WBBL draft: Ecclestone moves to Strikers after Sixers pick Dunkley

Sydney Sixers produced a shock in the WBBL overseas draft by taking England batter Sophia Dunkley with the No.1 pick which left long-time Sixers overseas Sophie Ecclestone available for Adelaide Strikers at pick No.2.

There was a lot of uncertainty heading into the WBBL draft after Melbourne Renegades lost star pre-signing Hayley Matthews to a shoulder injury while Hobart Hurricanes announced they had pre-signed star England allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt on draft day.

A number of clubs were chasing top-order batting talent in the draft including Sixers who had the number one pick. Ecclestone, the world's No.1 T20 bowler, had previously played two seasons with Sixers including last season. But Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes said the need for a top-order batter forced their hand with the first pick.

"Sophie Ecclestone has been an incredible player," Haynes told ESPNCricinfo. "It was really tough to let her go through the draft. But I think the last couple of seasons, our reflection as a club has been that our batting has been short, and the numbers certainly show that.

"We definitely looked locally to try and address that. But the next option is at the draft, and so really excited we're able to secure Sophia Dunkley."

A lot of clubs were unsure of what each would do in the opening round and Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers attempted to flush out some retention picks in the opening round.

Stars tried to get India batter Jemimah Rodrigues with pick No.3 but Heat used their retention pick. They then tried to get England batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge but Hurricanes retained her.

Stars finally landed in-form England wicketkeeper bat Amy Jones. Perth Scorchers had the right to retain but opted not to. Scorchers tried to poach Heather Knight and Deandra Dottin but Sydney Thunder and Renegades both used their retention picks immediately.

Scorchers then used the final pick in the opening round on pre-signing Sophie Devine to lock her in at the platinum price.

Most of the second round featured pre-signed players but Scorchers made a slight surprise in picking fringe England batter Paige Scholfield in the second round at the gold price. Scorchers also picked up South Africa allrounder Chloe Tryon, who will play for her fourth WBBL club after previously playing for Hurricanes, Sixers and Thunder.

Thunder were thrilled to get South Africa quick Shabnim Ismail in the final round to walk away with arguably the strongest overseas trios, having claimed Knight as a retention and pre-signed Chamari Athapaththu.

England batter Tammy Beaumont will return to Strikers for the first time in seven years having played 27 matches for them between 2016 and 2018. She has since played for Renegades and Thunder.

Renegades were the only club not to take three players in the draft. The injury to pre-signing Matthews allows them to make another signing at a later date although they can only recruit a player who had nominated for the draft but was not selected.

"We were at a distinct disadvantage," Renegades coach Simon Helmot said. "We were the only team not to have a pre-signed player. But the allowance then was we only need to pick two today, and I suppose we can stop and have a look at what's going on in the world of cricket over the next couple of months. I don't believe there's a rush in this decision. So we can look at what happens in the Hundred, look at what happens in the in the CPL, even look what happens in the World Cup, and see which players are in form, and also maybe what our needs are."

Adelaide Strikers: Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt, Tammy Beaumont
Brisbane Heat: Jemimah Rodrigues, Chinelle Henry, Nadine de Klerk
Hobart Hurricanes: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith
Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin, Alice Capsey
Melbourne Stars: Amy Jones, Marizanne Kapp, Dani Gibson
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine, Paige Schofield, Chloe Tryon
Sydney Sixers: Sophia Dunkley, Amelia Kerr, Maddy Villiers
Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight, Chamari Athapaththu, Shabnim Ismail