England Men's Cricket Team

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James Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, has entered Thursday's Big Bash draft as he continues his quest to play franchise cricket for the first time.

Anderson will be 43 when the tournament takes place at the back-end of the year and he will be the oldest overseas player to feature in the tournament and potentially second-oldest of any nationality.

He retired from Test cricket last summer but is continuing to play for Lancashire and has impressed with 10 wickets in four matches, at an average of 10.30 and economy of 6.86, in the T20 Blast.

Anderson entered the Indian Premier League auction but went unsold. He was also not picked in The Hundred draft, but could yet sign as a replacement.

Zak Crawley and Liam Livingstone have also entered the Big Bash draft, and join Jacob Bethell, Ollie Pope, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran among more than 50 English players on the list.

New Zealand's Kane Williamson has also put himself forward but a clash with the SA20 limits his availability to just three matches.

Recent England debutant Em Arlott has entered the women's draft, alongside South African Mignon du Preez, who gave birth to twins earlier this year.

The draft takes place from approximately 07:00 BST on Thursday.

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Seamer Jofra Archer is among 50 extra English names to have been nominated for Thursday's Big Bash draft.

Archer, 30, is currently recovering from a thumb injury but plans to play red-ball cricket on his return to fitness with this winter's Ashes series in Australia in mind.

However, Archer is in the draft with full availability, which differs from batters Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell who have entered for four to six games and the finals.

Archer played for Hobart Hurricanes in 2017 and 2018, taking 34 wickets at an average of 23.26.

Other new names to enter the men's draft include all-rounder Liam Dawson, batters Jason Roy and Jordan Cox and bowlers Luke Wood and Reece Topley.

The tournament will act as one of the last chances to impress selectors before February's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

In the women's draft, batters Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont and bowlers Sarah Glenn, Lauren Filer, Issy Wong and Kate Cross have joined the draft list.

• Curran & Bell among new names in Big Bash draft

• Bethell & Pope put forward for Big Bash retention

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England duo Jacob Bethell and Ollie Pope have put themselves forward for retention in the Big Bash draft for after the 2025-26 Ashes series concludes.

All-rounder Bethell, 21, and top-order batter Pope, 27, are set to be available for the final four to six matches of the league phase and the finals.

They have entered the draft, which takes place on 19 June, and could be retained by Melbourne Renegades or Adelaide Strikers respectively or be signed by any of the other teams if the retention option is not taken up.

Both were playing in the tournament for the first time last year and Bethell scored 195 runs at an average of 24.37 and claimed four wickets. Pope made 191 runs at 21.22.

Amy Jones (Perth Scorchers), Alice Capsey (Melbourne Renegades) and Dani Gibson (Adelaide Strikers) have done the same in the women's draft, adding to Heather Knight, Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt-Hodge earlier in the week.

Each team can retain one player in the draft, in addition to one pre-draft overseas signing.

England's Jamie Overton (Strikers), Chris Jordan (Hurricanes), Tom Curran (Stars) and Sam Billings (Thunder) have been pre-signed in the men's competition, but no English players are signed for the women's competition so far.

Other players available for retention include Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, although he is set to have limited availability, and Pakistan's Usama Mir.

England's Sam Curran and Lauren Bell and Pakistan trio Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan are among the new names to be available.

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England all-rounder Sam Curran has entered the Big Bash draft as he looks to play in the tournament for the first time.

The 27-year-old has played franchise cricket in the Indian Premier League, SA20 and ILT20 but is yet to play in Australia's 20-over tournament.

Seamer Lauren Bell is in the women's draft having last played in the competition in 2023.

Heather Knight (Sydney Thunder), Sophie Ecclestone (Sydney Sixers) and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Hobart Hurricanes) were also listed in the first round of nominations and will be able for retention.

West Indies' Deandra Dottin (Melbourne Renegades), South Africa's Shabnim Ismail (Thunder) and India's Jemimah Rodrigues (Adelaide Strikers) can also be retained.

Alex Hales was the other Englishman on the first take of the men's list and can be retained by Thunder alongside New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson, while Pakistan's Haris Rauf could stay at Melbourne Stars.

Rauf was joined on the list by compatriots Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan, with all three players available to every side.

The draft for the 2025-26 Big Bash tournaments takes place on 19 June.