Biggest Bashers left out

SOME of world cricket’s biggest names will be left on the shelf this Big Bash League after the recent collapse of the UAE Twenty20 competition.

The rich new tournament had secured stars Andre Russell (West Indies), David Miller (South Africa), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) and England captain Eoin Morgan.

AB de Villiers was promoting the tournament as a nonplaying ambassador.

But the Emirates Cricket Board pulled the plug late last month because only two of the five franchises had found buyers. By that stage the bulk of BBL international contracts had been signed.

“We couldn’t look at those players because they weren’t available,” Renegades coach Andrew McDonald said.

“By the time you’ve done your business with your overseas players, those doors are shut.

“The hardest part to compete with is the money. The money the UAE league was throwing up was significant, so they were all holding out to go there, which is fair enough.

“You get more money and it’s a shorter time frame and then they can go to the Bangladesh Premier League as well.”

The UAE approached banned Aussies Steve Smith and David Warner to take part in the tournament.

Smith was set to earn a maximum $377,000 for the compact 22-match tournament, scheduled from December 19 to January 11.

Smith was likely to take home $94,250 a match, more than the average BBL player earns in a 14-game season.

Cricket Australia’s BBL salary cap has risen to $1.6 million this summer, which is shared by 18 players.