Squad Breakdown: Sydney Thunder team analysis

The Sydney Thunder begin their BBL12 campaign as genuine title contenders with a well-balanced roster, blending youth with experience, fire-power with composure, and international quality.



The BBL05 champions qualified for finals just once in the first eight editions of the tournament, and while proving more consistent in recent years, they’ve yet to feature in another decider.



They welcome South African international Rilee Rossouw and Afghan T20 World Cup star Fazalhaq Farooqi this season, joining retained English powerhouse Alex Hales.



The late signing of Pakistani Usman Qadir &#8211; cover for the injured Tanveer Sangha &#8211; does pose an issue in that it&#8217;s the Thunder&#8217;s fourth international signing, and they can only play three per game, so rotation risk becomes an issue for the internationals.



The Thunder are the most relevant team early in the tournament with double game weeks in both round 1 and 2 of SuperCoach, followed with the bye in round 3.



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For that reason you’d be mad not to start with a decent contingent of their players, and there’s plenty of value on offer to choose from.



Our star SC Playbook contributor Max Bryden has done the hard yards to&nbsp;<a href="http://13.210.220.211/2022/11/13/bbl12-predicted-teams-best-xi-for-every-club/">predict the starting XI of each team</a>, I’ll be running my analysis off these forecasts.



Note that the starting XI’s will alter throughout the pre-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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ALEX HALES (BAT) // $130,300 // BBL SC Ave: 44.9



Hales will be very heavily owned to begin the tournament, and it’d take a very brave SuperCoach to anti-POD the English World Cup star.



He had an underwhelming SuperCoach season by his standards last tournament, yet still scored a very respectable 383 runs at 31.91, striking at 148.44.



Underwhelming why? Because he topped the run-scoring charts the season prior with 583 runs at 38.78, striking at a mammoth 161.60.



In the recent T20 World Cup he had scores of 1, 86*(semi-final), 47, 52, 7 and 19.



Just lock him in the first two rounds, he really only needs one typical blasting knock in four innings to justify the recruitment.



He’s a sneaky high-risk, high-reward captaincy option early also.



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MATT GILKES (WKP-BAT) // $97,400 // BBL SC Ave: 33.6



With the majority of the star wicket-keepers in SuperCoach not on the double in Round 1, it brings Gilkes into serious contention at good value.



In 15 games last tournament he scored a respectable 295 runs at 21.07, striking at 129.25.



It was impacted by movement across the order though, he had encouraging signs when batting on top of the order last season.



He had a top score of 93, equating to 148 SuperCoach points, which shows he can go big on his day.



The departure of Usman Khawaja should see him open for the majority, if not all the tournament.



In three 50 Over Marsh Cup games this season he has scored 14, 0 and 40.



Shield form he has scores of 0, 72, 48 and 1.



While I like him and very well may start with him, if he’s at high ownership I do see a really strong anti-POD opportunity early on depending where people flock for their wicket-keeper.



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RILEE ROSSOUW (BAT) // $105,000 // BBL SC Ave: N/A



Rossouw returns for his second Big Bash campaign, having averaged just 24.3 SC points for the Renegades back in BBL10.



While an off-campaign, the 33-year-old South African enters the BBL in red-hot form off the back of the T20 World Cup.



He hit 109 against Bangladesh, 54* against New Zealand in a warm-up match, and prior to that he hit 100* against India in Indore.



Across 26 T20 internationals for his country he averages 36.78, striking at 156.02.



He comes as an absolute steal, and if he produces anything like his recent form you could start on the back-foot if not owning. He’ll be very hard to ignore.



JASON SANGHA (BAT) // $177,200 // BBL SC Ave: 61.1



Sangha burst onto the SuperCoach scene last year with a 61 point average off the back of 445 runs at 49.44, striking at 132.04.



While not necessarily the blistering shot-maker of the players above him, Sangha has a composure at the crease that gives far more confidence in gaining the 20+ run bonus.



He’s an outstanding talent, just ask his biggest fan, the SC Spy, but as a SuperCoach prospect he’s slightly awkward at a big price while likely batting at number four.



I don’t mind number four batsmen in SuperCoach, but on an opening week where there are three teams on the double, they really have to present a strong case for selection.



Personally to warrant buying I think I’d need to see him bowling his leggies to invest, which he hasn’t being doing too regularly at State level of late.



He bowled a few overs in his opening Marsh Cup game this season, taking 0/14, while he’s been called on for two innings in Shield cricket for returns of 1/35 and 1/66.



With the bat, which is obviously his strength, he’s had Marsh Cup scores this season of 22, 26, 0 and 8.



In Shield cricket he’s scored 2, 20, 53, 52, 41, 1, 2 and 21.



He’s been okay at best without really going on with any starts.



Not for me unless looking likely to bowl, but I can see the temptation, the man can bat.



ALEX ROSS (BAT) // $98,300 // BBL SC Ave: 33.9



A rock of the middle order, but I can’t go near a number five who will only bat.



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DANIEL SAMS (BAT-BWL) // $179,300 // BBL SC Ave: 61.8



Sams has etched his name among the SuperCoach elite in recent years with one of the best roles in the game.



He’s a top quality death bowler, who is explosive with the bat which often earns him pinch-hitting roles up the order, and on top of that he’s one of those quality fieldsman who always finds himself around key SuperCoach scoring opportunities.



While it’s fortunate he starts with the double-double, he’s a player you almost just lock in for the season regardless of being on the single game week or not.



His most recent SuperCoach averages have been 61.8, 65.2, 68.5 and 59.1.



We saw last season his ability with the bat with a knock of 98*, suggesting he’ll get more opportunity this tournament.



I wouldn’t suggest trying to anti-POD. I’ll potentially own for the duration of the season, likely as my round 1 and 2 skipper.



BEN CUTTING (BAT-BWL) // $86,000 // BBL SC Ave: 21.2



I won’t touch Cutting, I won’t touch Cutting, I won’t touch Cutting….



Hmm, $86k you say? Tempting…



Cutting on his day has one of the best SuperCoach roles in the game, almost identical to that of Daniel Sams whose emergence in recent years has really hindered Ben’s role.



A quality bowler, who is also one of the biggest hitters in the game, he’s extremely exciting to own with huge upside, but at a shade under 36-years-old his opportunities have been limited despite still offering plenty of quality.



His top grade cricket since last season’s BBL has been very minimal, playing in the Pakistan Premier League where he was utilised as a batsmen rather than a bowler.



I can’t start with him, but he has the potential to be the most purchased Round 2 player should things falls his way.



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CHRIS GREEN (BWL) // $119,200 // BBL SC Ave: 41.1



While economically sound, I don’t particularly see Green as a major wicket-taker, evidenced by 6 wickets in 12 games last season.



That’s not to say he can’t, he’s certainly had his purple patches like all bowlers, and we know spinners in T20 cricket can take bags out of nowhere, but I do prefer others.



He’s certainly a decent shout for an early anti-POD should he thrive in the opening two rounds for anyone keen to take the gamble.



And while I’ll be looking elsewhere, his recent form has been good, and yep, he’s also been getting bags of wickets…



In one Marsh Cup game this season he took 4/20 and hit 4*, while in one Shield game he took 4/71 and 5/41 while hitting 6 and 38*.



Prior to those two games he played in the Caribbean Premier League where he took just 8 wickets in 12 games at 34.87, with an economy of 6.97.



BRENDAN DOGGETT (BWL) // $145,300 // BBL SC Ave: 1



With the signing of Farooqi, Doggett likely finds himself in a battle for a spot in the XI with Nathan McAndrew.



Doggett played just the one game last season, but looking back to BBL10 in just five games he was terrific with a 62.6 average.



Unfortunately for that reason he starts at a fairly expensive price, so with potential rotation risk across the two double games weeks I’m not willing to invest at this stage.



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<s>TANVEER SANGHA (BWL) // $130,800 // BBL SC Ave: 45.1</s>



Update: Sangha is expected to miss the early stage of the season, opening a spot for Pakistani international Usman Qadir who has signed as cover.



Sangha is an incredibly enticing option for the opening double-double, but he’s currently battling stress fractures in his back which have him in doubt for the start of the tournament.



He took 16 wickets last tournament in 12 games, at an outstanding average of 17.37 with an economy of 6.86, gun!



The tournament prior he was just as good, jagging 21 scalps in 15 games at 18.28.



As he’ll have played next to no top grade cricket prior to the opening game if he is available, I think I’ll be watching on, and if he does play and looks up to fitness I’ll recruit for round 2.



Due to his injury concern though he does present a potential star POD play, so we’ll monitor ownership and his fitness status as the pre-season continues to unfold.



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FAZALHAQ FAROOQI (BWL) // $105,000 // BBL SC Ave: N/A



The Afghanistan left-arm quick is a very enticing prospect who will likely start at $105,000 or $125,000 having only been announced on the day this article was written.



Either way, for a player who had great success at the recent T20 World Cup, obviously in Australian conditions, he presents a pretty strong case.



In three games he had economical returns of 2/29, 0/22 and 1/24. He took his 2/29 against Australia where he bowled at the death, a role he’ll likely take up for the Thunder.



In 17 international T20 matches he has 21 wickets at 20.52, with an economy of 6.76.



I’m extremely keen for Round 1 where I may very well have three Afghan internationals in my team.



OTHERS



David Warner, Ollie Davies, Nathan McAndrew, Baxter Holt, Gurinder Sandhu

Squad Breakdown: Sydney Thunder team analysis

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