BBL07 Team by Team Preview (Part 1)
The seventh season of the Big Bash is upon us and it is looking like the best one yet. A lot of familiar faces are returning as well as some fresh emerging talent. The season has expanded with 43 matches to be played in all, up from 35 last year. Four new venues will see matches this season, with games to be played in Canberra, Launceston, Geelong and Alice Springs. Could we see new teams in these cities next year? Here is a preview of all the teams in this installment of the Big Bash and highlight all the players you should be putting in your Draftstars teams.
Adelaide Strikers
Squad
Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Michael Cormack, Jono Dean, Daniel Drew, David Grant, Travis Head (Captain), Colin Ingram (SAF), Ben Laughlin, Jake Lehmann, Rashid Khan (AFG), Michael Neser, Liam O’Connor, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Jake Weatherald, Jonathan Wells, Nick Winter.
There have been wholesale changes in Adelaide for this year’s Big Bash with the experienced core (Hodge, Dunk, Ludeman, Pollard and Richardson) all leaving for other teams. The Strikers have brought in some handy players (Ingram, Khan and Siddle), but will they be able to gel in time? With so few games being played and the ladder always so close, will the time that it takes for the Strikers to get in sync cost them at the end of the season?
One player to watch is young all-rounder D’Arcy Short. Short is an explosive batsmen who usually opens as well as a left arm chinaman spinner. He was one of the shining lights last year for the Hurricanes and another good showing would not surprise. Matthew Wade is also another intriguing player, he is woefully out of form, but he will get the chance to play a full season of for the Hurricanes at the top of the order. He is one to watch.
Brisbane Heat
Squad
Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett, Jason Floros, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Shadab Khan (PAK), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Lalor, Chris Lynn, Brendon McCullum (NZ, captain), Jimmy Peirson, Matt Renshaw, Alex Ross, Mitchell Swepson, Mark Steketee, Cameron Valente.
Definitely the most entertaining team in the league, the Heat have retained most of their core players, only losing their best bowler, Sam Badree. The Heat will most likely be dependent on their two Bash Brothers, Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum to carry their batting lineup once again. Lynn and McCullum are two of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket and along with role players Alex Ross, Joe Burns, Jimmy Pearson and Ben Cutting they look like they can score 200+ whenever they play.
The hat’s downfall has always been their bowling attack and this year it looks no different. The heat have added a couple of quality spinners in Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan, but they may struggle on a fast and bouncy pitch which the Gabba normally is. Mitchell Swepson is always a wicket taking threat, but he is usually quite expensive to pick. There might be good value in picking the Heat’s cheap fast bowlers such as Mark Steketee, Josh Lalor and Brendan Doggett who will be bowling at the death.
Hobart Hurricanes
Squad
Jofra Archer (WI), George Bailey (c), James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Tom Curran, Hamish Kingston, Ben McDermott, Simon Milenko, Tymal Mills (UK), Tim Paine, Jake Reed, Sam Rainbird, Nathan Reardon, Tom Rogers, Clive Rose, D’Arcy Short, Matthew Wade.
The Hurricanes are the outsiders in the tournament and it is easy to see why. The squad they have put together is lackluster to say the least. They have signed relatively unknown English all-rounder Jofra Archer as well as English quick Tymal Mills as their two international imports, which are not the signings of a team who thinks they can challenge. George Bailey is the most likely to score runs for the Hurricanes, but he will no doubt come with a big price tag.
One player to watch is young all-rounder D’Arcy Short. Short is an explosive batsmen who usually opens as well as a left arm chinaman spinner. He was one of the shining lights last year for the Hurricanes and another good showing would not surprise. Matthew Wade is also another intriguing player, he is woefully out of form, but he will get the chance to play a full season of for the Hurricanes at the top of the order. He is one to watch.
Melbourne Renegades
Squad
Dwayne Bravo (WI), Tom Cooper, Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Jon Holland, Tim Ludeman, Joe Mennie, Mohammad Nabi (AFG), James Pattinson, Kane Richardson, Matt Short, Will Sutherland, Chris Tremain, Beau Webster, Cameron White, Jack Wildermuth.
The Renegades have been busy in the offseason adding a range of quality players to their roster. They have plundered the Strikers especially with Brad Hodge, Kieron Pollard, Tim Ludeman and Kane Richardson all making the move to Melbourne. The Renegades are now stacked with weapons with the likes of Aaron Finch, Brad Hogg, Dwayne Bravo and the underrated Cameron White all playing again this season.
Apart from the obvious Renegades player such as Bravo, Finch and Hogg, the player I’m most looking forward to is Tim Ludeman. The wicketkeeper batsmen will most likely open the batting for the Renegades and has proven in previous years who a destructive batsmen he is. There will also be some value in the Renegade bowling lineup due to the injury absence of James Pattinson. Expect Kane Richardson to do a lot of bowling at the death with Dwayne Bravo.
BBL SCORING SYSTEM
**All stats are provided by Fox Sports
Batting
Per Run Scored = 1 point
Boundary Bonus: 4 = 1 point
Boundary Bonus: 6 = 2 points
Strike Rate Bonus = 1 point
For every run a player scores above the amount of balls faced: (e.g. if a player scores 40 off 26 balls, they score an additional 14 points)
Bowling
Dot Ball = 1 point
Maiden Over Bonus = 15 points
Wicket = 25 points
3 or More Wicket Bonus = 10 points
Extras Penalty (wide or no-ball) = -1 point
Economy Rate Bonus (4 or less runs per over) = 25 points
Economy Rate Bonus (4.01 – 5 runs per over) = 20 points
Economy Rate Bonus (5.01 – 6 runs per over) = 15 points
Economy Rate Bonus (6.01 – 7 runs per over) = 10 points
Economy Rate Bonus (7.01 – 8 runs per over) = 5 points
Fielding
Catch = 10 points
Stumping = 15 points
Run Out = 20 points