Bay Stars set for battle of wits in T20 player draft
NELSON Mandela Bay Stars face an early challenge in their fledgling existence when the T20 Global League player draft happens in Cape Town on Sunday.
All eight franchises will gather in the Mother City this weekend in an attempt to outwit each other in building their squads for the country’s richest tournament.
The distribution of players will work similarly to that of America’s NFL Draft.
The players will be bracketed in 16 rounds of selection according to their value.
The player value becomes less as the rounds progress.
On Sunday, starting with the most expensive eight players, the teams will take their picks according to a pre-determined order.
That order was decided at an event for coaches and owners on Monday and unfortunately for NMB Stars, their name came out of the pot last.
That means they will pick last in the most expensive round, but they will then get to go first in the second round.
Owner Ajay Sethi’s NMB Stars have already been allocated superstar leg spinner Imran Tahir as their South African marquee player.
Tomorrow night, the eight franchise bosses will slug it out to determine which international marquee players they get.
Those eight players are Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Kieron Pollard and Jason Roy.
And by the end of Sunday, the people of Nelson Mandela Bay will know exactly who their 18 stars will be for the tournament which starts in early November and finishes with the final on December 16.
Port Elizabeth’s team was given its name this week and legendary South African cricketer Mark Boucher was revealed as its coach.
“The draft is our biggest challenge,” Boucher said at the launch of the team’s name.
“It’s all new to us. The auctions done in the IPL are completely different. It’s a learning curve for everyone.”
The former Proteas wicketkeeper said smart picks would have to be made on Sunday.
“We’ve sat down for quite a few hours and just gone through different names,” he said. “But I think it is one of those sorts of auctions where you have to just have a couple of picks that you really want and then just roll with the punches because you never quite know who is going to be available.”
He said he would tap into the local knowledge of team ambassador Makhaya Ntini and assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa as to what kind of players the team would need to succeed.
A total of 13 cricketing countries will be represented at the draft on Sunday – Afghanistan, Australia, England, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.