Team reveal: BBL09 champion Thommo Aitken drops his squad

Will Sutherland worth $40k more than Maxi. Hands up those who predicted that 😉

The new Supercoach season is just days away&#8230;



After countless renditions of my Supercoach Big Bash squad, I&#8217;ve hopefully settled on what will be my round 1 team.



Here&#8217;s how it stacks up right now.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wicket-keeper</h2>



Sam Billings &#8211; $116,900



Billings was someone I was not considering early on, however, as time goes by, the more likely I can see him in my side for round one.



The Heat have the triple game round and Billings looks like one of the very few who will play in all three games.



He will also take the gloves in the first to games at the very least whilst Pierson is absent.



It looks like he will bat at number four, just like he did for the Heat last year, so one would hope he can compile a score or two.



He did well for the Heat over a double game round last season for me, when he scored 79 runs from 48 deliveries and something similar would be nice to start the season.



Keeper Bench



Sam Whiteman &#8211; $62,500



Has only played sporadically over the last few seasons, but all signs suggest that he will open the batting as he returns to the Perth Scorchers this season.



Stuck on the bench for the opening round double is not ideal, but his eligibility as a BAT / WKP should provide looping flexibility when the Scorchers have the bye in rounds four and five.



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



Tom Curran &#8211; $180,000



One of the best all rounders in the game and he has two matches in the opening round.



We didn’t get to see the best of him when he last played for the Sixers due to injury, however, he still showed what he is capable of in a game against the Hurricanes down in the Apple Isle.



27 runs from 21 balls and 3/27 off his 4 overs in a real all-rounder’s effort.



Aaron Hardie &#8211; $178,300



I would love to see Hardie rival someone like Daniel Same for the ultimate Supercoach role and team lists before the toss early on in the season will give us an indication of how much bowling we will see from him. (I doubt it will be opening the bowling like we just saw in the T20 series against India!).



He has locked in that number three role with the absence of Mitch Marsh. He was huge last year, finishing the tournament as the leading run scorer with 460 runs from 15 matches.



His bowling was sporadic, and he only rolled the arm over in five of his 15 matches.



He did bowl in the last three matches of the tournament, is this a sign of things to come?



Will Sutherland &#8211; $158,400



A genuine all-rounder in a side that has five matches over the first three rounds.



Team lists will be revealing to see if he replicates his role from last year. If his role is similar, I think I will be starting him.



Batting at 6 or 7, Sutherland can come in later in the innings and whack them. It doesn’t always work, but there were several times last year where he hit the magical 20 run mark at a high strike rate.



He regularly bowled his 4 overs and amazingly went wicketless in his last five matches, which helps to make his starting price more reasonable.



His form in other forms of cricket to start the season has been good and he is in my side for now.



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Glenn Maxwell &#8211; $118,300



World Cup and T20 heroics recently. Enough said.



Cooper Connolly &#8211; $70,500



A looper last year. A genuine starting option this year?



Personally, I think it’s unlikely he opens the batting. If he bats at 7 and bowls four overs, I think that’s a pretty good role to have in one of the powerhouses of the BBL.



There are also some question marks over the Perth spinners. Injuries to Agar and McKenzie , Hatzoglou off to the Hurricanes, is this the time to shine for Connolly?



He has the potential to be one of the best cheapies if things go his way. We know he is capable on the big stage as evidenced by his performance in the final last year…



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Batsmen Bench



Sam Harper &#8211; $130,100



A timely century in the shield has made me bring him into my side to start the season.



Hopefully he opens the batting because if he is stuck in the middle to lower order, I will not be interested at all.



Whilst I’m yet to make my season debut on the SC Playbook Podcast, it has been great listening to all the contributors talk about the wicket-keeper position.



Harper with his doubles and bye looks like he could tick a few boxes and I know personally something I can get better at with my SC game is planning for and using loops successfully.



Nikhil Chaudhary &#8211; $42,000



He looks like the best loop option in the game.



I am not totally convinced I will be carry a permanent looper. I can see with byes in practically every round there could be no need for someone like Chaudhary.



The ability to cash generate or stash someone for a double could be a great play. He sits in my side for now though….



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



Tom Rogers &#8211; $184,600



Five games in three rounds for the Renegades and he was the best bowler last year. 23 wickets in 15 games including a spell of 5/16. He can bowl a nasty yorker too!



The potential of rests too could be reduced as we await of news of the severity of injury for Kane Richardson who may be okay for game one.



Adam Zampa &#8211; $131,900



It&#8217;s a new team for Zampa this year and as mentioned earlier, his new team has the schedule that looks enticing. He carried the spinning load in the successful Australian World Cup ODI campaign.



I like the fact he has come home early and not participated in the T20s against India. It makes me think he is less likely to rest during the BBL, especially as he is playing for a new franchise and will be keen to impress.



Spencer Johnson &#8211; $125,5000



Soft tissue injuries concern me. Potential for a rest concerns me. For the time being, Johnson is in my team.



He&#8217;s more economical rather than a wicket taker, hopefully he can combine those two skills into a lethal SC scorer. 



That spell of 3/1 off his 4 overs in The Hundred is just simply incredible!



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Usama Mir &#8211; $125,000



A POD pick for my team. I am intrigued by Mir.



Hopefully he arrives and is available for round one.



Recent performances from both the Twenty20 Cup and the Hundred in England showed numerous performances where he came in around 7 or 8 and delivered quick runs in quick time! 32 off 14, 32 off 16 and 32 off 15 to name a few!



He regularly bowled 4 overs in these competitions and quite often picked up multiple wickets during his spells. Unknown spinners can start off hot in the BBL!



Throw in some possible late order hitting and the Stars great schedule!



Matt Kuhnemann &#8211; $104,000



Kuhnemann is the number one spin option for the Heat and I would be surprised if he didn’t play in all three games in round one.



Whilst not an outrageous wicket taker, he can take multiple wickets in an innings, as evidenced by 3/17 and 3/32 in matches last year.



7 games without a wicket is concerning, but hopefully he can pick up 1 per game, keep it tight and just chip away at a good score over his three games to make him a worthwhile starting pick.



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Bowler Bench



David Payne &#8211; $139,300



Potentially the POD of my side to start with.



I am fairly keen to start Payne off in my side for round one to take advantage of the Strikers double in round 2.



Here are some reasons I am considering him. Firstly, he knows the BBL and he played well when given the chance to play. 10 wickets in 6 games reads rather nicely.



Furthermore, he looks likely to bowl key overs for the Strikers including some death overs.



Finally, there is nothing like watching a left-arm quick go about their business.



Fingers crossed he goes slightly better than the last left-armer Striker I picked.



Anyone remember George Garton?



Ben Manenti &#8211; $75,900



Another Striker to start on the pine to capitalise on the round two double.



With no Rashid Khan, will he become the number one spinning option for the Strikers?



I have heard some chatter about his batting, but any runs he makes would be an absolute bonus in my view.



Hopefully get can pick up 1 or 2 wickets a game, like he did at times for the Sixers back in the day.

Team reveal: BBL09 champion Thommo Aitken drops his squad

Discussion (1)

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