Watchlist: Positional rankings, team, trade plans, Rd 2

It’s been a solid middle of the range round for me so far, with plenty riding on Friday’s games.

Not to panic though, I have most of the key players and am in a good position to attack the coming rounds. 

Each round of the Big Bash season I’ll reveal my current team and trade plans for the upcoming round.

Around this, I’ll provide a watchlist ranking of every position, listing the players on the edge of cracking into my squad.

I find this a great way to keep myself on track with trades and planning, so that I don’t get too caught up in the hype for any one player. 

Note that if the player is already in my team, they won’t be included in the watchlist rankings.

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My team – Prior to Round 2 trades

Wicketkeepers: Gilkes, Inglis

Batters: M Short, Hales, Lynn, Rossouw, Bancroft, Wood, Stoinis

Bowlers: R Khan, Sams, Siddle, Farooqi, A Agar, Zampa, Cam Green

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Updated watch list and rankings

Wicketkeepers

1. Cameron Bancroft
2. Sam Billings
3. Josh Phillipe
4. Baxter Holt

Removed: Joe Clarke, Handscomb 

Not much action here outside of Bancroft, who I have a gut feeling about.

The dual position is handy and his form in different formats (including a 78* in a One Dayer and two Shield Centuries) and T20 practice matches (58 from 34 balls) has been strong. He’s also very affordable at $91k.

Handscomb comes out after not making the Renegades starting XI and Clarke is gone now that his double has passed.

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Batters

1. Cameron Bancroft (bat/wkp)
2. Faf Du Plessis
3. Aaron Hardie (bat/bowl)
4. Shadab Khan (bat/bowl)
5. Darcy Short (bat/bowl)
6. Colin Munro
7. James Bazley (bat/bowl)
8. Matt Renshaw (bat/bowl)
9. Josh Brown
10. Michael Neser (bat/bowl)
11. Cooper Connolly (bat/bowl)

Removed: Handscomb

Added: Bancroft, Du Plessis, Brown

As above, I rate Bancroft highly. My only proviso is to wait for final teams to confirm he’s batting in the top 3. I would have Lyth (already in my team) before him though. Check out Tim’s Scorchers’ analysis for more info on the English import.

Faf is an interesting one. Across all formats in international matches in Australia, he averages 62 with the bat (per Cricinfo stats)!

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However, $180k for a bat only carries high risk. Especially coming up against fellow title contenders Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes. I’m leaning towards focussing on Scorchers’ bowlers instead.

I think Hardie is only of interest if named to bat in the top 4, which seems unlikely with the Scorchers still stacked for bats. With the ball he may get an over or two, but I wouldn’t expect much more.

Josh Brown will be a must if he holds his spot at the top of the order for the Heat’s round 3 double. However, wait until round 3 final teams to see whether this happens.

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Bowlers

1. Andrew Tye
2. Jason Behrendorff
3. Jhye Richardson
4. Akeal Hosein
5. Izharulhaq Naveed 
6. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
7. Shadab Khan (bat/bowl)
8. Matt Kuhnemann
9. Mitchell Swepson
10. Chris Green
11. Lance Morris
12. Sean Abbott
13. Mark Steketee
14. James Bazley (bat/bowl)
15. Matt Renshaw (bat/bowl)
16. Michael Neser (bat/bowl)
17. Harry Conway

Removed: Coulter-Nile, Boult, Thornton,

Added: Behrendorff, J Richardson, Naveed, Kuhnemann, Hosein

Players with a double round have been removed and those with a double this / upcoming rounds have been added. 

Tye and Behrendorff are my top two targets for this round. Just keep an eye on final teams, as the Scorchers are also stacked for quicks. 

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Whilst Jhye is also on the list, his recent fitness concerns suggest to me he may not be worth the risk. However, at his best he’s close to the best player in Supercoach. It’s something for us all to weigh up.

Naveed, Hosein and Kuhnemann are all going to make cash and have upcoming doubles. Hosein looks the pick of those 3, albeit he’s a tad more expensive. 

I think it’s worth waiting for confirmation Kuhnemann is named for round 3. 

Naveed will have a low B.E. and looked excellent in round 1. With Chris Jordan to come back, playing the Sixers’ round 5 double could be a bit much to ask but if he does owners will have hit the jackpot! 

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Trade thoughts 

At this stage I think I’ll fade Faf. 

Tye is my first priority given his pedigree. My Sscond trade could be Behrendorff or Bancroft. Probably the former given bowlers more consistently net points. 

The third trade I’ll probably make after the Scorchers game. If Inglis succeeds, Gilkes to Holt could be on the cards to lock in the emergency loop. If not, I like the look of Hosein. 

Siddle, Lynn, Short, Wood and Zampa are all trade out options pending how this afternoon’s games go.

Happy trading and enjoy round 2!