Big Bash has introduced multi-year deals which will help the clubs sign international talent in a bid to keep overseas players in the tournament for a longer time as well. However, this will allow overseas players to bypass the draft and sign multi-year deals with clubs ahead of Weber WBBL|10 and KFC BBL|14 as well.

However, Cricket Australia today announced each club can sign one overseas player to a maximum three-year deal in both the men’s and women’s competitions, which will allow them to skip the lottery of the draft and negotiate directly with the team of their choice as well. However, from WBBL|11 and BBL|15 onwards, they need to be available for the entire season including finals, which is designed in part to help reduce the loss of international players to rival T20 leagues in the second half of the men’s Big Bash League as well.

The multi-year deals will help the clubs

“We have worked closely with clubs and the ACA (Australian Cricketers’ Association) to continue developing and enhancing the Big Bash, and a key focus has been ensuring the best players continue to compete in the Big Bash, and for longer periods,” said Alistair Dobson, CA’s general manager of Big Bash Leagues.

“The opportunity for international players to ink multi-year deals with teams not only strengthens the league’s global appeal but also provides clubs with greater stability and strategic planning capabilities.”

With the inception of South Africa’s new franchise league (beginning in early January) and the UAE’s International League T20 competition (beginning in mid-January), Big Bash clubs struggled to keep overseas talent for the entire season despite the introduction of a new draft system before BBL|12 as well. For example, last season’s champions Brisbane Heat lost both stand-in captain Colin Munro and wicketkeeper Sam Billings to the UAE competition before the finals as well.

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Meanwhile, the Sydney Sixers also lost opener James Vince to the UAE, Adelaide Strikers – who lost to the Heat in the Challenger – lost Adam Hose and Jamie Overton, while Perth Scorchers also saw the absence of Laurie Evans during the crucial knockout phase of the season as well.

“The 10 games is about right, but I definitely think we could shorten the start and end,” he said. “In England with The Hundred, they want it done inside a month and it’s a brutal schedule but that’s the game we’re in. We’ve had a lot of downtime (between games) and I think that way you’ll get the best players coming back without any clashes and get the finals done.”

However, next summer’s Big Bash fixtures are likely to be released over the coming months whereas the new multi-year signing rule comes into immediate effect, with the men’s contracting embargo for BBL|14 lifted today as well.

Clubs can pre-sign overseas players on one, two or three-year deals at one of the existing draft salary bands

Moreover, another addition this season will allow clubs to sign any player having a CA contract during the retention week outside of the 10 available places, even if they have not previously played for their team as well. The full contracting period will begin following the retention week on Tuesday, April 9, which also includes the opportunity to sign one international player as well.

The WBBL|10 contracting window is set to open in the upcoming weeks after the length of the new season is finalised. Moreover, the discussions about reducing the women’s tournament after the men’s competition moved to a 10-match home-and-away fixture for each club last season as well.

However, clubs can pre-sign overseas players on one, two or three-year deals at one of the existing draft salary bands (Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze) or at a negotiated price above the Platinum rate, which was $420,000 per season for men’s players in BBL|13 or $110,000 for women in WBBL|09 as well.