Thommo’s Takes: SuperCoach BBL Round 1 wrap

Welcome to our review article at SC Playbook where we review the action from the previous round and see what impact it had on our side and what we can learn from it.

Thunder vs Stars

Result: Thunder won by 1 wicket

Takes:

• Stoinis and Burns were both game time decisions due to COVID. In hindsight, neither should have played and looked far from fit. I would just ignore the fact that they even played.
• Burns has copped a significant hamstring injury and looks likely to miss multiple matches. Unfortunate news for anyone who picked him up looking for a cheapie.
• Stoinis did bat at 5 and this mirrors the middle order role he has performed for Australia recently in T20 cricket.
• Webster has a better Supercoach role this year. He batted at number seven, but he bowled four tidy overs and even picked up two wickets in the last over of the match. Now, if Stoinis was fit, he would have shared some overs with Webster, but that performance has surely guaranteed him at least a couple of overs per match.
• Nathan Coulter-Nile wound back the clock with a vintage performance with bat and ball. He looked fit and sharp and it showed as he made 15 runs from 11 balls and made major damage with the ball taking 3/19.

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• Boult took two wickets early on, but it was a positive sign for owners he did bowl powerplay and death overs which owners would have enjoyed.
• Farooqi looks like he will be a danger for opposition and if you missed out on round one you need to consider for the round two double. We know that Qadir is lurking in the background once he arrives, but as a whole the Thunder bowling line up did a good job in their first match.
• Daniel Sams still probably has the best role in SC. Bowling four overs including some power surge and death. From a batting perspective, it looks like to me that the Thunder don’t want him involved in the action too early on. Preferably after the 10 over mark and/or around the power surge which as we know can be great for SC point scoring potential.
• Jason Sangha only bowled one over and batted at number four (one position lower than last year). This was not ideal for owners who were perhaps looking at him bowling more.
• Gurinder Sandhu was perhaps the best-looking batter out on the Manuka Oval deck. Nothing against the G man, but if he is looking most at ease at the crease, it is probably best just to forget any batters you had picked and move on to next week.
• Brody Couch is the best fielder in Australian cricket history.

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Strikers vs Sixers

Result: Strikers won by 51 runs

Takes

• New season = same old Matt Short. Opening the batting and bowling some overs. It may not be four each game, but there will be some overs.
• Short and de Grandhomme look likely to share the fifth bowler duties for the Strikers in the early season. I wonder if this changes once Rashid departs?
• Lynn looks like a good opening pick for those that went that way. He wasn’t at his explosive best, but 41 off 34, batting at number three is a handy return for his first game with the Strikers. Not too sure about the trumpet entrance though!?
• Adam Hose. Who said foreigners need time to adapt?
• Nielsen will bat down the order again this year and doesn’t look overly SC relevant.
• Rashid Khan doing Rashid Khan things. 3/21 in an impressive bowling display. Promoted up the order when looking for quick runs at the end too!
• Maxy’s pick Mr Thornton was another Adelaide bowler who looks the goods. 4/20 in an impressive display, including a death over. Great selection Maxy and I hope people were able to fit him in!

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• Siddle, although he didn’t take a wicket, looks like he will bowl the same overs he bowled last year and looks in great touch. Highly economical with his four overs.
• Some big-name Sixers had an off night. Whilst disappointing for fans like me, it does mean that names such as Kerr, Dwarshuis, DC, Vince and others should be reduced in price by the time their double game round (DGR) comes up in round five.
• Abbott just loves taking wickets.
• On debut, young spinner Izharulhaq Naveed did a great job whilst others were very expensive with the ball. He finished with figures of 2/25. With Jordan injured for a few rounds and Todd Murphy on the scene, what will his job security look like? Will he be there when the Sixers have their DGR?
• No bowling for DC even when the Strikers were dominating with the bat which I found a bit unusual. He is usually the break glass in case of emergency bowler, and I wonder if there is a slight niggle, they are saving him for the pointy end of the tournament or the bowling spikes have been put away for good?

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Heat vs Renegades

Result: Renegades won by 22 runs

Takes

• Nic Maddinson was the player of the match. In an opening role (one has not fulfilled for a few seasons now), he produced an awesome and controlled knock of 87 off just 49 balls. Marsh and Guptill will come into this side later on and Finch was batting at number four, but surely he has locked up an opening role after that! It is also worth noting that he didn’t bowl.
• It is a shame that Renegades player number 121 (Andre Russell) is only here for a guest stint because it looks like he has a SC friendly role. He batted at number six and bowled three overs.
• Finchy was batting at number four. From what I can gather this is something they will look to do on a regular basis now.
• Jono Wells had a rare failure. It might be his only one for the tournament. Whilst he isn’t overly SC relevant, I just love the bloke and the role he plays.
• Will Sutherland seems to have a very similar role to last year so I would expect similar scoring output.
• Bartlett was the same with the ball as his Supercoach price (#expensive). When Neser is back I guess he is the logical replacement.
• The Heat will look for different tactics during the power surge next time with Bartlett and Swepson very expensive.
• James Bazley was good with ball in hand. 2/19 off his four overs. This is where most of his points come even though he is classified as an all-rounder. He only passed that magical 20 run mark once last year and only reached 19 with a low strike-rate, considering the Heat were looking to go hard to pinch the game in the final five overs.
• It was spin to win for the Renegades who operated with mostly spin during the powerplay overs.
• Akeal Hosein continued on his fine form from the T10s with 3/15. Is he someone you look to bring in early so he isn’t a ridiculous price before the Renegades have the DGR in round 5?
• Mujeeb and Richo both went wicketless which means we could be looking at a handy discount before they come under heavy consideration in future rounds. Interesting to note that Richo did not bowl any powerplay overs.
• Renshaw missed the match and is expected back next match. Who will go out of the side for him in round 3? (Heat have the bye next round). Max Bryant and cheapie Josh Brown didn’t take their opportunity to guarantee themselves an opening role for the Heat long term (Brown did give us a glimpse though with one impressive six off Mujeeb!).

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Stars vs Hurricanes

Result: Stars won by 38 runs

Takes

• Joe Clarke shows why two bites of the cherry in a DGR can be a very useful thing. An awesome 100! You’ve put them in your side for a reason and you need to trust them. Then I see Stoinis, Gilkes, Rossouw, Hales etc etc. So make of that what you will.
• Webster moved up to number three and bowled four economical overs. It wasn’t in his best touch ever but he showed enough including a massive six that sounded even better than it looked, and it looked pretty good! No Stoinis again and I still want to see his exact role with Stoinis in the side. That being said, he looks like after two games he will bowl a decent amount and will continue to bat at number three. That role change screams enormous value and a trade in target early on if you do not own (like myself).
• Luke Wood had a nice performance with the ball. 3/25 off 4. He looks like the type of bowler who could go well at the MCG.
• Zampa confirming what we all thought and he will bounce back this year, especially if he is bowling to a decent target. 3/27 and he even bought himself on for the second last over!
• NCN again very handy bowling through the middle overs predominantly. 2/24 for him.
• Riley Meredith might be the best number eleven bat in the league!

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• Shadab Khan has an incredible role that looks highly conducive in SC scoring. Bowling four overs, batting at number four and having a real crack in the field! The schedule for the Hurricanes is not the tastiest over the next few rounds and he will leave for some ODIs in January, but that role will be awesome until he leaves. Some exact news about when he will play his final game would be really handy!
• Nathan Ellis only bowled one over when the drinks break occurred. It looks like the Hurricanes really have a plan to hold him back for the power surge and death overs. This will be awesome for scoring purposes and it was handy for future owners that he scored very low this round.
• Wade batting at number three. Not lower down the order like he has for Australia.
• Tim David will not have a set number, but reading the tea leaves it looks like he will be involved in more of the action this year. Still looks like a brave SC pick though!
• No overs for Short or Mr Neesham.
• The man with the best action in the BBL, Paddy Dooley bowled well. Controlled early on again by Clarke and then beat Stoinis with a peach. If he is bowling well it reduces the need for D’Arcy Short to bowl and he will have to rely on batting points, which have been gradually reducing over the past few seasons. He did open and this looks like his role that they want him to perform this season after experimenting last season with mixed results.

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Thunder vs Strikers

Result: Strikers won by 124 runs

Takes

• WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!
• Lynn again with a steady knock. Owners would be happy as he did much better over the round compared to Thunder batters on the double.
• De Grandhomme showed us something with the bat. We didn’t get the chance to see him bowl though to try and ascertain what role he will play consistently with the ball.
• Short had an off night with the bat. He can still score as he took a wicket and some catches, including an absolute screamer.
• The Thunder batting line-up delivered the ultimate collapse. It is something we may never see again in BBL history. Surely some changes to that batting line-up will occur next round after two poor batting displays. Will the batters we thought would play a double-double to start the season actually be there?
• Hales spent time off the field with injury. Something we need to monitor before round two.
• Sams again was very solid with ball in hand taking 2/23. Imagine his scoring when he scores some batting points too!
• Farooqi again was highly impressive. He won’t be loosing a spot in that team, even with the arrival of Qadir! Other internationals however…..
• Thornton was incredible, as was Agar. Great picks if you had either of them!
• No bowling for Siddle or Rash.
• Nielsen with five catches. Very handy points for any that selected him.
• Repeated first dot point for effect…..

Let me know each week what you thought was noteworthy from each game. In a fast-moving competition we need to keep on top of it all! Hit us up on the SC website, the WhatsApp group or through our Twitter (before it crashes and burns from what I am reading…..)