Team Reveal: 2x Supercoach champion’s Round 1 side

G’day Supercoaches,

Diabolical Point is almost in position to tackle the BBL|14 season.  However, there is no doubt that there will be some fine tuning between now and the commencement of Round 1.

This season is no different to previous seasons for me, so those coaches who know me well will not be surprised to hear that my starting team is based heavily on a fixture focused approach.

My team is currently dominated with players from the four teams that have double game rounds in the first two rounds. Whilst there are certainly some players who offer great value from other teams, I am prepared to wait and target them during the season.

The biggest challenge this year, as always, will be trying to find that fine line where we balance points scoring on field with quick cash generation early in the season. Cash generation is critical for maximising points later on, however, we can’t let ourselves fall too far behind the leading pack points wise whilst we generate that cash!

My starting team currently has $60,800 in the bank to help with team adjustments.

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WICKETKEEPERS

I have made the decision to minimise my wicketkeeper spend this year.  With the Flex position seeing our worst on field score dropping off, I am prepared to concede the position in the effort to try and get a stronger squad overall.

Wicketkeepers can be volatile scorers and I am struggling to see much value with many players in the position to start the season. Therefore, I am happy to wait for a stronger wicketkeeper to appear at value during the season.

Jake Doran 39,500

Jake is currently sitting in my team as a loop option because his team plays late in Round 1. However, I could switch him to another cheap playing wicketkeeper if one presents.

Sam Harper 58,500

A lot of people were put off Sam after he struggled last season.  This season he appears to be in a battle with Tom Rogers for a spot in the Stars team.

Harper has been opening for Victoria in the domestic one day competition with Rogers batting down the order.  This has me thinking that he may have his nose slightly in front for that spot in the Stars team.

Given Harper plays the first game, if he is not named, I will switch him to Gilkes or Nielsen and wait to see if one of them is named.  If not, I will most likely look at Peirson or Bancroft who are the cheapest of the more locked in wicketkeeper position players.

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BATTERS

I have tried to balance my batting line evenly between players playing a double in Round 1 and those playing a double in Round 2. This is to aid maximising double scores on field and playing an emergency loop on cheaper single players in the first two rounds.

I have tried to keep a focus on allrounders in this position or batters who may have an outside chance to bowl given the volatility of bat only player scoring.

Glenn Maxwell 247,400

If Maxwell is fit, he will be locked into my team. Unfortunately, I don’t think that we are going to know for sure until the last minute. Decision making could have huge ramifications if he is not playing or if he is unlikely to bowl given his price.

He is the easiest player to use to jump to Matty Short in Round 2, so if we don’t have Maxwell to get there, the price jump from another player may be too large to fit Short in.

Therefore, if I don’t start Maxwell, I will need to decide between starting Short or turning Maxwell into a cheaper player who may be good value and banking the cash to keep my options open in Round 2.

Jamie Overton 207,700

Overton is back bowling for England which means that he will be a target for our teams in Round 2.  Given the price of the big Round 2 players, we are going to need to start some if we want to afford them all.

I feel that Overton has the role to warrant a starting position on field in preparation for Round 2.

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Beau Webster 164,700

Big Beau has the role and scoring ceiling that means that I am not prepared to risk going without him for the Stars opening double.

Based on last year, I think that he will bat at three and should get an over or two in most games.

After recently being added to the Australian squad, this becomes a wait and watch.

Hilton Cartwright 104,600

Cartwright is my insurance policy for Round 1.  Even though he bats at six, he is a very good chance to get a bat in both Round 1 matches given the strength of the Scorchers and Heat bowling lineups.

Cartwright batted in eight of the Stars ten games last year and passed 20 runs in six of those matches, with a strike rate over 150 in half of those matches.

The West Australian will be on his home deck in the first game and he is capable of scoring very quickly at the end of an innings. He also gets a bowl in all other formats of the game, so whilst unlikely given the abundance of Stars allrounders, there could be an unexpected bonus if he does jag an over.

My team is heavy in Stars players, so if he doesn’t get a bat, it will mean that my other players have scored well. If he does get a bat, he may be able to cover one of my other players scoring poorly.

This is one of the positions that I may use to bring in Will Sutherland if he looks over his side strain and looks like bowling by the time BBL starts.

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Marcus Stoinis 84,200

Marcus the perennial cheapie who somehow manages to frustrate coaches every year!

Given his price, the opening Stars double and his regular bowling for Australia, I am prepared to give him one last chance … though I think that I have said that for a couple of years now.

Fabian Allen 117,500

The West Indian is currently my 17^th player given there is still every chance that he won’t be here for the start of the season due to international duty.

I will use this position to try and find a bit more cash if I need it to strengthen my on-field side, though I am likely to be focusing on another value Striker or Scorcher if that is the case.

Ashton Turner 70,400

Turner feels like an easy low risk punt given his cheap price. Another middle order batter who could get the odd over.

He sits on the bench in Round 1 with the emergency in case he does snag a big score. However, if he doesn’t, no harm done and he will get two bites at the cherry in Round 2 to jag that score.

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BOWLERS

I will be spending a bit less on my bowling line compared to my batters mainly because I see a bit more value in the position.

It feels like batters can take a bit longer to get going at the start of the season, so I am prepared to take more of a risk with my bowlers.

Tom Curran 152,000

The Englishman is a proven performer in BBL with his death overs and big lower order hitting.

With an opening round double I am not prepared to bet against him, and given he is playing first up, he is very likely to be my Round 1 VC.

Tom Rogers 117,500

Tom Rogers of the bowling variety is a consistent performer at BBL level.

He will be locked in for four overs for the Renegades, so will get 48 balls in Round 1 to return a score.

Adam Zampa 80,100

Even though Zampa seems to perform better for Australia than he does in the BBL, he is world class and too good of a player to bet against given his price and opening double.

He is in almost half of teams and I think it would be more dangerous to bet against him with another cheapie than just joining the pack and grabbing him.

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Joel Paris 72,200

We need to find a couple of cheap starters and I think that Paris will get his opportunity for the Stars, particularly starting in his home state Western Australia.

He is an easy switch to Steketee or McKenzie if needed.

Will Salzmann 39,500

Salzmann is my loop depending on how my batting and bowling emergency players go.

If my emergencies fail, I will look to get Salzmann up to a cheap playing player.

Aaron Hardie 177,800

Hardie is starting in my team in preparation for his Round 2 double. Batting at three and likely to bowl regularly he has a plumb SuperCoach scoring role.

I am still tossing up whether to bite the bullet and start him straight on field or on my bench as an emergency. The final decision might depend on whether I bring in another Scorchers bowler to loop in the first game.

Henry Thornton 98,100

Thornton is great value for a bowler who is likely to be locked into the Strikers team bowling death overs.

He is sitting on my bench in readiness for his Round 2 double, though he could take the field if Hardie fails in the emergency position.

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FLEX

I am going to use the flex position to squeeze an extra bowler or allrounder into my squad early in the season.

Who I put in the position will depend on each round’s schedule as I want to use it to in a way that gives the rest of my team the best flexibility for emergency loops to unfold.

Fergus O’Neill 107,500

The Victorian quick is in great form this year in both Shield and One Day formats, so I think that he is ready to take the next step in BBL.

Depending on Sutherland’s fitness he may even get the opportunity to bat higher in the middle order.

The main thing worrying me currently is having three Renegades bowlers given their Round 3 bye.  Therefore, O’Neill or Rogers could make way for a Scorchers bowler in my team.

Such a switch would give me one less double player for Round 1, but an extra one for Round 2.  I just need to be comfortable that Perth bowlers won’t get rotated for their two away games in Round 2