Thommo’s takes: SC BBL14 Round 2 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 2 is in the books.

A round of chaos for us Supercoaches with unexpected changes and inclusions in some teams.

Also, some absolutely cracking games coming down to the last ball of the match!

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Strikers vs Stars

Result: Strikers won by 15 runs

Takes:

• Changes for both sides. Pope, Scott (a loop for some) and D’Arcy in for Nielsen, Allen and Lynn. Maxy, Siddle, Duckett and Warren in for the Stars who lost Clarke, McKenzie, Kellaway and Couch for their side from last match.

• Late addition D’Arcy Short and Alex Ross the only Adelaide batters to pass the magical 20 run mark. After some French cricket early Short of the D’Arcy variety started to hit them nicely.

• Starts for many if the Strikers big names (real life and SC) but that was all.

• Standard update in regards to the all-rounder merry-go-round for the Stars. 2 overs for Maxy, 2 owners for the Stoin, none on this occasion for Beau.

• Those that kept faith in Pope after his last over in round 1 were rewarded. 3/21 off his 4 overs.

• No Allen meant 3 overs for Short, including the 1^st and the 20^th. 2/23 off his 3 overs and more points were incoming until surprisingly Siddle was able to get him away. It smelt like a genuine allrounder ole considering Scott bowled 1 over and Bazley did not roll the arm over.

• The pace of Thornton was highly economical. 1/16 off his 4 overs including the wicket of the dangerous Maxwell. Could have had another if not for DRS sagas!

• Harper didn’t activate a strike rate bonus, but if your SC selection is scoring runs and at a keeper position, you will take it. 48 off 44 for him.

• Again Curran went wicketless and was expensive bowling, even though he bowled the overs we were wanting and expecting. Did get some runs to save his score but it is something worth monitoring. What are you going to do with him after their round 3 double?

• Best bowlers for the Stars were Siddle and Milne, both taking 2 wickets. This is not good for owners and/or Supercoachers as Milne is leaving and surely Sids doesn’t play both games for their double round.

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Hurricanes vs Scorchers

Result: Hurricanes won by 8 wickets

Takes:

• All about one man here. Mitch Owen single handedly winning the match for the Hurricanes opening that batting and making 101 not out for the Hurricanes. A massive negative breakeven and he is sure to be a discussion point leading into round 3 trades.

• One change for the Hurricanes with Jewell replacing Wade who looks set to miss multiple matches with a calf niggle. One surprising change for the Scorchers with the ever-present Tye left out for team balance and replaced by Josh Inglis.

• This change was a positive for Cooper Connolly who then bowled 4 overs and stayed at number 3. The SC points didn’t flow for him on this occasion (he should have had an LBW wicket and was dismissed just short of the 20 run strike rate bonus mark by a stunning catch from Big BILLY Stanlake who never looked like catching it. If he stays in a similar role, points should be plentiful.

• Only 2 wickets from the powerful Scorchers bowling line up in what was the most surprising take away from the game for me. Behrendorff with a very tidy spell of 2/21 off his 4 overs but no poles for Richo, Morris, Agar or Connolly.

• The exact same Finn film. Boundary first ball, dismissed second ball.

• Runs from Jennings, Inglis (on his return) and Turner. Any owners of these players would have been pleased with how they performed.

• Meredith the pick of the bowlers with 3/27 off his 4 overs.

• Not the wickets or SC scores from Ellis or Jordan but don’t let this deceive you. They both bowled well and will be on our radars when the time is right.

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Thunder vs Sixers

Result: Sixers won by 5 wickets

Takes:

• No changes to the playing XI for the Thunder. They did demonstrate though that they will change the batting order depending on the match situation. Sams was promoted when a wicket fell during the power surge and Rutherford came in before Billings too. Two changes for the Sixers with Hughes and Kerr out for Hosein and Shaw. That was a surprise selection for some Supercoachers who had Shaw in their line ups as a non-playing loop.

• Nothing sums up the BBL more than Konstas scoring a duck after his impressive 50 on debut and call up to the test squad.

• Bancroft playing a typical BBL anchor role on his way to 70 not out off 52 balls.

• Davies reminding us all of his power and ability to play against spin, hitting Todd Murphy for 3 straight Sixers to begin his only over.

• Edwards with an awesome SC role. Bowled 4 tidy overs, looked difficult to get away and he even bowled the last over. He then batted at 3 and looked steady until being run out by David Warner on 28 runs. He looks like a great trade in for non-owners before a round 3 double.

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• Another person who has risen to prominence before the upcoming Sixers double is a personal favourite of myself and Maxy, Ben Dwarshuis. 2/26 off his 4 overs including 2 in a very tidy power surge over. Promoted up the order due to his power hitting and the fact he is a left-hander, he won the game off his own bat with 20 off 8 balls including 2 critical sixes. 107 SC points and plenty of room on the bandwagon being driven by myself and Maxy.

• Hosein demonstrated he is an expensive but certainly a genuine option before their double next round with 2/23 off 4 overs, including bowling 2 overs in the powerplay.

• Philippe and Silk both making 30s to show that they are in solid form too. It goes against traditional SC logic but Silk has performed across doubles before for the Sixers.

• The schedule is not favourable but Ferguson again took multiple wickets, 2/32 off his 4 overs.

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Heat vs Strikers

Result: Heat won by 3 wickets.

Takes:

• 1 change for the Strikers. Weatherald out for Lynn. 2 changes for the Heat. Munro and McSweeney were in for Wood and Drew. Prestwidge kept his spot but Banton looks like replacing him when ready next round.

• 6 bowler again used by the Heat. Prestwidge the only multiple wicket taker with 2/16 off his 2 overs. Should have given him a 3^rd. (wishful owner here!)

• Bartlett bowled better than his figures suggest. 1/40 off his 4 overs. He will be expensive but is a real trade in target before their round 3 double.

• He still has a very similar role but is yet to explode like last year. 1/26 off his 3 overs and batting at number 6. Tall Paul is reducing in price nicely before a double. The fact he was dismissed one run short of the magical 20 run mark could be very handy as it means his price will continue to drop before the round 3 double. Definite target for sure!

• Great knocks from McSweeney and Renshaw to help the Heat chase down the total from the Strikers. Both present as options before the double with very low BEs.

• A very handy last ball caught and bowled for Matt Short that was significant for faders, owners and captainers! Again he was dismissed rather cheaply with the bat but bowled 4 overs taking 1/36. Do you trade and get back for round 4 or are you holding strong with the gun from seasons past?

• Jamie Overton was the VC or C choice over Short for round 2. 1/32 off his 4 overs but most points came via the bat where he scored 45 off 24 deliveries.

• Thornton was expensive, especially in the surge over he bowled, but he showed he was a genuine wicket taker taking 2/43 off his 4 overs.

• Pope (Lloyd) was again very good and an astute trade in for the round taking 2/17 from his 3 overs. Should have bowled 4 overs. They didn’t quite get their bowling order right the Strikers there. It might be a good learning for future trades about not letting one bad over from a bowler or one bad shot from a batter shapes our trades too much. Well done to owners who jumped on!

• Liam Scott bowling 3 overs and he was very reasonable, especially in the crucial last over. Could be a cheapie downgrade in round 4 when Adelaide have the double again?

• No overs again for Bazley, but a quick fire 23 off 11 balls did score good points for owners.

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Renegades vs Scorchers

Result: Renegades won by 2 wickets.

Takes:

• An unchanged line up for the Renegades. Many changes for the Scorchers. Richo, Morris and Hurst out for Spoors (on debut), Kelly and Tye. A Christmas bonus for Inglis owners as he was available for the second game of the round too.

• A pitch and an outfield that will suit bowlers and be very tough going for batters it seems. Swing and variable bounce and if you do get bat on bowl, the ball struggles to get across the outfield. The best way was to clear the fence for a six, rather than get it through the field.

• Cooper Connolly rewarding those that gave him the captain’s armband in round 2. A gritty 66 off 50 where he only increased the run rate towards the end of the Scorchers innings. 1/17 off 3 overs with the ball too with a single game score of 127 SC points.

• The only other Perth batter who had some success on the wicket was Spoors who made 29 off 26 deliveries.

• As you can imagine with the state of the pitch, SC points were available for Renegades bowlers. Tom Rogers the chief destroyer and only multiple wicket taker on his way to 111 SC points.

• Fergus and Will Sutherland both picked up wickets and were tidy to reward owners too!

• Zampa bowled the 20^th over, but only picked up one wicket, owners would have been wanting for wickets while the Perth lower order were swinging hard.

• Keep an eye on Kane Richardson and Zampa, they will be very cheap when the Renegades round 4 double rolls around.

• A “team batting effort” guided the Gades home, although it was slightly closer than perhaps they would have liked.

• Like the first game of the Perth double, Behrendorff was the only multiple wicket taker.

• Turner bowled an over, took a wicket as well as a couple of catches as well. Unexpected bonuses for those that targeted him as a cheap double game player this round. Just don’t expect him to bowl much moving forward.