Squad Breakdown: Adelaide Strikers player-by-player analysis

The Adelaide Strikers will be looking to build on a relatively disappointing decade that produced one title back in the 2017/18 edition of the tournament.



Despite two first placed regular season finishes elsewhere, their triumph in BBL07 was their lone final appearance.



The full squad has been announced with just two internationals on the roster, with veteran Fawad Ahmed the final edition at the expense of another international.



There’s plenty of competition for positions in the XI, whilst the absence of English opener Phil Salt leaves a vacant role on top of the batting order that will present SuperCoach opportunity.



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The fact that they’re likely to rotate amongst a fairly deep roster can be concerning, however there’s enough genuine guns that should be well cemented in the XI that we can consider.



The Strikers have the double game week in round 2, so they’re well worth considering from the opening round, before being sold off for the round 3 bye.



They also have a second double game week in round 9.



Newest SC Playbook contributor and cricket whiz Max Bryden has done the hard yards to predict the starting XI of each team, I’ll be running my analysis off these forecasts.



Note that the starting XI’s will alter throughout the season as new signings land, form alters and injuries strike, we’ll do our best to update as the news drops.



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JAKE WEATHERALD (BAT) // $133,900 // BBL10 SC Ave: 42.9



I’ve always been a fan of Weatherald as a cricketer, and he’s had glimpses of SuperCoach gold from time-to-time but often lacks consistency.



He’s an explosive batsmen which often leads to sporadic SuperCoach scoring.



Recent SuperCoach seasons have produced averages of 42.9, 42.8, 37.9 and 34.4.



In 15 games last season he had two tonnes, along with four scores under 20.



While the average isn’t anything significant, he was the sixth top run-scorer with 433 runs at an average of 36.08 with a strike-rate of 141.04.



He’s been in excellent form lately in the Marsh Cup for WA and in the T20 Pakistan Super League.



He’s had returns of: 60, 97, 14, 25, 19, 48, 13 and 43.



He’ll likely be low-ownership, so I don’t mind him one bit as an early season POD due to the double in Round 2.



With three knocks in two rounds he only needs one decent score to pay back a bit of faith.



HARRY NIELSEN (WKP/BAT) // $76,200 // BBL10 SC Ave: 30.5



The second opening role is up for grabs, and there’s serious SuperCoach ramifications to come with the decision. 



The Australian selections of Head and Carey is significant as it should lock in Nielsen atop the order early on which would make him very hard to argue for the Round 2 double at just $76,200.



Alex Carey also could shift up the order on return from Aus duty to partner Weatherald which would boost his stocks even further.



Nielsen&#8217;s recent form is very solid without capitalising on plenty of starts.



In short form he’s had List A returns for SA of 21, 2, 5 and 51.



He played just the two games last season for SC scores of 53 and 8.



If opening he’ll be hard to ignore at the price for Round 2, but at the same time I can see him falling as a highly owned trap.



Let’s see how his form and role play out closer to the season opener then reassess.



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MATT SHORT (BAT) // $62,500 // BBL10 SC Ave: 22.8



Short may be the biggest winner in the tournament out of the Australian selections.



Initially out of the starting XI, he&#8217;s now in line to come into the side and may bat as high as number three.



He&#8217;s always has SuperCoach promise as a batting all-rounder, but a lack of consistent opportunity has made him hard to catch.



He should get his chance to SuperCoaches who have been burned by him over the years with the Round 2 double game week, if you can trust him.



He recently hit 90* for Victoria in Shield cricket, while he hasn&#8217;t featured in the Marsh Cup this season.



At the time of writing he&#8217;s just taken a pair of wickets for Victoria also. If he can feature with the ball for the Strikers it&#8217;d make him extremely hard to ignore at the price, monitor warm-up games.



Across 37 career T20s he averages just 14.77 with a strike-rate of 113.93, however that&#8217;s predominantly from batting in the middle order, so it can be largely disregarded.



Provided he does get that roll at three I like him for the Round 2 double, however I think it&#8217;s worth waiting a week to see how his role plays out, even if he&#8217;s slightly more expensive.



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JONO WELLS (BAT) // $76,400 // BBL10 SC Ave: 24.5



With Carey/Head unavailable for the Round 2 double, Wells should bat at four becomes a viable cheapie option.



I’m a big fan of him with the willow, he just struggles for opportunity at times, and often playing as more of a mid-order anchor role he can struggle to accumulate any decent strike-rate bonuses.



Last season he scored 263 runs at an average of 26.3, striking at just 106.04.



Look back to the season prior though where he excelled, averaging 48.3 SC points across 15 games, including two tonnes.



He had two games in the Pakistan Super League for returns of 6 and 55*.



Not for me at five, but if he can sneak up into the top four as expected he’s worth a cheeky look.



Like Short, he&#8217;s a wait until Round 2 unless we get confirmation of his batting position before the opening round.



RYAN GIBSON (BAT) // $65,900 // BBL10 SC Ave: 21.1



Barring any significant change in role it’s hard to get enthused about Gibson at this stage.



LIAM SCOTT (BAT/BWL) // $62,500 // BBL10 SC Ave: 13



I won&#8217;t be starting with Scott, however like Short he&#8217;s a huge watch in Round one ahead of the Strikers&#8217; double.



His only top grade outing of late was a Shield appearance where he scored 42 batting at seven, and he took a very handy 2/31 with the ball.



Let&#8217;s see how his role plays out in Round one then reassess as he could be a serious early season cheapie, but there&#8217;s no way I&#8217;d be going early.



RASHID KHAN (BWL) // $198,700 // BBL10 SC Ave: 63.6



I could write all day about Rashid, but I’d just be highlighting the incredible stats you already know.



Regardless of whether he bats at seven or eight, he’s a must-have in my opinion for the Round 2 double, and as such I’ll more than likely just be starting with him in Round 1 and enjoying the ride.



He takes bags full of wickets at an incredible economical rate.



His previous SC averages read: 63.6, 67.2 and 70.6, exceptional!



He’s been in good form in the T20 World Cup for Afghanistan, including 4/9 against Scotland, not bad…



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GEORGE GARTON (BAT/BWL) // $125,000 // BBL10 SC Ave: N/A



The English allrounder is an exciting prospect for the upcoming season.



It’d help if he bats at seven ahead of Khan which is very possible, but we’ll have to wait and see.



Across 44 career T20s, he’s taken 49 wickets at an economy of 8.28.



With the bat, he’s had 18 knocks for an average of 20.90, very solid despite a fairly limited sample size.



More recently in the IPL for RCB, he has bowling returns of 0/29, 0/20, 1/29, 1/27 and 1/30 while not figuring with the bat coming in at 9.



He’ll be a big watch in the opening round of the competition, but I won’t be starting with him.



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PETER SIDDLE (BWL) // $149,200 // BBL10 SC Ave: 47.8



Sidz was firing last season, taking 19 scalps in 13 games at an economy of 7.45, including best figures of 5/16!



In 14 games the season prior he averaged a terrific 57.1 in SC, with four tonnes to his name and a top score of 153.



He has plenty of cricket under his belt, heading over to the UK for a season with Essex.



His most recent returns in the Marsh Cup produced figures of 3/30 and 3/31, so the veteran still has a few tricks up his sleeve.



I’ll seriously consider him for the Round 2 double.



WES AGAR (BWL) // $142,100 // BBL10 SC Ave: 45.5



Agar had a stellar campaign last time out for the Strikers, finishing fourth on the overall wicket-taking tally with 22 scalps at an economy of 8.35 in 15 games.



I thought his SuperCoach average may have been a little higher as a result, but 45.5 is respectable nonetheless.



I also see him as a bowler on the up, so there’s no reason why he can’t improve on last season’s efforts.



His form was rewarded with two ODIs for Australia against the West Indies.



He went wicketless, but produced a very handy 0/15 off six overs in one encounter, while also knocking out 41 with the bat.



His past two Marsh Cup outings had returns of 1/44 and 2/68.



He’s not a player I’d probably target for single game weeks, but on the double he could well be low-ownership with upside.



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FAWAD AHMED (BWL) // $102,700 // BBL10 SC Ave: N/A



Ahmed’s SC history isn’t available on site, but he did see plenty of action last season for the Scorchers.



He played 17 games, taking 15 wickets at an economy of 7.71.



&nbsp;He’s not a prolific wicket-taker, but he is capable of scoring well in SC land on his day.



With Khan on deck, there’s also the concern he may not get maximum overs on decks suiting the quicks.



However, he’s another who’s likely to be in relative POD range for the Round 2 double and is worth consideration.



His most recent cricket came in the Caribbean Premier League where he had two wickets in his last four games, so he’s coming into the tournament in decent touch.



OTHERS



TRAVIS HEAD (BAT/BWL) // $151,200 // BBL10 SC Ave: 30.3



The risk with Head is that he’ll likely be in and around the Australian squad throughout the summer, so I may be optimistic even including him here, but we can hope!



He was dropped midway through the Indian Test series, but appeared set to return for the cancelled tour of South Africa.



When he’s available, he’s a SuperCoach gun.



He played just four games last season for a SC average of 30.3, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about that.



He was excellent the season before in producing a SC average of 60.5 which is more what I think we can expect if he gets a few games in blue under his belt.



If he is available for the Round 2 double I think he’ll be close to a must-have, particularly if chiming in with a few overs here and there.



His form of late has been terrific, highlighted by an utterly ridiculous 230 off 127 balls in the 50 over Marsh Cup back on October 13.



UPDATE: Head has been selected in the Australian squad and is expected to miss at least the first three rounds.



ALEX CAREY (WKP/BAT) // $163,400 // BBL10 SC Ave: 52.3



Carey is another with uncertainty around his availability early on as he may be called up for the Australia A clash with the England Lions.



If named, he may miss up until Round 3, which would be a blow as he’s a SC weapon.



He has recent SC averages of 52.3, 57.9 and 48.6.



Last season he played 13 games, scoring 425 runs at an average of 32.69 with a strike-rate of 122.12.



His recent form across multiple formats has been mixed, but look no further than his Marsh Cup knock of 128* back on September 22 to ease any fears.



Another who if available for the Round 2 double will be a near must-have, with the addition of a few handy wicket-keeping points to boot.







MATT RENSHAW (BAT/BWL) // $67,400



UPDATE: Renshaw has been selected in the Australia &#8216;A&#8217; squad and is expected to miss at least the first three rounds.



DAN WORRALL (BWL) // $160,000



HARRY CONWAY (BWL) // $89,600

Squad Breakdown: Adelaide Strikers player-by-player analysis

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