All eyes on draft for FNQ Big Bash
IPL-style comp first
THE most significant change to cricket in the Far North will take another major step as players prepare for the Barrier Reef Big Bash draft night.
And the cricket community’s attention is on which names will be read out first when the draft is held at The Backyard tonight.
More than 100 cricketers entered their names in the player pool for the first edition of the tournament, which is based on the Indian Premier League.
The inaugural season is only open to players registered in Cricket Far North competitions, though four franchises – the Hurricanes, Badgers, Thunder and Dare Devils – will compete in a six-round Twenty20 tournament.
Every player is allocated a points value, from 500 for current Queensland Country and North Queensland representatives to the freebies – under-18s guns and women – and teams have a 3900-point budget for their 12-player roster.
Franchise owners and their captains will work together to build their squads from the players who are available, which will produce teams starkly different to what is normally seen at club land.
The concept has taken off in other areas of Queensland, with Toowoomba and Bundaberg among the regions to have already run successful versions of the competition.
But it is a totally new experience for the Far North.
Michael Salerno, who will captain the Hurricanes, has the first pick in the draft, and while he did not confirm who that would be, he said finding a player who could cover multiple roles was integral.
“I’m the only captain who isn’t an all-rounder, I’m a spin bowler, so finding someone who can bat and bowl is important,” Salerno said.
But the rest of Salerno’s selections could depend wholly on the other captains.
When the Cairns Post has spoken to captains and others involved in cricket and asked about the first picks for all four teams, the guesses have included Atherton’s Paul Nasser, Mulgrave’s Justin Reid and Norths’ Angus Warnock.
Most predict them to go in the first round, potentially with the first three picks, but the identity of the fourth player is largely a mystery.
If Nasser, Reid and Warnock are taken off the board with the first three picks, Dare Devils captain Brenton Edwards will be thrust to the fore, with his selection likely to influence the rest of the draft.
While there are more than twice as many nominations as there are roster spots, don’t expect every player to be from the first-grade competition.
Salerno said he had already glanced at a few of the nominations from second grade and they could be outstanding pinch-hitters, given the chance.