Australia ‘A’ captain Nathan McSweeney has become the latest member of last year’s Brisbane Heat finalists’ squad to commit to the club.
HEAT SECURE MCSWEENEY | Allrounder Signs New Deal
The allrounder has signed a new two-year deal with Brisbaneafter making a lasting impression in last year’s run to the KFC Big Bash League Final.
Originally signed as a Local Replacement Player last season following a stand-out showing in the KFC T20 Max competition and at State level with South Australia, McSweeney made the most of his opportunities.
He produced his BBL career highest score of 84 off 51 balls in the win over the Sydney Sixers at the Gabba and was top scorer with 41 from 37 balls in the Final against Perth Scorchers in Perth as the Heat produced the highest score batting first in a BBL decider.
The 24-year-old was identified as a vital recruit for the club according to head coach Wade Seccombe.
“We’ve been fortunate to see Nathan develop over the years into not only a very fine young cricketer, but also an excellent leader, and we were keen to utilise those skills and expertise in our group going forward,’’ he said.
The Heat has two more local contract spots left to fill on its 18-player list, with three overseas recruits to join following Sunday’s International player draft.
The BBL Heat have now signed the following players for BBL|13: Xavier Bartlett, Josh Brown, Max Bryant, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson.
The WBBL and BBL drafts will be held this Sunday, in a televised event on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, with the WBBL draft taking place from 5.30pm, ahead of the BBL draft from 7pm.
The drafts for both leagues will follow the same guidelines and format as the inaugural men's event last year – there will be four rounds, with clubs able to select a minimum of two and a maximum of three players in total.
The WBBL Heat was awarded sixth pick in their opening round and the BBL Heat gained seventh choice in the men’s first round.
The WBBL Heat will also pick at 14, 19 and 30 and the Heat and will pick at 15, 18 and 31 in the BBL draft.
Players eligible to be retained by Brisbane in the WBBL are Amelia Kerr, Danni Wyatt and Pooja Vastrakar (all Platinum) while Nadine de Klerk and Jess Kerr are available at Gold and Silver level.
Players eligible to be retained by Brisbane in the BBL are Colin Munro and Sam Billings (Platinum) as well as Sam Hain, Ross Whiteley and Tom Banton at Gold and Silver level.
Teams can use one retention pick on overseas players.
The WBBL Platinum list is Chamari Athapaththu, Lauren Bell, Tazmin Brits, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Nida Dar, Sophie Devine, Deandra Dottin, Richa Ghosh, Sarah Glenn, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Harmanpreet Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Heather Knight, Hayley Matthews, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Stafanie Taylor, Chloe Tryon, Pooja Vastrakar, Laura Wolvaardt, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt.
The BBL Platinum list is Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings, Harry Brook, Joe Clarke, Zak Crawley, Tom Curran, Quinton De Kock, Faf Du Plessis, Martin Guptill, Alex Hales, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Colin Munro, Nicholas Pooran, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw, Phil Salt, Mujeeb ur Rahman, James Vince.