Strikers | Heat | Hurricanes | Renegades | Stars | Scorchers | Sixers | Thunder
Adelaide Strikers
Head coach: To be announced
Contracted for BBL|14: James Bazley, Jordan Buckingham, Cameron Boyce, Brendan Doggett, D’Arcy Short, Matt Short, Jake Weatherald
Ins: Jordan Buckingham
Outs: Wes Agar (Thunder)
Out of contract: Alex Carey, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Henry Thornton
The Strikers will have a new coach next season after Jason Gillespie resigned from both Adelaide and South Australia roles to take charge of Pakistan’s Test side.
They’ve added emerging SA quick Jordan Buckingham to their list after trading out Wes Agar and their second-round pick to Sydney Thunder to strengthen their draft position, moving up in the order from pick 13-16 (depending on June’s weighted lottery) to the Thunder’s 9-12 selection.
Leggie Cameron Boyce was rewarded with a two-year extension in February after leading the Strikers revival in the second half of last season as the leading spinner in BBL|13 with 14 wickets and an economy rate of 6.92.
Brisbane Heat
Head coach: Johan Botha
Contracted for BBL|14: Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson
Outs: Josh Brown (Renegades)
Out of contract: Max Bryant, Marnus Labuschagne, Jack Wildermuth, Jack Wood
Former South African international Johan Botha is the man appointed to lead the Heat’s title defence, signing a three-year deal as head coach after Wade Seccombe didn’t seek an extension to his Queensland and Brisbane Heat contracts.
The reigning champions have managed to lock away most of their BBL|13 title-winning squad already with the only exception Josh Brown, who was in hot demand following his 57-ball 140 to put the Heat into the final, and has signed a two-year deal to join Melbourne Renegades.
Aussie star Marnus Labuschagne has only ever played for the Heat and is believed to be keen to return for a ninth season.
Hobart Hurricanes
Head coach: Jeff Vaughan
Contracted for BBL|14: Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Peter Hatzoglou, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Mac Wright
Ins: Charlie Wakim
Out of contract: Iain Carlisle, Liam Guthrie, Sam Heazlett, Billy Stanlake
Another club with a stable list, the underperforming Hurricanes announced the re-signings of Mac Wright and Nikhil Chaudhary as they search for that elusive first title.
Tasmanian batter Charlie Wakim has also joined the squad for next season after spending the past few summers as a local replacement player, including opening alongside Josh Brown for the Heat when they beat the Strikers in the Challenger.
Melbourne Renegades
Head coach: To be announced
Contracted for BBL|14: Josh Brown, Harry Dixon, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Nathan Lyon, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa
Ins: Josh Brown (Heat)
Outs: Aaron Finch (retired), Shaun Marsh (retired)
Out of contract: Mackenzie Harvey, Ruwantha Kellapotha, Nic Maddinson, Fergus O’Neill, Peter Siddle, Jon Wells
The Renegades will seek another fresh start in BBL|14 after a disappointing campaign where their return to the bottom half of the table saw them part ways with head coach David Saker despite him having a year to go on his contract.
The positive is they’ve secured their future with young talents Jake Fraser-McGurk and Will Sutherland signing on for another four and three years respectively, and they also won the race for the big-hitting Josh Brown, which is timely given the retirements of greats Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh at the end of last season.
Melbourne Stars
Head coach: Peter Moores
Contracted for BBL|14: Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Joel Paris, Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster
Outs: Nick Larkin (retired)
Out of contract: Joe Burns, Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Corey Rocchiccioli
World Cup-bound Aussie Marcus Stoinis has re-committed to the Stars for another three seasons and he could be in line to captain the club in BBL|14 after Glenn Maxwell announced his intention to step down from the role at the end of last season.
Maxwell had captained the club since BBL|08, leading them to the final in both of his first two seasons in charge, but told teammates after their final game of BBL|13 that he wanted to focus on just playing next season.
There were positives for the Stars under new coach Peter Moores last season, winning four games on the trot after Christmas to put themselves in contention for finals.
However, three losses to finish saw them slip to sixth and miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year.
Perth Scorchers
Head coach: Adam Voges
Contracted for BBL|14: Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner
Out of contract: Liam Hassett, Nick Hobson, Hamish McKenzie, Sam Whiteman, Andrew Tye
It’s been a quiet off-season for the competition’s most successful club who managed to lock away most of their core players before the end of the season.
They were hit by injuries in BBL|13 and dearly missed skipper Ashton Turner, who suffered a season ending knee injury before Christmas, but expect the Scorchers to be right up there again next summer.
Sydney Sixers
Head coach: Greg Shipperd
Contracted for BBL|14: Sean Abbott, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk
Outs: Steve O’Keefe (retired)
Out of contract: Jackson Bird, Mitch Perry, Steve Smith
The Sixers are another club that have continuity with their list, securing Sean Abbott, Todd Murphy, Ben Dwarshuis and Josh Philippe for another two seasons prior to the BBL|13 decider, as well emerging allrounder Jack Edwards for another three.
Veteran batter Daniel Hughes turned down offers from rival teams to re-commit to a club that’s “like a family” to him for another season. “We’ve kept the core of the same group together for a long time … and we have two special leaders in ‘Shippy’ (coach Greg Shipperd) and Moises (Henriques),” said the 35-year-old, who notched his 100th BBL appearance last summer.
They’ll be looking to young spinners Murphy and Joel Davies to continue their development in BBL|14 following the retirement of club legend Steve O’Keefe.
Sydney Thunder
Head coach: Trevor Bayliss
Contracted for BBL|14: Wes Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Liam Hatcher, Nathan McAndrew, William Salzmann, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha
Ins: Wes Agar (Strikers)
Out of contract: Liam Doddrell, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Gurinder Sandhu, David Warner
New Thunder general manager Trent Copeland got straight to work following the club’s last-place finish in BBL|13, adding depth to the pace stocks by acquiring Wes Agar from the Strikers.
He’ll no doubt be keen to re-sign Aussie great David Warner following his international retirement, while they secured the signatures of leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha and quicks Daniel Sams and Nathan McAndrew until at least the end BBL|15 during the season.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss has accepted a one-year extension to lead the club in BBL|14 and Copeland declared he expected the experienced mentor to take “the team on an upward trajectory this season”.