Thommo’s Takes: SuperCoach BBL Round 2 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.

Watch out Nick Moon.

I’m coming for you and your NRL role!

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Scorchers vs Sixers

Result: Scorchers won by 38 runs

Takes:

• Nick Hobson has won the number three role for the Scorchers at the moment. He only made 8 runs but he is very good in the field which may keep him in the side for a while.
• Both openers continued on the BBL trend of struggling for runs. Only 4 for Lyth and 14 for Faf.
• Inglis did bat at number 4.
• Aaron Hardie batted at number six but did not bowl any overs. Maybe a promotion up the order could occur at some point this tournament because he played a perfect BBL knock considering the time in the match he entered Optus Stadium. He took his time early, built his innings along with Agar and then took full advantage of the power surge. It doesn’t look the ideal role batting middle order with no bowling but players in form is a good recipe for success! As we came to saw in game two though, the Scorchers are happy to give him a trundle though, but it may be hard to predict.
• Typical all-rounder game from Ashton Agar. Run a ball 24, 4 overs with a wicket and a tidy catch in the outfield. If he does that every game, he will be one to hold for a long, long time.
• Jackson Bird played to his strengths bowling overs early on and swinging the pill. 3/26 in what may be his best game for the tournament.
• Naveed again whilst inconsistent with line and length, was tidy economically and took 2 wickets. His job security is getting better with each game and Cameron “Bear” White spoke highly on him on the broadcast. You could have told me he was good Bear when I saw you at Club Narooma over Easter holidays!
• DC bowled one over and took a wicket. 0 overs and 0 wickets, now 1 over and 1 wicket. With this sort of progression jump on for their double game in round five where he will bowl 4 overs for 4 wickets.
• Abbott was again expensive (1/45) and couldn’t produce fireworks with the bat when my Sixers needed it. He is a proven BBL performer and will bounce back. He also should be a more reasonable price when we want to pick him up.
• No SOK or Dwarshuis for the Sixers. I presume SOK will come back (#rest), but will Benny?
• The Perth bowling attack are awesome. It was interesting to note no Hatz for this game.
• Shout out to Jordan Silk. Clearly the best batter for the Sixers to start the season.
• Kerr whilst not at his best with ball in hand (he set such a lofty standard for himself last year), showed he can strike a long ball with 42 off 35.
• The top order again didn’t fire for the Sixers. Patterson, Philippe, Vince and Henriques all not at their best.
• Behrendorff bowled well, but not as well as that fresh fade. He looked magnificent on the TV as he took 2/22. He bowled 4 overs (this doesn’t always happen), with the majority early on in the innings.
• Richo was the Thornton of round 2. 4/9 including a maiden. Not bad considering he hadn’t done too much bowling work this summer due to injury.
• Kelly wasn’t at his best, but I’ve seen worse figures than 1/31.
• Tye with a typical performance. 2/26 including a wicket on the last ball of the innings. A wicket to Tye, caught by Hardie would have been a welcome sight for some SC coaches.

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Renegades vs Thunder

Result: Renegades won by 4 wickets.

Takes:

• The Renegades look balanced and have clear roles as a cricket side. They are now 2 from 2 to start the season and might be finals bound. The have the Heat next round, Hobart and then two games against a Sixers side that are not firing on all cylinders at the moment. They are definitely more SC relevant compared to the last few seasons. That Gades Arcade entertainment zone looks pretty sweet too!
• Rilee Rossouw showed what he is capable of with 53 runs off just 38 balls. His innings included four powerful sixes and he looked set for a massive score before being dismissed early on in the power surge. He used the DRS successfully in his innings to one that looked plumb from my seat on first viewing!
• Gilkes and Hales again didn’t fire early on. They both were very steady and careful in their first few deliveries faced.
• Ross again produced a handy middle order knock with 39 off 23. A promotion above Sams in the order could be something to watch for soon. He might have been a sneaky Thunder batting pick to start the season (but that is in hindsight where we all are geniuses).
• Sams batting at 5 barely troubled the scorers. Would you have given that Finch catch out if you were 3^rd umpire?
• Renegades used just Hosein in the powerplay in this game and not Mujeeb. Only three overs for Hosein which was a tad unexpected.
• Renegades sharing the wickets around at the moment too. Only Rogers took more than one wicket.

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• Richo bowled a powerplay over this game and still maintains power surge and death overs. He was economical and only took one wicket, but, if he continues to bowl these overs he should take a bag of wickets soon and we want to be owners when he does!
• We need to watch when Russell departs soon where his four overs are dispersed too.
• Sams showed the value of a decent all-rounder. 3/33 off his four overs and I loved the passion and fire he displayed when making a breakthrough.
• Farooqi bowled okay and in the right overs for owners. Bowlers have these games now and again and I expect him to bounce back from his 0/32.
• Maddinson again impressed at the top of the order with 39 off 28. Not bad considering the old rolled ankle on top of a flashing bail. No overs again for him in the field though.
• Finchy has locked down that number 4 role now. 70 off 43. I still have a slight leaning to top order batters but that middle order role in not as disastrous for SC scoring as it typically has been. If you have quality, patience and then can capitalise in a power surge, runs can be made. Finch, Hardie, Ross, Silk have demonstrated this early on in the tournament.
• Jason Sangha injured his shoulder in the field and will miss some action.

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Hobart vs Scorchers

Result: Hurricanes won by 8 runs

Takes:

• Matty Wade with a quick fire 51 batting at number 3.
• Shadab Khan with an excellent role yet again. 22 runs and 1/22 with the ball, bowling some late overs. I want him in my side sooner rather than later. Confirmation about when he leaves for international cricket for Pakistan would be great!
• Tim David saved the day with 46 off 28. He has a better role this year than last year, albeit batting at number five.
• The windmill Dooley with an underrated 3 not out to stick around and run hard between the wickets with David at the end of the Hobart innings. Then with an unbelievable spell of 4/16. A massive negative breakeven beckons next round and Supercoachers will need to heavily consider bringing him in.
• D’Arcy Short showed some of his old form with the bat making 35 off 25. No action with the ball and not his finest night in the field.
• Ben McDermott is not quite in the same form as last year and will be at a heavily reduced price when the Hurricanes draw becomes more relevant.
• Kelly made way for Hatzoglou in the Perth bowling attack.
• Hardie showed he really is the 6^th bowler in the line up and will only be used when others are struggling. How did he not get at least a third over after taking 2/10 off 2. (Yes, I am an owner if you couldn’t tell). He also showed why batting at six is not ideal and he struggled to replicate the heroics he showed against the Sixers.
• Jhye is a gun. Enough said.
• Tye took 2/45 and was expensive with the ball. The wickets he did take were handy because the Hurricanes were rolling early.
• Faf showed why he is world class with a cameo to kick start the Perth innings. 32 off 16 before some dubious shouting may have contributed to his dismissal.
• Lyth again was not great. Same for Hobson. I wonder when/if Perth will make a change?
• Inglis was the best Perth batter by a fair margin. Coming in at that number four role, he made 62 off 37 and put Perth in a strong position to finish off the game.
• Nathan Ellis will bowl bulk death overs for the Hurricanes. Not only because he does this job quite well, there is simply no one else who has the skill set to perform it consistently. Only 1/38 but there will be a time where he takes a bag of wickets at the end of an innings.

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Strikers vs Thunder

Result: Strikers won by 6 wickets.

Takes:

• Changes in the Thunder line up for the first time this season. McAndrew was included in the squad for the injured Sangha and Davies was promoted up the order to number 4. He made some runs too, 42 off 30.
• Gilkes unfortunately could not turn his form around.
• Rossouw didn’t replicate his form from the previous match.
• Alex Hales loves Adelaide Oval. 68 off 50.
• Rashid Khan bowled a really good spell and was unlucky to only take 1 wicket.
• Thornton was really good again. 2/18. Why did he only bowl 3 overs?
• Siddle replicating his slow start like last year. Again going wicketless from his 4 overs.
• Short and Colin provided some really valuable overs for the Strikers. Short was highly economical from his 3 overs and Colin was great picking up two wickets and also proving hard to get away. We need to monitor their overs going forward as it is very rare over the last few years in T20 that Colin finishes his four overs.

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• The Adelaide innings could be summed up in one sentence. The Matt Short show. 65 off 44. He is doing similar things this year!
• Some Thunder bowlers were not at their best and were expensive. McAndrew is his first game was the pick of the bunch. Farooqi and Sandhu did a reasonable job too and tried their best to keep it tight.
• Lynn again was steady. 28 off 26. Hose did a job in the middle order as well.
• Sams had a shocker, but don’t overreact. The role is still as it was. He just had an off night with bat and ball.
• Adelaide Oval remains a great place to score runs when in form!