- TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: 2019/20 SC champion Thommo Aitken reveal
- SQUAD BREAKDOWN: Perth Scorchers analysis, predicted XI
In the latest of our SC Playbook team announcements, last year’s SuperCoach Big Bash runner-up Matthew Broom reveals his side.
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A popular strategy will be loading up on early double game week players from the Hurricanes and Stars and I’ve certainly gone down that path too.
With the Strikers having back-to-back double game weeks in rounds 2 and 3, I will then look to trade in Strikers players straight away.
That also means I’ll have the Hurricanes players I want for round 2 already in my round 1 team, as my three trades for round 2 will be used on three Strikers players.
Embed from Getty ImagesFrom there I’ll look to target a mix of the best POD’s, namely any in-form players and players with an upcoming double game week.
I’ve currently got six Stars players, which in the past would be more than I would pick on a double game week, but with a new structure having basically no byes and less double game weeks, a new strategy might be needed along with a new bench strategy and easier scoring loophole potential with the new emergency rule.
Still, is six players too many? Am I risking missing out on a good score from someone else in order to chase points from an extra double game week player?
Can six players from the same team all score well in both games? These are questions I’ll be asking myself right up until round 1 starts.
Planning will be significantly easier than in previous seasons, so getting off to a good start is as crucial as ever, therefore pre-season research is vitally important.
My remaining salary space is $15.2k.
Embed from Getty ImagesWICKET-KEEPER
Peter Handscomb
With no Matthew Wade or Dawid Malan to start the tournament, there’s a top four spot in the batting order up for grabs and I’m thinking Handscomb will fill that role.
Ben McDermott is also another in contention for that spot and I can easily swap to him at a similar price should he get promoted.
The wicket-keeper position looks thin for genuine options, so I’m hoping Handscomb can start fast in the opener which leads into the round 2 double, then I’ll look to trade him to Alex Carey in round 3 for his double game week.
Handscomb’s overall T20 record isn’t amazing, but when given opportunities in the top order he has certainly been solid.
Last BBL he averaged 26.75 with the bat when in the top 4, as well as a 65 not out batting at 5.
He certainly has the ability to do a job for in SuperCoach.
At an affordable price, along with the round 2 double and given the scarcity of good wicket-keeper options, he ticks a lot of boxes for me.
Should Handscomb and Mcdermott not get the role we are after than other potential options I’ll look at include Sam Harper and Josh Inglis.
Both have good scoring potential if opening the batting. Josh Philippe is another option, but at his current ownership level I’ll be looking to take him on.
BENCH
Baxter Holt
Holt is simply there as a vice-captain loophole option. He’s at the cheapest price and appears almost no chance of playing, he looks a good option to use and frees up a bit of cash to spend elsewhere.
The bench wicket-keeper position is usually the best position to utilise the vice-captain loophole in my opinion.
Embed from Getty ImagesBATSMEN
D’Arcy Short
Short is very expensive but for good reason. He’s a SuperCoach gun and is simply a must-have, especially having a round 2 double game week.
A poor round 1 performance may see him lose cash, but I’m not worried about this. Leaving him out for round 1 will make him extremely difficult to trade in for round 2 at his price, especially when looking to trade in other top dollar options like Rashid Khan.
He will open the batting and is a good chance to bowl some overs, that role is gold for SuperCoach.
Combine that with the fact he bats well in Australian conditions and the Tasmanian grounds will suit his batting even more in the early rounds. Leaving him out could really come back to haunt you.
Marcus Stoinis
He was my first picked and hasn’t left my side since. He is a SuperCoach gun and we’ve seen in recent years just what he is capable off.
With the round 1 double he looks a great option, albeit under an injury cloud now from a recent low grade side strain when playing for Australia.
I’m still expecting him to play round 1, but his bowling may now come into question which hurts his output and captaincy credentials for SuperCoach.
Even if only batting he’s still a good option as he can certainly score big with the bat. Anyone remember his 147 not out last season? His IPL form this year has also been solid.
Glenn Maxwell
He wasn’t originally in my side as his form this year has been terrible, but as they say, form is temporary, class is permanent.
His two recent batting performances for Australia have been extremely good and gave me a reminder of what he can do and now he is locked into my team.
He’s always a chance to bowl some overs and is a very good fieldsman, he can certainly score a lot of SuperCoach points in any game and score them fast.
With a very SuperCoach friendly role he is a captaincy option for the round 1 double.
Will Jacks
I’m expecting him to have a similar role to D’Arcy short to start the tournament.
He’ll likely open the batting, is a chance to bowl some overs, has the round 2 double and is reasonably priced, yes please!
He has a T20 average of 25 with the bat at a strike rate of 149. With the ball, he has an economy of 7 with a strike rate of 16, this guy can play.
Short is an exciting young all-rounder with a stack of potential, I’m surprised he is only in 10% of teams at the time of writing.
Hopefully he continues to slide under the radar, making him a solid POD to hold onto to.
Nick Larkin
This spot is still up for grabs in my team, but for now Larkin looks a solid option provided he bats in the top 4 which looks like a good chance.
Hilton Cartwright is another at a similar price who could snare a top order spot, but personally I’m leaning towards Larkin.
When give the opportunities in the BBL he has scored well as evident by his batting average of 33.
He could end up playing that anchor role in the Stars batting line-up which could mean more consistent scores.
Somewhat of a late bloomer at 30-years-old, he is starting to string together some solid seasons of cricket in any format he plays and that experience at his age is starting to show.
He’s in good form once again leading into the BBL, I’m predicting he bats at number three and in that case I’ll likely be picking him.
He’s well priced with a round 1 double and is currently in only 1% of teams, he could be a sneaky solid POD to own, especially for round 1.
Other options at a similar price I’ve looked at are James Vince and Usman Khawaja who I think can both have solid tournaments.
Embed from Getty ImagesBENCH
Phil salt
I want to start with at least one Strikers player on my bench in preparation for their round 2 double game week and Salt fits into my structure at a budget.
This will give me four Strikers players for round 2, using my three trades to get the others.
An explosive opening batsman with a BBL season under his belt now, he could improve again on last season.
Still only 24-years-old, there’s definitely still improvement in his game. I’ll definitely want him for round 2 and I think he can have a strong tournament so I’m happy to stash him on my bench, he also provides a handy loophole option in round 1 if needed.
James Bazley
A very promising all-rounder that was cruelled by injury, he has hardly put a foot wrong since returning to cricket last year.
He is still in pretty good form and I’m hoping he can force his way into the Heat line-up and could provide a nice cheapie option, but I’ll be keeping an eye on round 1 team lists.
Other options I’m considering are Max Bryant, Ashton Turner or possibly just having a constant non-playing pick as a loophole option.
Embed from Getty ImagesBOWLERS
Adam Zampa
I consider Zampa a must-have for round 1 with the double game week. A reliable SuperCoach scorer who takes wickets with a low economy.
He’s one of the better Stars bowling options. He’s currently in good form in the Australian team and looms as a POD captaincy option for round 1.
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Another very solid SuperCoach option at an affordable price from the Stars.
He could well be the main pace bowler and be responsible to bowl those death overs, which usually means wickets. His form in the IPL this year has been good enough too.
He’s more than handy with the bat and occasionally has played a pinch-hitter role, any points he can get with the bat will be a nice bonus.
Embed from Getty ImagesAndrew Tye
At only 6% ownership at the time of writing, Tye is one of my POD’s to start with. He’s a SuperCoach gun of the past at only $134.1k and he looks great value to me.
He missed last season’s BBL campaign with injury, but a now fit Tye is hard to overlook at the price.
He is a death overs specialist with his variations, regularly picking up wickets and with that means points for SuperCoach.
With not many other standout options in the $75k to $150k price range for bowlers that I don’t already own, Tye looks a good option to me.
This also gives me a backup captaincy option should my Stars options fail and it lets me see how they scored in both games before deciding who to captain.
Other potential options if fit are Jason Behrendorff and Adam Milne in that price range, although I would much prefer Tye.
Another potential option is to move one of my dual position players from my batting position down to the bowlers and pick another batsman, but I’m hesitant to select too many pure batsman in my team as the SuperCoach scoring system certainly favours bowlers and all-rounders more.
Zahir Khan
There is now some doubt of his availability given the delayed flight he was on and the quarantine period he has to complete, but I’m hoping he will be available for both games in round 1.
A young left-arm spinner who is only continuing to improve, he is a good option at a good price if he plays.
He already has experience in the BBL playing eight games with the Heat last season, taking at least one wicket in all but one of those games. He could be a consistent scorer with a good economy rate.
Nathan Ellis
Ellis forced his way into the Hurricanes line-up last BBL with good form and he had a solid season given the role he was thrown into.
He started to find his feet later in the tournament taking wickets in six of last seven games and was unlucky not to get more wickets.
He bowled at the death and I’m expecting him to have this role again. I love death overs bowlers for SuperCoach and I target them when picking my team.
He’s well priced at only $113k and has the round 2 double, he is one of the Hurricane bowlers I want for round 2 so therefore I’ll start with him.
I could potentially loop his round 1 score pending my bench option. A love a bowler with a good yorker too.
BENCH
Noor Ahmad
Only 15-years-old, a largely unknown Afghanistan left-arm spinner capable of spinning it both ways.
How many opportunities he gets with the ball with Cameron Boyce and Mohammad Nabi in the team as well remains to be seen, but he has the potential to be a great cheapie for SuperCoach.
Australian batsman tend to struggle against spin, especially against those they have never seen before.
Wil Parker is another option and I’ll likely pick him instead should he grab that spinner’s spot for the Hurricanes before Lamichhane is available.
The Hurricanes could also just opt to use Short and Jacks as their main spinners to start with.
Liam Scott
Scott will be purely a scoring loophole player as he’s highly unlikely to play to for the Strikers. His dual position status is also handy.
His fixtures also line up nicely enough with Baxter Holt’s with the Thunder, giving me another vice-captain loophole option each round with a player playing later in each round.
Ideally I would use a Scorchers player for this as they have the best fixtures from a loophole perspective, but unfortunately they don’t have any $42k options.
Cheers Matt, plenty of options to consider…
What is the name of your team? I am sure there will be players out there who would like to set up a rivalry.
The_Rookies is my team name
Cheers Matt 🙂