BBL08 GAMES 39 & 40: WEDNESDAY DOUBLE-HEADER
There is plenty of value around if you are brave enough to disregard the salary cap AND recent form.
The Re-cap
Watto and Nair let us down big time last night, a night when Finch, Ferguson and White (all players we love to take throughout the season) all went big with the bat. Need a big Wednesday to get back into the black.
Likely XI’s
Game 39: Stars v Strikers @ Ted Summerton Reserve, Moe
Stars – Dunk, Handscomb, Stoinis, Maxwell, Maddinson, Gotch, Bravo, Plunkett, Zampa, Bird (O’Connell, Morris)
- No reason to carry O’Connell when Maxy can bowl spin and Stoinis can get through up to 4 overs, the Stars need to win which means stacking their batting and posting a big score so expect Gotch gets the nod down the order as some insurance.
Strikers – Carey, Weatherald, Short, Ingram, Wells, Khan, Valente, Neser, Laughlin, Agar, Stanlake (Lehman, O’Connor)
- Expect O’Connor will make way for the extra pace tonight on a deck that will be unknown it is better for the Strikers’ balance to take the second quick. Short and Ingram can both provide spin options but no one else in the side bar Stanlake can bowl quick. Khan bats #6 again baring a monumental early collapse.
Game 40: Sixers v Hurricanes @ SCG
Sixers – Phillipe, Hughes, Vince, Henriques, Silk, Edwards, Curran, Abbott, O’Keefe, Dwarsius, Pope, ( M. Edwards, B manenti)
- Sixers finally got a clue and opened up with Phillipe, expect that to continue with Edwards sliding down to #6 or even #7 as we say last game. Pope likely to retain his spot.
Hurricanes – Short, Wade, Jewel, McDermott, Bailey, Milenko, Faulkner, Botha, Archer, Rose, Meredith (Moody, Doolan)
- Expect an unchanged lineup from the ladder-leading Hurricanes tonight. They are dominating the competition with Archer bowling sub-par, look out if he actually starts to really fire.
Selection Committee
A few Moe locals know how this pitch will play but that’s it, so selecting a side is really tough for this early game. Watching pre-game coverage for the pitch inspection should give you the best clues as to how it might play but in general, the Strikers are likely to be under-owned coming off a 10-wicket loss to Hobart. With Stoinis and Maxwell and Khan on huge salaries and Khan failing last-start, taking a Strikers bounce-back lineup is a solid play. I’m playing a straight bat and hoping for 2-3 powerplay wickets from each side and hoping to take advantage of those early wickets and the rebuilding phase.
Team: Bravo, Wells, Maddinson, Ingram, Khan, Stanlake, Bird
For the late game at the SCG I am breaking one of my cardinal BBL rules and dropping SOK for the first time this season. I just can’t see him getting decent economy with that Hurricanes lineup but kudos to those brave enough to take him. Instead I’m taking some early Sixers batting exposure (whilst avoiding Meredith and Faulkner) then smashing those middle overs of Archer and Botha and Short where I’m hoping it all falls apart for the Sixers. For the Hurricanes I’ve got 3 of their top 4 bats including the Redundant A’Postrophe.
Team: Vince, McDermott, Jewell, Phillipe, Short, Botha, Archer
Final Thoughts
There is plenty of value around if you are brave enough to disregard the cap AND recent form and pick instead on class. The likes of Weatherald, Carey, Handscomb, Hughes, Henriques – these guys can all go big and are all cheap.
BBL08 Balance
Games: 37
Spend: $570
Win: $541.48
Profit: -$28.52
BBL