Seeing Double: Scorchers, Strikers round 2 focus

The first round of BBL SuperCoach reinforced some of the fundamentals of BBL SuperCoach. Rule 1) doubles are great, but don’t just pick a bad player on the double. Rule 2) all-rounders dominate SuperCoach BBL. And Rule 3) controversial new one given the Flex – the keeper position is a lottery.

Hopefully you started well, but if you didn’t it’s ok – there’s plenty of time yet to climb the rankings. And the best way to do that is by taking what you’ve learnt and bringing that into your trades for Round 2. So let’s talk about this rounds double game week!

Round 2 double teams: Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers.

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Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Stars (Adelaide Oval, Game 1), vs Brisbane Heat (Gabba, Game 4).

Overview: The Strikers are an important to team to get right because not only do they have the double in Round 2, but they have another for Round 4. 

So there’s a chance here to get ahead of the game by nailing players that you want to own for the next three rounds combined.

We know they’re playing at two grounds that can be very high run-scoring grounds. And we also know they’re facing arguably the best (Heat) and worst (Stars) bowling attacks – so signs point to it being a good time to look at some batters.

Who has the best roles at the Strikers:

• Jamie Overton, batting 6 and bowling death is as good as it gets. Lock him in and consider the VC.
• Matt Short, opening the batting is his main skill but we know he can bowl half-decent as well. He’s very expensive and we don’t guarantee he will bowl his full overs but if you can afford, get him in.
• Henry Thornton, bowling death, surge and just generally being a gun of T20 cricket means he’s a juicy prospect.
• Jake Weatherald, has jumped D’Arcy Short in the pecking order to take the openers spot. And looks a great prospect given his form so far this summer.

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Who else is worth watching:

• Lloyd Pope, if you ignore his over to Dan Sams, Pope has been on a tear in T20 cricket. Most will avoid but he’s a juicy option.
• Cam Boyce, dominated Queensland’s T20 competition and is no stranger to taking wickets.
• James Bazely, unimpressive with the ball – which is not great news – but did well with the bat. Cheap and low breakeven means he’s pretty risk free.

Perth Scorchers vs Hobart Hurricanes (Bellerive, Game 2), and vs Melbourne Renegades (Marvel, Game 5).

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Overview: You know what you get from the Perth which is a great bowling attack and enough batting firepower to win most games. But the only question to arise from their first game is around Cooper Connolly – will he take overs off any of the fast bowlers?

Again they play at two higher scoring grounds where runs can flow given the short square boundaries. So someone is going to go big. It’s also there first and last double game week – so now is the time to cash in.

There’s always a risk of a resting and rotation given both games are away from home so monitor the situation closely – if the guy you want doesn’t play in Game 1, just get another bowler who is playing.

Who has the best roles:

• Cooper Connolly, for the short term he will bat 3. In the long term he is the 6th bowling option who can roll the arm over. It’s a great role and someone worth taking a punt on.
• Jhye Richardson, too good for this competition and bowls the big overs. He’s always a chance of a rest, but when on the field he’s a VC or C option.
• Jason Behrendorff, bowls the big overs unlike what he did as a younger man. Often overlooked but super capable and someone to consider.
• Andrew Tye, didn’t bowl the 20th over in Game 1 which sucked but we know he can capitalise on the pressure that this bowling unit builds to great effect.
• Finn Allen, world class talent. Plays a high risk style but more than capable of pulling it off.

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Who else is worth watching:

• Josh Inglis, high class player but his availability makes him a risk.
• Lance Morris, flys under the radar. Doesn’t go as well away from home but still world class.
• Ashton Agar, plays a defensive holding role but has his moments.

Verdict and strategy:

Given they have two doubles, I will lean towards the Strikers players in my trades albeit I won’t be able to afford Short and already own three of his teammates. Pending how they replace injured West Indian Fabian Allen I might bring in Bazely and benefit from his cash rise if he doesn’t earn SuperCoach points.

I also already own three Perth players. I might take a punt on a Finn Allen as I feel the two venues could suit his game, but a more conservative approach is probably to find another bowler from their attack.

I am a big advocate for building squad value and making cash as well, so my third trade is likely to be directed towards a money maker. Ideally this would be from the teams on the double in the next two rounds (Stars, Heat and Sixers have the double in Round 3) so I will wait until lockout to reassess.

My sells will be Fergus O’Neill, my nuff Rishad Hossain as well as most likely Beau Webster whose availability worries me.

Good luck with your trades!