Team analysis: Sydney Sixers BBL13 targets

The Sydney Sixers will be aiming to add a fourth Big Bash title to their loaded trophy cabinet in BBL13.



Despite a second placed finish on the table last tournament, they fell just short of a seventh appearance in the final falling to the Brisbane Heat one game shy.



They have one of the better draws this season, or at least easiest to follow, with their sole double game week coming in the opening round and no byes to their name.



Regarding early loophole opportunity (we’ll expand on this technique further during pre-season), the Sixers play early in the first round, but as it’s loaded with double game week players loopholing may be hard to utilise.



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In Round 2 they play the final game, making them poor loophole options.



Roster-wise, they’re again one of the most settled team in the tournament heading into the opening round.



English trio of James Vince, Tom Curran and Rehan Ahmed headline their international contingent.



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England’s T20 and ODI series against West Indies early in the tournament will see Rehan Ahmed miss the first two to three rounds.



Curran suffered a recent injury setback that will require close monitoring leading into the opening round.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">GUNS</h2>



Sean Abbott // BWL // SC BBL12 Ave: 68.8 // $197,600



Sabba will go down as a Supercoach great, and he’s far from finished as one of the game’s best players.



In fact, he scored the third most points of any player in the game last season.



His yearly Supercoach averages make for impressive reading:



BBL12: 68.8



BBL11: 70.8



BBL10: 54.3 (four games)



BBL09: 85.3



BBL08: 67.9



BBL06: 79.5



He’s one of the game’s most reliable scorers, with just one score under 29 last season and five scores of 79+.



He capable with the bat when given the opportunity and is more than capable of a late innings flutter to secure the all-important 20+ runs, and also is a key fielding asset for the Sixers.



Form-wise, he played two one-day warm-ups at the World Cup returning 1-31 (6) and 1-10 (3).



He featured twice against India in ODI’s prior taking 1/91 (10) and 1/56 (9.4), while also notching 54 and 2 with the bat.



Abbott played 14 games in England’s T20 Vitality Blast this year, taking 10 wickets at an average of 35.2, with an economy of 9.68.



Not his best tourney…



However, he’s a proven gun and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t in my squad for the Round 1 double despite the high price tag.



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Hayden Kerr // BWL // SC BBL12 Ave: // $141,400



Role, role, role…



It’ll be a huge watch during the Sixers warm-up matches to try and gauge his exact role which tends to chop and change for the Sixers.



He&#8217;s also under an injury cloud that&#8217;s set to sideline him for the opening game at least.



When things fall his way, he can be one of the best players in Supercoach.



Will he get any death overs, can he jag a batting spot at seven or even higher?



Kerr has even been promoted as high as number three for the Sixers in the past!



His most recent Sheffield Shield outing at the time of writing sums up his volatility.



Regarded as a bowling allrounder, he failed to take a wicket in either innings, but knocked out 86 with the bat!



He featured in the T20 Lanka Premier League playing nine games, taking 9 wickets at an average of 26.00, with an economy of 7.54.



With the bat he impressed in limited opportunity, scoring 83 runs in total at an average of 27.66, with a strike-rate of 136.06.



Last Big Bash season he played 14 games, producing high Supercoach scores of 132, 104 and 86.



He produced season lows of 3, 16, 17, 24 and 27.



If he bats as high as seven, or perhaps even higher (unlikely), he’ll be a genuine early season buy and may be at fairly low-ownership, but there’s risk involved.



I forgot to mention, our man Maxy Bryden has Kerr potentially missing the XI for the Sixers!



Close watch when available.



Tom Curran // BWL-BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: N/A // $180,000



Under an injury cloud, Curran will be a close watch leading into the tournament.



He&#8217;s a proven gun in the short format of the game, which translates very well to Supercoach scoring.



He&#8217;s featured in the BBL in the past, producing average of:



BBL11: 42.5 (four games)



BBL09: 71.5



BBL08: 73.0



His Invincibles team won this years The Hundred tournament in the UK, where he starred in his five appearances.



With the ball he had returns of 1/25, 2/31, 3/43, 2/27 and 1/22.



With the bat, even better, dismissed just once for returns of 67*, 18*, 43*, 38* and 9. 



Despite the high price tag, he&#8217;ll be near impossible to ignore for the round 1 double pending fitness.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">PODS v AVOIDS</h2>



Josh Philippe // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: 33.1 // $102,700



Ah Josh, one of the great enigmas of Supercoach…



At his brilliant best he’s capable of some monster Supercoach tonnes, but geez he can hurt you on an off day.



With his highly aggressive approach he’s prone to a very early exit which killed hopeful owners last season time and time again averaging just 33.1 Supercoah points, hence the bargain $102k price tag to begin BBL13.



Due to the volatile nature of his scoring I’d be very happy to pot him if he was highly priced, but it’s hard to ignore the starting price and the double.



Playing in game two of the opening round, maybe he’s a loop opportunity to begin the season?



He averaged 58 in BBL11, 56.8 in BBL10, and 52.7 in BBL09, so history would suggest he’s starting heavily underpriced.



His recent short-form innings for Western Australia and Australia A read: 14, 11, 90, 4, 35,1, while his Sheffield Shield form has been underwhelming.



I want to see a decent score before the tournament begins to genuinely consider.



James Vince // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: 37.3 // $115,600



If the Sixers were the only team on the double I’d strongly consider early on, but I think there’ll be far safer options to begin the tournament.



That being said, he’s a man in red-hot form having topped the Vitality Blast scoring charts with 670 runs at 60.90, with a strike-rate of 154.02!!!



It doesn’t get much better than that, so perhaps he is worth a flyer? Not for me.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CHEAPIES</h2>



Jack Edwards // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: N/A // $62,500



Edwards is in some doubt due to injury, but if cleared to play he could be as high as number three once Steve Smith leaves for Test duties after the Sixers opening game.



He&#8217;s also likely to be utilised as a part-time bowler pending how the side is named, so he may land an outstanding Supercoach role.



However, he may also bat at six and not bowl, turning into a Supercoach nightmare, so wait for round 1 teams and reassess.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SYDNEY SIXERS – Predicted Round 1 team and rationale via Max Bryden</h3>



Josh Philippe // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: 33.1 // $102,700



James Vince // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: 37.3 // $115,600



Steve Smith // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: // $267,300



Moises Henriques // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: 31.0 // $96,000



Jordan Silk // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: 42.9 // $133,000



Jack Edwards // BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: N/A // $62,500



Tom Curran // BWL-BAT // SC BBL12 Ave: N/A // $180,000



Sean Abbott // BWL // SC BBL12 Ave: 63.8 // $197,600



Ben Dwarshuis // BWL // SC BBL12 Ave: 59.3 // $183,700



Joel Davies // BAT-BWL // SC BBL12 Ave: 40.5 // $87,800



Jackson Bird // BWL // SC BBL12 Ave: 53.2 // $164,700



Unavailable/Reserves



Kurtis Patterson, Daniel Hughes, Sean Abbott, Hayden Kerr, Mitch Perry, Steve O&#8217;Keefe, Izharulhaq Naveed



Changes from last year



Coach Greg Shipperd has been clear in declaring James Vince will open the batting alongside Josh Philippe. 



This means the gap in the team is at number 3 to go alongside the vacant number 6 spot created by the retirement of Dan Christian. 



Steve Smith will be available for Game 1 and 9, but aside from him the usual suspects are the candidates in Kurtis Patterson, Dan Hughes and Jack Edwards. 



Edwards was enjoying a breakout start to the domestic season before being sidelined by a heel injury and was expected to nail down the 6 spot. 



The other option is Tom Curran who can easily bat as high as 6 to go alongside his death overs bowling. 



Rehan Ahmed has withdrawn from the tournament, with Afghani spinner Izharulhaq Naveed joining the squad for another campaign.



Hayden Kerr is expected to miss at least the first game due to injury, while Sean Abbott is in some doubt.



Naveed is unavailable for game one, while Steve O&#8217;Keefe is expected to miss out due to injury, opening up a spot for Joel Davies.



Rationale



Large parts of this squad pick themselves. The squeeze is likely to come from spots 6 &#8211; 11. 



Between Curran, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis and Hayden Kerr there’s a lot of mouths to feed once all are available.



There’s also Stephen O’Keefe and Todd Murphy to factor in since Ahmed&#8217;s withdrawal. Kerr could be the one squeezed when fit given his skillset is so similar to Curran’s. 



If Curran bats 6 they could all fit, and Edwards could be elevated to fill the number 3 role.

Team analysis: Sydney Sixers BBL13 targets

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