | None |
| Theertha Satish | UAE | None |
| Tara Norris | USA | None |
| Shamilia Connell | West Indies | None |
| Deandra Dottin | West Indies | Strikers |
| Afy Fletcher | West Indies | None |
| Chinelle Henry | West Indies | None |
| Qiana Joseph | West Indies | None |
| Hayley Matthews | West Indies | Renegades |
| Anisa Mohammed | West Indies | None |
| Karishma Ramharack | West Indies | None |
| Shakera Selman | West Indies | None |
| Stafanie Taylor | West Indies | Strikers |
| Mary-Anne Musonda | Zimbabwe | None |
| Kelis Ndhlovu | Zimbabwe | None |
Updates
- Dane van Niekerk withdraws from the WBBL 2023 Overseas draft.
- Piepa Cleary joins Perth Scorchers for another two years.
- Melbourne Renegades signed Jess Duffin for the WBBL09.
- Indian opening batter Smriti Mandhana opted out of WBBL 2023 to focus on domestic games.
- England’s Sophie Ecclestone dislocated her right shoulder during The Hundreds and was ruled out of the WBBL 2023.
- WBBL 2023: Ellyse Perry re-signs with Sydney Sixers
How WBBL 2023 Overseas Players Draft Will Impact the Teams?
The introduction of the draft system will have a notable impact on star-studded teams like the Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers, who have enjoyed success in previous seasons.
These teams will need to carefully strategize their selections and utilize the retention pick wisely to retain their core players. With the opportunity to sign up to three overseas players, teams will aim to strike a balance between international talent and local strength to maintain their competitiveness in the league.
WBBL 2023 Draft Date
The inaugural WBBL 2023 overseas draft will be held on September 3 alongside the second installment of the BBL overseas draft.
Where to Watch the WBBL 2023 Draft?
WBBL 2023 Overseas Player Draft will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports on Sunday, September 3, with the WBBL Draft kicking off at 3:00 PM AEST and immediately followed by the BBL Draft at 4:30 PM AEST.
