Team analysis: Sydney Thunder BBL13 targets

The Sydney Thunder will be out to add a second title to their trophy cabinet in BBL13.

It was slow going early on for the Thunder, missing the finals in seven of the first eight tournaments, with their sole title wedged in between in BBL05.

Recently they’ve been fairly consistent without really competing deep into the tournament, making four consecutive finals appearance before being knocked out early on.

They have an extremely settled roster that’s not overly different to past years, adding Cameron Bancroft and Pakistani quick Zaman Khan.

Fresh off an Australian T20 campaign, Tanveer Sangha is also fit and firing after missing all of last year’s tournament due to injury.

They’re only somewhat relevant to begin the Supercoach season, with no double game week until Round 4. They have their one and only bye in Round 6.

Despite this, they have a great draw in Round 2 and 3 for looping players, so it’s an extremely viable option to store a player or two on your bench for that purpose, that will also have you prepared for that looming double game round.

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GUNS

Daniel Sams // BAT-BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: 52.2 // $162,500

Sams is set to play the entire tournament which is exciting for the Thunder and for Supercoaches.

He’s been a Supercoach star for a number of years and is sure to again factor throughout the tournament despite the Thunder’s slightly unappealing draw.

His Supercoach record reads:

BBL12: 52.2

BBL11: 61.8

BBL10: 65.2

BBL09: 68.5

BBL08: 59.1

You could potentially start him as an auto-emergency option for round 2 and 3, with the round 4 double in mind, but at the price it’s probably not worth it.

Wait to pounce round 4 is the best play in my eyes.

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Alex Hales // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 40.6 // $125,600

Hales is one of the most explosive batsmen in world cricket and he knows the Australian conditions well.

Like every bat only Supercoach player he’s naturally rocks or diamonds, but when he’s in touch he can go on some big runs of scoring.

For that reason I think he’s best utilised for doubles only, or potentially if there’s a good run of loop opportunities for the Thunder.

His Supercoach record reads:

BBL12: 40.6

BBL11: 44.9

BBL10: 58.9

BBL09: 56.6

His recent form in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament has been poor, but he did blast a brilliant 119* (57 balls) in the T20 Caribbean Premier League in September, so the form isn’t far away.

I think he’s far too risky to start with, but another that will be in many teams come round 4.

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MID-RANGERS

Ollie Davies // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 37.8 // $117,100

Ollie Davies is under an injury cloud coming into the tournament, so Supercoach wise he’s probably not worth starting with.

However, he’s been in terrific domestic form of late and looks set for a breakout tournament.

Watch and get ready to pounce for the round 4 double if he’s fit to play.

CHEAPIES

Tanveer Sangha // BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: N/A // $83,800

As it stands Tanveer is in my team to start the competition.

If we’re calling a cheapie sub $80k, he’s narroly above it, but oh boy is he cheap!

He missed all of last season due to injury hence the cheap price.

In the tournament prior he averaged 45.1 Supercoach points and 42.2 before that.

Not exactly numbers to get overly excited about, but this was also a very young spinner learning his craft.

Australian selection has shown how far he’s come in recent years.

In 38 career T20s he has taken 52 wickets at a strike-rate of 19.09, with an economy of 7.77.

He played all five T20s against India recently, taken five wickets for the series.

I see him as a great way to save money early on, store on the bench as a round 2 and 3 auto-emergency loop play, and lock in for the round 4 double hopefully at a significant increase in value.

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Sydney Thunder – Predicted Round 1 team and rationale via Max Bryden

Matt Gilkes // WKP-BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 32.8 // $101,600

Alex Hales // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 40.6 // $125,600

Cameron Bancroft // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 51.0 // $158,000

Ollie Davies // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 37.8 // $117,100

Jason Sangha // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 24.0 // $113,600

Alex Ross // BAT // SC BBL 12 Ave: 27.6 // $85,400

Daniel Sams // BAT-BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: 52.2 // $162,500

Nathan McAndrew // BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: 51.6 // $159,900

Chris Green // BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: 50.9 // $157,600

Tanveer Sangha // BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: N/A // $83,800

Zaman Khan // BWL // SC BBL 12 Ave: N/A // $105,000

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Unavailable/Reserves

Liam Hatcher, Blake Nikitaras, David Warner (Test Team), Gurinder Sandhu

Changes from last year

Cameron Bancroft joins and has quietly put together a good T20 resume over the last two seasons.

Having missed Test selection he should slot in at number three.

Legspinner Tanveer Sangha is back after stress fractures ruined his summer and will be a popular cheapie.

Pakistani quick Zaman Khan has the ‘unknown’ factor and will bowl death. Liam Hatcher returns to the team he was previously signed to but never played for and could be used in rotation alongside Gurinder Sandhu and Nathan McAndrew.

David Warner will be available to play the last 3-4 games for the Thunder. Reserves Ben Cutting and Baxter Holt haven’t been retained.

Rationale

Quite a settled lineup with a batting order which largely picks itself.

Jason Sangha has been in poor form and has lost the captaincy to Chris Green. 

Dan Sams continues to be a stud on the International T20 circuit and McAndrew and Ollie Davies are both having breakout summers to-date.