Evans, Dottin headline Renegades draft haul

Three of the club's four selections in each of men's and women's drafts were utilised to bolster its playing groups ahead of a big summer of Big Bash. The squads are now complete, barring any replacement player announcements, with the countdown on for the Gades first game of WBBL|10 at the Adelaide Oval against the Sydney Sixers.

Snapshot:

WBBL

• Pick 3: Deandra Dottin (West Indies)
• Pick 11: Hayley Matthews (West Indies)
• Pick 19: Alice Capsey (England)

BBL

• Pick 2 - Laurie Evans (England)
• Pick 10 - Jacob Bethell (England)
• Pick 23 - Tim Seifert (New Zealand)

This is how both drafts played out:

The WBBL Draft kicked off the night and, after some fun and games by Hobart Hurricanes who lured some retention picks early, it was the Gades turn and Simon Helmot's team started with a bang.

West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin landed with Pick 3.

A powerhouse hitter with serious pace from the West Indies, Dottin will add significant firepower to the Renegades' batting order as well as an extra dimension to the bowling attack for Sophie Molineux to inject in important periods within games.

Dottin has actually spent the past two years retired from international cricket but has since returned to the fold and, off the back of an impressive WCPL, earned selection in the West Indies' T20 World Cup squad. Her WCPL was sensational, finishing with 113 runs in four innings in the regular season at an average of 28.25 and strike rate of 111.88 which likely instilled enough confidence in the Gades' brains trust.

Helmot  were ultra excited to unite Dottin with her compatriot Hayley Matthews who's pre-draft signing was squared away with Pick 11 on Sunday night.

Matthews is a dynamic all-rounder - damaging with the bat and equally impactful with her spin. She's amassed over 500 runs and claimed 23 wickets in red and is going into WBBL|10 in epic form if recent results are anything to go by.

She's enjoyed an incredible 2024 not just on an international level - named Wisden's T20 Player of the Year - but in the world of franchise cricket having played influential roles in her sides' The Hundred and WCPL title wins.

What followed was a cross-city raid, with English all-rounder Alice Capsey poached from the green team with the Gades' final pick in the WBBL draft.

Capsey, a talented all-rounder from Surrey, has spent the last two seasons across the halls but has now (who can blame her) been drawn to the light and will don red in WBBL|10 fresh off an impressive Hundred campaign with the Oval Invincibles where she smashed 222 runs from nine innings at a 24.6 average and high score of 59.

At only 20 years of age, Capsey is a star on the rise and is set for a huge T20 World Cup campaign with England before getting stuck in with the Gades this BBL|10.

Melbourne Renegades’ WBBL|10 Squad (to date):
Emma de Broughe, Alice Capsey, Sarah Coyte, Josie Dooley, Deandra Dottin, Nicole Faltum, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Hayley Matthews, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Prestwidge, Naomi Stalenberg, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb

Then it was on to the BBL Draft where the Renegades spiced up its rivalry with the Perth Scorchers by swooping on English power-hitter Laurie Evans with Pick 2.

Evans' approach to life and cricket will undoubtedly strike a chord with the Renegades fans, just as much as it had with Scorchers fans.

Evans, who won a championship in the west, has been a journeyman across franchise cricket but at 36 shows no signs of slowing down. 

Last year's Big Bash was scintillating with Evans amassing 292 runs from just seven innings, to finish fifth on the leading run scorers, including an unbeaten 85from 38 deliveries against the Adelaide Strikers in January.

If that wasn't enough of a surprise, coach Cam White and the Gades' brains trust then threw in up-and-coming Englishman, Jacob Bethell, in round two.

it has been a massive week for the 20-year-old middle-order batter and classy finger spinner with Bethell not only earning a Big Bash contract but was selected for England's next ODI series, coming off the back of an outstanding Hundred where he's averaged more than 33 per dig.

And in no surprised to Gades fans, the club has also locked away their pre-draft signing in New Zealand keeper-batter Tim Seifert to round out a strong night at the office!

Melbourne Renegades BBL|14 Squad (to date):
Jacob Bethell, Josh Brown, Harry Dixon, Laurie Evans, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Nathan Lyon, Fergus O’Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Gurinder Sandhu, Tim Seifert, Will Sutherland, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa