Team Reveal: Supercoach winner Thommo Aitken drops squad

Supercoach is a game of strategy, precision, and foresight, where every decision matters.



The key to success lies in understanding how to balance your salary cap, pick underpriced players with great value, and leverage matchups based on the fixture schedule (double game rounds or tasty looking match ups!).



But there&#8217;s more to it than just numbers, Supercoach rewards those who can think ahead and play the long game (usually).



This includes making the most of captain and vice-captaincy selections, carefully navigating through player availability, and taking advantage of the weekly looping options.



In addition to these core strategies, the unpredictable nature of form, injuries, weather conditions, and team changes add layers of complexity that can either make or break your season.



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Every week brings new challenges, and it’s about finding the perfect balance between risk and reward.



With these elements in mind, you can make well-informed decisions, maximise your potential points, and give yourself the best chance to rise to the top of the leaderboard and achieve your best ever finish.



This article shows you my current squad as selected in the app.



Tinkering will happen I am sure and there will be players that I have currently overlooked that will definitely shine in the opening couple of rounds.



Changes will also be made due to the timing of the games and trying to stay more flexible as rounds progress (in the model of Andrew Langley), something I am trying to implement more into my own game this season.



I wonder how my current team compares to others in the SC Playbook crew?



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



Josh Inglis (Scorchers) $140,600



The keeper position is one that is a bit perplexing and at the moment I have settled on Inglis.



The question mark is his selection in the Test squad and after the batting performance from the Aussie lads in Perth, he may be even closer to Test selection!



The fact that he had the most fielding points last year, can make quick runs and lot of runs (even batting at 4!) and the double game in round 2 has him in my side for now.



Jake Doran (Hurricanes) $39,500



Doran is the best looping wicketkeeper in my opinion. Hobart only play the first game of the round once for the whole tournament (in round 7). He is also the lowest possible price.



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



Glenn Maxwell (Stars) $247,4000



Maxy is in my side and I will adjust closer to the tournament if he is to miss any games or potentially not bowl.



He is absolutely destructive on his day and in particular can go mental in a rain reduced match.



Do yourself a favour and check out his statistics in rain affected matches last year!



Or check out my soon to be available article on rain interrupted matches last year where I have done the hard work for you!



He also acts as the most obvious ticket to Matt Short come round 2.



Jamie Overton (Strikers) $207,700



Overton has battled injury this year but was back bowling (for the most part) in recent short form cricket against the West Indies for England.



If he maintains a similar role this year for the Strikers compared to last year, point scoring opportunities should be plentiful as he can score in all three areas of the game.



A season average of 70 SC points last year and a lowest score of just 26 points makes for a very consistent SC game.



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Beau Webster (Stars) $164,700



Webster can be hot or cold as evidenced by his scores last year. It really is amazing to remind yourself of the Stars allrounder rollercoaster we have seen in tournaments past.



In a stretch of four rounds last BBL (single and double game rounds) we saw 4, 217, 0, 153. &nbsp;It all comes down to his role.



In my side for now and we will assess closer to the start of the tournament.



His form in other forms of cricket this year is very good (although this doesn’t always translate to BBL).



He is in my side for now and looks like an even better selection if Glenn Maxwell was to miss any time or not be a bowling option.



He bats at number three which is great, however, he more plays that anchor role and doesn’t always accumulate that strike-rate bonus.



Of course availability will be a watch as to whether or not he&#8217;s released from the Australian Test squad for BBL duties.



Tom Curran (Stars) $152,00



A former Sixer now turned Star with a very good BBL Supercoach role.



The Stars are crying out for a death bowler and Curran looks highly likely to fill this role, he’s priced attractively too.



He’s handy with the bat too and surely he improves on his batting form from last time out. He only scored 8 runs in four matches (three innings) last year and he is much more capable than that!



He also only took 4 wickets in four games. He should do better than that too.



Big SC scores are littered throughout his past with many games or rounds in the 100s, and even 200s, so he shapes as a very viable VC option in the opening round.



Will Sutherland (Renegades) $132,600



Sutherland is a definite injury watch to start the BBL as he recovers from injury. He has battled back injuries in the past so it is one worth monitoring.



‘Chief’ looks like the obvious allrounder for the Renegades who play two matches in the opening round.



Hopefully he can get some big runs in quick time batting at number seven and he is recovered from injury to bowl his four overs too.



You would want him bowling overs to be a viable starting selection. &nbsp;He started last BBL season with a bang (2/21 off his 4 overs) and 51 not out off just 30 balls.



People selecting him this season will hope he can replicate that!



His batting really fizzled out after this and his next highest score was only 12 runs.



Hopefully he gets some more chances and form with the bat around that middle or lower order and gets some quick runs at the end of an innings.



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



Ashton Turner (Scorchers) $70,400



Turner is back this year after missing much of the tournament last year.



A very cheap price and a viable bench option for round one and someone who can shift onto the field for the double in round two.



It looks like he will bat five and if someone like Inglis gets a nod in the Test side he could move even higher.



Even if batting at five, it will take just one power surge madness from Turner in the opening two rounds to get that price moving the right way.



Personally I can’t see him bowling much, but the odd over he does get would be an added bonus.



Will Salzmann (Thunder) $39,500



Salzmann is purely there at the moment for looping purposes.



Basement price and BAT/BWL eligible are like gold. Additionally, it doesn’t look like at this stage there are many viable playing cheapies emerging.



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



Sean Abbott (Sixers) $131,800



Abbott is a gun of seasons past (practically since the BBL began) and he seems like extreme value to begin this year (although not priced to his actual average from last season).



It would surprise no one if he finished in the top few scorers come the end of the season.



He can score in all three facets of the match, but bowling usually is the place where he scores most of his points.



One would imagine he would improve upon the 34 runs he scored last season (in nine matches or six innings) and also better the 11 wickets he took in those nine matches.



His economy rate was higher than usual (9.1) compared to his last couple of seasons and his overall career BBL economy rate (8.4).



Maxy has alluded to the fact that Tom Curran missed so much time last year and this impacted Abbott’s role to some degree.



Hopefully it’s a bounce back campaign for Abbott for us Supercoachers and Sixers fans alike.



One little flag is that he has missed the odd game every now and again for a variety of reasons, but he is usually very good from a player availability point of view.



Tom Rogers (Renegades) $117,500



Rogers of the Renegade variety looks underpriced this year based on his previous performances for both the Hurricanes and the Renegades.



8 wickets in nine games is well down on his previous seasons where he practically averaged 1.5 wickets per game (23 wickets in 15 matches and 20 wickets in 13 matches).



He can land a good yorker and when on song can take bulk wickets and have a real day out as evidenced by the many times he has taken 3+ wickets over the last few seasons.



One flag is his form for Kent at the Twenty20 Cup where he only picked up 1 wicket in 6 outings.



Adam Zampa (Renegades) $80,100



You need to almost do a double take when you see the preferred spinning option for Australia international white ball cricket and his price.



He didn’t have his best season last year taking 6 wickets in eight matches after a massive World Cup campaign, but is in reasonable form lately taking 6 wickets in the recent T20 series against Pakistan.



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Mark Steketee (Stars) $79,100



I am looking for a cheap Stars pace bowler to start in my line up and at this point in time it is Steketee.



It could well and truly be any of a few Stars pace bowlers that come in at a cheap price.



He was underwhelming last year when in the team (1 wicket in 3 matches) but hopefully a new season brings new form and job security!



Hamish McKenzie (Stars) $69,400



A new recruit for the Stars this season, whose job security is trending in the right direction after news that Usama Mir will not be here for the start of the season.



He showed some promise last season in limited opportunities with best figures of 2/12 off four overs ironically against the Stars. A cheap price only enhances his prospects!



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



Jhye Richardson (Scorchers) $130,000



Richo is even taking wickets in Shield matches when injured nowadays!



He is not priced according to his actual average of last season, but he could still present great value when we think of some of his performances from seasons past.



Jordan Buckingham (Strikers) $39,500



He is currently dealing with an injury but lots of Supercoachers will be sending him well wishes hoping he firstly recovers and secondly gains selection in the Strikers XI.



Buckingham is basement price bowler with a round 2 double. He could be a great starting option.



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



Andrew Tye (Scorchers) $140,800



Tye sits in my side in preparation for the Scorchers round two double.



He also could go large in round one with a home game against the Stars.



A death bowler for a good side is usually a decent decision which leads to SC points.

Team Reveal: Supercoach winner Thommo Aitken drops squad

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