New draft system to knock free trade out of the park

HURRICANES coach Adam Griffith prefers an Indian Premier League-style player auction to the draft system on the way for next summer’s Big Bash League and says clubs should have separate salary caps to pay their internationals.

For BBL11, the clubs will have to draft their international players rather than recruit them on the open market.

The procedures are yet to be set, but the Canes coach would prefer an auction.

“I believe in the free-trade element – if you can recruit a player for your organisation, you should be allowed to do that,” Griffith said.

“Otherwise, I’d rather see an auction, then at least you’d have to fork out for the big names to get them to your club and the top 10 players would also get rewarded really well.

“With a draft system, the players don’t get a choice where they go and if you’ve got a longstanding relationship with a player it can be hard to keep them. The auction works well for the IPL and has done for a fair while.”

Griffith is also a fan of twin salary caps.

“I’d like one for your Australian players and one for your international players. I think that’s really important,” he said.

Clarity around the recruiting process will be critical

“It’s going to be really important for us to know when which players are available and when they are coming,” Griffith said.

“We are hoping they will give us a couple of months to make our decisions. Form is also a big thing – you don’t want to make too many decisions six months out from the tournament when things can change rapidly.

“The World Cup will be on this year beforehand so we will get a good read from there how players are going.”