Thommo’s takes: SC BBL14 Round 1 wrap up

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.

Round 1 is done!

There were some cracking games and unbelievable moments.

The BBL is back and some things stay the same such as the Stars in general, and some things continue to surprise us, with Will Sutherland turning into the premier all rounder in the world.

Daniel Sams turned his bat into a missile launder to win the game when all looked lost and two Renegades players were on a hat-trick in the same game.

What was reinforced for you during the round and what was something you did not expect and you are taking a note of moving forward? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Scorchers vs Stars

Result: Scorchers won by 6 wickets

Takes:

• Jhye Richo was back in form. He looked dangerous early on his home deck and continued this form right throughout the innings. 3/19 off his 4 overs as he did not look troubled at all by his recent shoulder concerns.
• 6 bowlers used by Perth, with Cooper Connolly looking like a 6^th bowler (1/18 off 2 overs) who might get the odd one or two and will only get his full allotment of overs on decks that suit the spinners. Cooper batting at 3, taking the Hardie role made a nice 64 off 51 deliveries. 102 SC points in the match for Connolly!
• No 20^th over for Tye. In fact Behrendorff bowled the 18^th and 20^th overs for Perth which is something to monitor going forward. He also incredibly opened the match with a maiden over.
• Powerplay overs taken exclusively by Richo and Behrendorff for the Scorchers.
• Continuing on the theme from last year, the top order for the Stars did not fire early. Clarke, Harper and Rogers all dismissed cheaply.

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• Tom Curran rewarded early owners, vice captainers or straight captainers with a typical all round performance. Batting at 7 he equal top scored for the Stars with an explosive 37 off 19. He was tidy with his bowling spell taking 1/25 off his 4 overs.
• Webster with a different role to what many were expecting. Batting at number 6 and bowling no overs whatsoever. Definitely not the pure allrounder role!
• Stoinis bowling no overs. He looked steady and assured in the number 4 role with the bat until he ran himself out for 37.
• Only 5 bowlers used for the Stars. In a team full of at least 7 bowling options!
• Best wishes to Hilton Cartwright who had a scary moment when injuring himself when making a diving stop in the field.
• One for the brave, Turner and Hobson made quick runs and scored 47 and 62 SC points respectively. They will be cheap, have lowish breakevens and have the upcoming double.

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Sixers vs Renegades

Result: Sixers won by 5

Takes:

• The Renegades explosive openers were intriguing options leading into round one. Ultra aggressive batsmen who can go out cheaply or reach the 20 run strike rate bonus in quick time. Both owners and non-owners I think would feel okay after game with JFM (21 off 12) and Brown (22 off 10) activating the bonus but not getting out of hand for non-owners. A rare SC situation where both camps would be feeling like the decision they made was the right one. Confirmation will occur after their second game of the round.
• The keeper spot was the big mystery and headache causing position for most in the pre-season. Owners who paid up for Seifert would be feeling chummy after he made 55 off 42 with the bat and took 1 catch during his stint in the field for 85 SC points.  It wasn’t his greatest knock and he didn’t get too many right out of the screws, but he played his role for the Renegades. With two explosive openers, it probably is the role he will have to play this season.
• No-one else fired for the bat for the Gades expect at number 7 with “The Chief” having an allrounder game. A question mark lingered pre-season around injury and whether he would bowl. He was the sixth bowler used and didn’t enter the attach until the 12^th over, but he was the most effective bowler taking 2/20 off his 2.3 overs. Combine this with a catch and 36 off 28 with the bat and he finished 1 point short of the SC century! If Bethell replaces Khan next match it enhances Sutherland’s bowling prospects even more.

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• Renegades bowlers were overall expensive and did not rack up the SC points. Popular selections Zampa and O’Neill went wicketless, although to be fair to Zampa, it was only an expensive surge over that made his figures blow out. He did spent some time off the field during play, it could be something to monitor. Rogers got an early wicket but was expensive. Considering his price being under $100,000 Richo looks to be a good selection as he finished with 1/23 and is not being used early on in the innings, instead being used in the surge and probably death overs.
• Moises backing up his impressive round one performances from previous seasons, winning the match for the Sixers with 53 off 27 deliveries.
• Injury watch for the Sixers would could impact line ups and roles moving forward for them before their round 3 double. Hughes did not bat after injuring himself attempting a spectacular dive in the field and Hayden Kerr had to retire hurt with hamstring issues when batting.
• Both these possible injuries could further boost the prospects of Jack Edwards. He could have a permanent role batting at 3 and bowling overs each match. A role that should see him accumulate points. It could be a wise move to get him in quickly and not wait for the double if that is the case.
• Vince deserves a mention with 40 off 29 balls. A staple in the Sixers side for many years.
• 6 bowlers used by the Sixers and it could be hard to predict who will bowl their full allotment for them each game as it will come down to match ups, game situations, form, state of the pitch. I can see a world where Abbott, Dwarshuis and the soon to arrive Hosein bowl their 4 and the rest are distributed amongst the other bowlers.
• Speaking of Abbott, he was back to some of his SC form from the past taking two wickets and a catch.

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Thunder vs Strikers

Result: Thunder won by 2 wickets

Takes:

• To fade or not fade Short for round one? (and probably the first few games to be fair considering the price!) Faders are ahead after round one of the boxing match. Only 7 runs for Short. He bowled 2 overs and finished with 1/16 and took a catch to finish with 41 SC points. Something worth noting is that in what was a down game for him, he was still not too far away from the Andrew Langley 55 SC point involvement in what was a floor game for him. The hamstring injury to Allen probably enhances his bowling prospects moving forward.
• Cracking match for a neutral! The number of momentum swings was enormous!
• It was back to the future with Weatherald opening. He looked in good touch making 40 off 19. A positive role change and form means that he is one to consider before doubles in round 2 and 4.
• Nielsen at number 4 looks like he is warming the seat for when Ollie Pope arrives next match.
• Could Overton have the best role in SC? Batting at 6 and bowling death overs. 45 off 35 after a slow start with the bat and 2/28 with the ball from 3.4 overs. Same as Chief one short of the SC century!

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• The Adelaide bowling line up intrigues me and we want to get a good read on it before the round 2 and round 4 doubles. This could go on for a bit but please indulge my musings. Overton is a lock in there. He offers some changes ups and can bowl death, surge overs as well as overs outside of the opening 4 overs. Thornton offers pace and can get wickets. He can be expensive but I think Adelaide will take some boundaries conceded during his spell if he can grab a wicket or two for them. He was decent last night so his job security should be decent. Spin was the tactic that they used last year as they went on a nice winning streak and this was repeated in their opening line up with Pope, Boyce, Short and Allen all capable spinning options. Bazley was the third pace option last night and was not used after going for 19 runs in his only over. He was not at his best and was expensive last year with the ball, but complicating matters was that he was hugely important with the bat, coming in at number 8 and blasting 31 off just 12 deliveries as he got the Strikers to a highly competitive total. Does the injury to Allen allow the Strikers to select another pace bowling option? Do they want go with the two spin bowlers in Pope and Boyce. Pope was reasonable in his first 3 overs but that mammoth over where Same took him for 31 could lead to a rethink from the Strikers who may need another option to bowl towards the death in tight situations. The two most obvious replacements in Buckingham and Doggett also both have some intriguing questions marks around them. Doggett only played one game for them last year and is in and around the test squad at the moment. Buckingham himself is working his way back from injury and we are not really sure where he sits in the pecking order. He didn’t even make the squad for the match in the opening round. Is this due to injury management or a hint about where he fits in the scheme of things. Team lists and information are just so vital leading into round 2.
• Sam Konstas. What a debut! Don’t worry about a baggy green, how about a T20 cap? Controlled, intelligent strike power to all parts of the ground. 56 off 27 and he will have a massive negative breakeven coming into round 2. The Thunder are not relevant fixture wise, so he will be traded into sides purely for cash generation, not for point scoring. Is he a must have, as a pure batter his point scoring will be volatile and it will come down to whether he backs it up in round 2 and can activate the strike rate bonus by reaching the magical 20 run mark.
• Only 3 Thunder bowlers took wickets and they were all impressive. Ferguson bowled in the powerplay, surge and death and finished with 3/24. Green took 3/27 and Sangha took 2/27 off his 4 overs. Only 5 bowling options for the Thunder in their team last night, something us SC folk love.
• Sams went without a wicket but won the game for the Thunder making 42 off 18 as he deposited Pope to all parts in the 19^th over. Interestingly he came in at number 8 and Chris Green came in at number 7.
• It might not seem significant but I can see Billings taking on an important middle order role for the Thunder this year and we should see them batting out their overs and posting higher totals with someone with his sort of experience in the middle order to guide them through different match stages.

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Stars vs Heat

Result: Heat won by 8 wickets.

Takes:

• 1 change for the Stars with Kellaway in for Siddle. He was listed at 9, didn’t bat, but came in to bowl an over at an interesting time in the match. That was not on my bingo card…
• The Heat were seriously depleted and still got themselves to a comfortable victory away from home. Very impressive! On the other hand, line up changes are on the way for the Stars. Maxy and Duckett will be back. Clarke is out and many others may lose their place as they look to pick up their first win moving forward. Just check their squad and line up next match as this may impact your trade outs and ideally your want your players to last until round 3 when they have another double game round.
• The Melbourne Stars all-rounder merry-go-round is back in full swing. Beau and Marcus back bowling overs after not even looking like bowling over in Perth. Stoinis bowled quite well and took 1/20 off his 4 overs and again looked good with the bat making 26 off 17, before the power surge again lead to his demise. Bowling 4 overs and batting at 4 moving forward is a mint role, but how long can we see that lasting!? Webster again was at 6 and made 28 not out off 19 balls and bowled 2 overs. Unfortunately, he was a place in the test squad and even a chance at being in the playing eleven in a live series against India which means he may not be around for their round 3 double! Information and news is crucial here! This is where the SC Playbook WhatsApp is very handy. To finish with the Melbourne Stars allrounders, Curran still has a great role, but it just wasn’t his night. 4 SC points!

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• Harper and Clarke got some runs which is handy for those that put them in the keeper position.
• Xavier Barlett was awesome and can bowl at many stages in the innings. Powerplay, surge, death, middle overs. The man is so versatile. He won’t have the drastic reduction in salary like we were hoping before the Heat round 3 double.
• Talking of price drops, much better news for us who want Tall Paul at a reduced price before round 3. He only scored 13 SC points, but did bowl 4 overs! With SJ and Neser out for the time being he looks a preferred option to Whitney (3 overs) and Prestwidge (1 over).
• Swepson bowled really well. He is not as cheap as last year but could be a sneaky one for the Heat double. 1/15 off his 4 overs.
• All Heat batters looked reasonable and had their moments. Jack Wood (Did you know he is a good singer, it was like never mentioned on the coverage…) made 27 off 21 but looks like making way for Munro when he is ready. Owners of Renshaw would have been happy with his form with the bat. Only 18 off 10 balls, just missing out on the strike rate bonus, but he looked in reasonable nick. Max Bryant made 36 not out off just 22 balls and again looked comfortable out on the MCG.
• He played more the anchor role and it didn’t look great early when he was scoreless after around 8 balls and survived a DRS decision but Jimmy Pierson rewarded owners (8.3% of us out there!) with 97 SC points and he made his highest BBL score of 72 not out. With Tom Alsop out injured for a while, he looks like staying in the team as keeper for the foreseeable future and one would think he will keep opening after that knock.  Please keep going Jimmy!

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Renegades vs Hurricanes

Result: Renegades won by 6 wickets.

Takes:

• Well. That was unexpected but a great game for some supercoaches who went with certain Renegades. I guess it was the old adage about waiting till game 2 of a double round before assessing if a player was a correction selection in your side.
• Very hard to read much into this game for the Hurricanes, the only real thing we could see was the batting order. We did not get a read on how they want to go about things with their bowling rotations and allocations of overs.
• Shout out to Nathan Ellis who gave it a real crack on a rough night for the Canes. 115 SC points for Ellis who performed with both bat and ball. A reminder that when the time is right schedule wise he will be one of the first Hurricanes players picked for me because he is a competitor who puts in at all times, something I love in a supercoach selection.
• The double is not till round 8 for the Canes but there will already be some price reductions over the next couple of rounds for most of their players. Something to note and if they really bottom out in price, we could pounce early on.
• Sutherland again performed well with the ball. 3/14 off 3 overs including one maiden over and he bowled in the power surge over. He will have a massive negative breakeven going into round 2 and people who were thinking of trading out after round 1 will have to reconsider.
• Fergus O’Neill was the true representation of the adage mentioned previously.  114 SC points taking 3/16 off his 3 overs and taking 2 catches in the field. Most of his points for the round came off 1 over (when he took 3 wickets) which is kind of crazy. Is that something of a concern or just show what BBL scoring can be like?
• Rogers owners were happy too as he took 3/25 off his 3 overs and remarkably just like Fergus he was on a hat trick too during the match! A very, very solid 78 SC points for Rogers as he improved in game 2 as well.
• 2 bowlers who didn’t really get in on the wicket taking action were Zampa and Richo. Certainly a blow for owners, however, they will both be very cheap (even cheaper than original starting prices!) and will prove very handy to help us facilitate round 4 trades when Renegades are back on the double game round!
• Seifert again delivered for owners. 177 SC points across the round is far beyond even the most passionate Seifert supporters could have imagined. 3 catches and a quick fire 37 off just 19 balls. He made it look like he was batting on a different pitch as he despotised a couple of blows into the stands. He will have increased in price and is probably looking at a negative breakeven moving forward. Early days granted but he is looking like the answer at the moment to the tricky keeper position.
• In a similar vein to Zampa and Richo, JFM, Brown, Bethell and Laurie Evans couldn’t get going in this game and it keeps their price down for when they become relevant again in round 4.