Squad breakdown: Scorchers Supercoach BBL14 preview

The Perth Scorchers will be out to add to their stacked trophy cabinet in BBL14.



Across their history, they’ve claimed five titles, finished runner-up on three occasions and won five minor premier titles.



There’s few reasons to suggest they won’t contend again with an extremely settled line-up, with international firepower joining the top of the batting order in Kiwi Finn Allen and Englishman Keaton Jennings.



The Scorchers have the Supercoach double game week in round two, and play in the opening game of round 1 which makes them perfect for looping purposes.



They’ll be hot property early, with the benefit of no byes this season.



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The only concern for Supercoaches once again is their depth in their bowling ranks, with Matt Kelly on standby to rest any of their injury-riddled fast bowling attack at any stage which is sure to again cause headaches.



Aaron Hardie is also more than capable of bowling max overs should they choose to rest any front line quicks.



For this reason alone it may be worth waiting until the round 2 double to pull the trigger on any of their pace quartet.



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



Aaron Hardie $177,800



Hardie’s past two years have culminated in regular Australian call-ups, with the form translating to Supercoach BBL.



His past two seasons have produced SC averages of 60.2 points and 57.5 points.



He finished as the third top run-scorer last tournament with 334 runs with a strike-rate of 127.96.



He also bowled 16 overs for the tournament, taking six wickets in the process with an outstanding economy of 6.92.



It’s a pretty deep bowling order, however the injury to Cooper Connolly will only improve his chances of rolling the arm over.



If bowling he’s simply a must-have for the double in round 2, if bat only it’s a trickier decision at $178k.



He’s made several decent starts across first-class cricket of late without going on with any knocks.



Verdict: Buy round 2



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MID-RANGERS</h2>



Finn Allen $152,000



Allen comes into the BBL with a glittering resume, across 47 T20Is for New Zealand he averages 24.47 with a blistering strike-rate of 158.69, with two centuries to his name.



He blasted a 53 ball century in the Major League Cricket tournament in the US in July against new teammate Aaron Hardie and Australian star Marcus Stoinis.



Recent returns in NZ domestic cricket have been okay without any standout knocks.



I’m always extremely wary of internationals in their first BBL campaigns, but with his upside and the round 2 double he’ll be hard to ignore.



Verdict: Buy round 2



Josh Inglis $140,600



Ignoring his obvious class, Inglis’ biggest Supercoach bonus to start BBL14 is the fact that the wicket-keeping stocks are fairly thin early on.



It makes him a genuine play from round 1, and a near must for round 2, particularly with the great looping opportunity in the opening round.



He scored 238 runs last season at an average of 34.00, with a strike-rate 127.95.



Recent white ball form has been okay at best, with scores of 7, 18 and 49 against Pakistan, and a 1 for WA in the Marsh Cup.



Prior to that though he had two Sheffield Shield centuries to his name.



Verdict: Buy from round 1 or 2



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Jhye Richardson $130,000 // Tye // Behrendorff // Morris



The Scorchers bowling stocks are deep, and essentially you can take your pick as they’re all absolute quality.



I favour Jhye Richardson for several reasons, firstly being his Supercoach pedigree.



Last tournament just didn’t go his way, taking just six wickets in eight games for a Supercoach average of 30.5.



Prior to that though he was among the game’s elite.



In prior seasons he averaged 79.7, 64.4, 58.1, 68.6 and 55.5.



He’s a star of the game, when fit…



Therein lies the issue, with the international quick struggling with injury throughout his career.



He’s recently returned from another injury concern and will hopefully stay fit until that point.



The smart play is probably to wait until round 2 to make sure he’s named for the double, but with his quality I’ll be very tempted to just start him from the outset.



He’ll be a decent POD to start and will be an inevitable round 2 trade-in for non-owners provided he’s available.



For the remaining trio, I genuinely have no major push to any of the three.



Tye will be certain to bowl at the death so that appeals, while Behrendorff was unplayable at times bowling the early power play, take your pick!



Verdict: Buy Richardson round 1



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Keaton Jennings $117,500



The English opener has been more prominent in red-ball cricket making him less appealing in my eyes to opening partner Allen.



That being said, he oozes class and like all English cricketers he boasts vast amounts of experience in the T20 arena.



Across 99 career T20s he averages a very healthy 32.65 runs with a strike-rate of 130.11.



In this year’s Vitality Blast in the UK he averaged 30.88 runs with a strike-rate of 158.85, blistering!



He backed this up in The Hundred tournament in the UK with an average of 34.25 with a strike-rate of 150.54.



Form lines are strong, but if I’m opting for one of the two openers it’s Allen despite the price difference.



Verdict: Avoid, but not without merit for round 2



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



Ashton Turner // BAT // SCBBL13 Ave: 9.7 // $70,400



Turner is the only real cheapie option at the Scorchers in my eyes, but as a middle order batsmen that’s unlikely to bowl I can’t have him.



If anything changed between now and the tournament opener that saw him elevated up the order or any chance of bowling we can reconsider.



Verdict: Avoid



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Perth Scorchers – Predicted Round 1 team and analysis via Max Bryden</h3>



Finn Allen // BAT // SCBBL13 Ave: &#8211; // $152,000



Keaton Jennings // BAT // SCBBL13 Ave: &#8211; // $117,500



Aaron Hardie // BAT-BWL // SCBBL13 Ave: 60.2 // $177,800



Josh Inglis // WKP-BAT // SCBBL13 Ave: 47.6 // $140,600



Ashton Turner // BAT // SCBBL13 Ave: 9.7 // $70,400



Nick Hobson // BAT // SCBBL13 Ave: 26.4 // $78,000



Ashton Agar // BWL // SCBBL13 Ave: 42.0 // $124,100



Andrew Tye // BWL // SCBBL13 Ave: 47.7 // $140,800



Lance Morris // BWL // SCBBL13 Ave: 50.1 // $148,100



Jhye Richardson // BWL // SCBBL13 Ave: 30.5 // $130,000



Jason Behrendorff // BWL // SCBBL13 Ave: 54.4 // $160,800



19/11 Updates and unavailable players:



Cooper Connolly has a broken hand and could miss significant time.



They have a like-for-like finisher in Nick Hobson, whilst Aaron Hardie and Ashton Turner’s bowling stocks rise.



Josh Inglis is now in the Test squad. He should be released to play Big Bash, but English keeper Matt Hurst looms in the wings as a handy replacement should he have to keep the whites on.



Ashton Agar suffered a recent shoulder injury that has him in doubt for the beginning of the tournament.



Changes since last season:



Another largely settled side, the Scorchers should once again contend in BBL14.



Kiwi Finn Allen is a season-long signing and should open the batting.



Few have his ability, albeit he will need to get used to a shorter four-over Power Play.&nbsp;



He’s a high-risk player who puts bums on seats and I cannot wait to see him out here.



English opener Keaton Jennings was a surprise Draft pick, but fills a need in the side and could open the batting.&nbsp;



His compatriot and club mate in County Cricket Matt Hurst is another option at the top of the order, but most likely provides squad depth and keeper coverage.



It’s ‘pick your poison’ with the bowling attack. When all fit, there’s simpler no better side.



Josh Inglis has been named in the Australian squad for the first Test against India, but may yet be released for domestic duties throughout the series if not required.



Relevant Supercoach player snapshot:



Aaron Hardie is no secret anymore, but probably needs an injury from one of the bowlers to see consistent overs with the ball.



Josh Inglis is consistent and now has two centuries in International T20s.



Don’t be put off by his position at 4 – he can score brilliantly well from here. In the off chance he opens, he will be one of the most owned in the position.



Andrew Tye’s season average of 47 is slightly down from what you’d expect from him so he could offer some value.



Jhye Richardson’s season average of just 30 is downright awful compared to what he is capable of. He could be amazing value.

Squad breakdown: Scorchers Supercoach BBL14 preview

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