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Melbourne, July 27 (IANS) A record 70 English nominations, led by the charismatic Liam Livingstone and Alex Hales, are set to headline the Big Bash League-12 (BBL-12) player draft to be held on August 28.

The 28-year-old Livingstone, the third most prolific six-hitter in T20s this year with 52 behind Tim David (72) and Rilee Rossouw (56), did not compete in BBL-11 after playing the previous two seasons with the Perth Scorchers.

The Scorchers, though, will not be able to use their retention pick to draft him, "with a player needing to have been played at least once in the preceding season to qualify", according to a report in cricket.com.au.

Livingstone will be among the hottest properties in the BBL as he scored 851 runs at 30.39 and a strike rate of 138.15 in his two previous appearances in the BBL. The T20 all-rounder has since cracked a mind-boggling 138 sixes in 75 games to lead all batters since the start of 2021.

He emerged as the highest scorer in the inaugural The Hundred tournament in 2021 with 348 runs at a strike rate of 178, while in the IPL this year, he scored 437 runs at a strike rate of 182 for Punjab Kings.

To add to his batting exploits, the spinner has also taken 40 wickets during the same period to make him one of the most dependable players in the inaugural BBL Draft.

Trent Woodhill, the BBL's Player Acquisition and Cricket Consultant, was quoted as saying in the report that England were "a proven producer of top T20 talent".

"Headlined by the likes of Liam Livingstone and Alex Hales, two of the world's leading T20 players, the list is also filled with players who have shown outstanding recent form in other recent domestic competitions," he said.

"We look forward to some robust discussion around these players on draft night, particularly in regard to the retention picks, with a number of those eligible making a strong case for selection."

More than 180 overseas players have been nominated for the BBL-12 Draft. Some more nominations are expected in the coming weeks.

List of player nominations for BBL-12 Draft so far:

Afghanistan: Eligible for retention: Rashid Khan (Adelaide Strikers), Qais Ahmad (Melbourne Stars); Other nominees: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Waqarullah Ishaq, Izharulhaq Naveed, Naveen-ul-haq Murid, Hazratullah Zazai

England: Eligible for retention: Joe Clarke (Melbourne Stars), Ian Cockbain (Adelaide Strikers), Jordan Cox (Hobart Hurricanes), Laurie Evans (Perth Scorchers), George Garton (Adelaide Strikers), Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder), Tymal Mills (Perth Scorchers), Reece Topley (Melbourne Renegades), James Vince (Sydney Sixers). Other nominees: Rehan Ahmed, Martin Andersson, Gus Atkinson, Josh Baker, Sonny Baker, Jake Ball, James Bracey, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Matthew Carter, Jordan Clark, Josh Cobb, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Liam Dawson, Brett D'Oliveira, Leus Du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Matt Fisher, James Fuller, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Miles Hammond, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Freddie Heldreich, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Benny Howell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Lamb, Jack Leaning, Jake Lintott, Liam Livingstone, Lewis McManus, Ben Mike, Daniel Mousley, Steven Mullaney, Callum Parkinson, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Michael Pepper, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Adam Rossington, George Scrimshaw, John Simpson, Prem Sisodiya, Olly Stone, Tommy Taylor, Liam Trevaskis, Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, Chris Wood, Luke Wood, Saif Zaib.

Namibia: David Wiese.

Netherlands: Colin Ackermann.

New Zealand: Eligible for retention: Colin Munro (Perth Scorchers). Other nominees: Todd Astle.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw.

West Indies: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Tion Webster, Nyeem Young.

BBL-12 Draft order: 1. Melbourne Renegades; 2. Melbourne Stars; 3. Brisbane Heat; 4. Sydney Sixers; 5. Adelaide Strikers; 6. Perth Scorchers; 7. Sydney Thunder; 8. Hobart Hurricanes.

--IANS

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