BBL
3 days ago
Tom Morris' comprehensive BBL free agency and re-signings update
By Nic Negrepontis
SEN Cricket journalist Tom Morris has gone through all eight Big Bash clubs, the 8-10 players they are locking in for next season and who will therefore be available as free agents.
Speaking last night on Big Bash Nation, Morris went in-depth on the competition, as we approach the tail-end of what has been an exciting BBL campaign.
Adelaide Strikers
Let's start with the Adelaide Strikers. So they've locked in nine. Now my understanding is, unless something has changed in the last 15 minutes, they will settle on nine,” Morris told SEN Cricket.
“They're not going to lock in 10. They want more flexibility than other clubs. The nine, they've locked in are Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Thomas Kelly, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, Matt Short, Henry Thornton and most recently, Jordan Buckingham has re-signed today into next season.
“That means James Bazley, Brendan Doggett, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Darcy Short and Jake Weatherald, those players are now free agents.”
Brisbane Heat
“The Brisbane Heat now they've locked in Max Bryant, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Colin Munroe, Nathan McSweeney, and Callum Vidler as well, which means all 10.
“So they're not leaving anything to chance, but the players that are free agents for the Brisbane Heat, now this is where the real story is for them, Marnus Labuschagne, Will Prestwidge and Matt Renshaw.”
Hobart Hurricanes
“The Hurricanes have also locked in 10, so Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Nathan Ellis, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith and Mitch Owen are locked in. Mitch Owen signed a three-year deal today, he had big offers, especially from the Adelaide Strikers, but he decided to stay loyal to the Hurricanes.
“So the players that are now free agents. For them are Paddy Dooley, Doran, Hatzoglou, Billy Stanlake, Charlie Wakim, and the big one is Tim David is now a free agent, so he can go, if he wants to, to whichever other BBL club he wants.
“That would be a big move if he happened to shift clubs.”
Melbourne Renegades
“The Renegades are going with nine. They're not going to go with the whole 10. So, the nine they've got locked in are Josh Brown, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Nathan Lyon, Fergus O’Neill, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Harry Dixon, who they've re-signed on a two-year deal just a couple of hours ago, Adam Zampa and Tim Seifert.
“Now that leaves Xavier Crone, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Kane Richardson, who I think is their all-time leading wicket taker, certainly the most at Marvel Stadium, Gurinder Sandhu and Jono Wells as free agents.
“Now the big ones there are Wells and Richardson, given their history in the Big Bash, and they're free agents from the Renegades.”
Melbourne Stars
“So, they're going to go in with eight. They're giving themselves even more flexibility. The eight they locked in are Scott Boland, Tom Curran, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell, Hamish McKenzie, Tom Rogers, Marcus Stoinis and Peter Siddle, as we heard just before, has reversed his decision. He's playing on next year.
“So the free agents for them are Brady Couch, Campbell Kellaway, Jon Merlo, Joel Paris, Mark Steketee, Doug Warren Beau Webster, who we think is going to go to the Hobart Hurricanes, and Sam Harper, the wicket keeper, is a free agent.
“So what they're saying to those players is, we know we've got two more spots we can fill right now. We're choosing not to. It just tells us they want to revamp their list a little bit more than the other clubs.”
Perth Scorchers
“The Scorchers have locked in Ashton Agar to a three-year deal today. They've got 10 locked in: Agar, Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Allen, Ashton Turner, Lance Morris, Aaron Hardie and Jhye Richardson.
“Which leaves Jason Behrendorff, A.J Tye, Matthew Spoors, Nick Hobson, Sam Fanning and Mitch Marsh as free agents. Extraordinary at the Scorchers.”
Sydney Sixers
“The Sixers have locked in their 10. So the Sean Abbott, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshius, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Phillipe, Jordan Silk and Steve Smith.
“Which means the free agents for the Sixers are Jackson Bird, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti and Kurtis Patterson. So a few veterans there for the Sixers that are available to move if they want to.”
Sydney Thunder
“Thunder very quickly signed their 10. So they've locked in Wes Agar, Cam Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Chris Green, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner and Sam Billings.
“So their free agents are Matthew Gilkes, Liam Hatcher, Nic Maddinson, Will Salzmann, and Jason Sangha, so that's their group of free agents.”
