Thommo’s Takes | BBL Supercoach round 3 wrap

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 3 is done, where two teams were on the double.

Stars’ batting order shenanigans and surprising players performing were the theme of the double.

We also saw Matt Short dominance.

This is a film I feel like we have all seen before…

Sixers vs Stars

Result: Stars won by 7 wickets

Takes:

*One change for the Stars. Merlo in replacing the injured Tom Rogers. Much to the annoyance of many a supercoacher, he then batted at number 4 for the Stars. Tom Curran also came in at number 5 during junk time. No time at the crease for popular players Maxy and Stoinis. 

*Sixers made two changes for this clash. SC gun Abbott made his return from a hamstring injury. Manenti also had his first appearance of the year for the Sixers. The two players to make way were the spinning duo Murphy and Chohan.

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*Sammy Harper, opening the batting again, let us know that it was no fluke what he did last game. 110 not out off just 60 balls. 165 SC points and well done to the believers who traded him in!

*Tom Curran came back to haunt his old side. 3/26 including a wicket maiden! 121 SC points. An under-the-radar VC choice for those who went that way! In seasons past, he would have been a very popular choice, but not so much when many went the Stoinis or Maxy route.

*86 SC points for the captain of the Stars (Stoinis). All from fielding and bowling. No batting points at all so people who went the VC option there were happy but probably thought what could have been if he made his way to the crease. 

*Lots of fielding points for a fired up Maxy. 32 SC was underwhelming for those that traded him in. 2 overs 0/18 when bowling. He seems to be guaranteed to bowl but it is very unlikely he will ever get 4 in unless it is a vicious spinning wicket.

*Siddle is like a fine wine and arguably is the form bowler of the BBL. 3/23 off his 4 overs and proving vital in surge and deaths overs. He probably should have had a hatrick too! 107 SC points.

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*Rauf expensive in his 4 overs and just the 1 wicket. 

*Opening the batting Dan Hughes the only Sixer who looked good. 60 runs off 42 deliveries to top the SC scoring for the Sixers.

*Joel Davies was a potential trade in cheapie for some with a huge negative breakeven and BAT/BWL eligibility. 4 tidy overs and was the Sixers’ best bowler. 2/16 for him. 

*A rare low SC scoring game for JED but role was still there. He bowled his 4 overs and was there during the power surge with the bat, but he just wasn’t hitting them well on this occasion. 

Scorchers vs Hurricanes

Result: Hurricanes won by 4 wickets

Takes:

*One change for the team in purple. Wade was out injured, and in came Mac Wright, and Ben McDermott took the gloves. Still no Stanlake, which meant overs for Owen and Ahmed took account as the 5th bowler. Both 2 overs and both 1 wicket. Not bad for owners, but you would love that 3rd to activate possible economy bonus and/or wicket opportunities. Owen owners and those who captained him would have appreciated that. Those who faded him this round need to take note, too if he looks like he will roll the arm over semi-regularly. 

*One change for the home side. Beardman in for Richo.

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*Finn Allen looks ominous and is striking the ball very cleanly at the moment. He top-scored for the Scorchers with 43 runs at a high strike rate, as he normally does.

*Connolly failed to fire for the first time with the bat. Have no fear those he stepped up for the first time this tournament to deliver from the bowling perspective. 3/23 off his 3 overs. Very pricey but it is hard to recommend fading him with the double next round. He top-scored for the Scorchers with 87 SC points.

*Hobson and Evans did what they could do from time to time and click during a power surge. 

*PODish bowlers amongst ownership of the top 5% Meredith and Hossain scored very well for the Hurricanes with 82 and 77 SC points respectively. Meredith was economical for this first time this tournament and Hossain took 3 wickets.

*The other players who scored well for the Canes were Tim David, who did some Tim David things before retiring hurt with what unfortunately looked like more than a hamstring niggle. 

*Popular Hurricane players Jordan, Chaudhary, Owen, Ellis, and McDermott all avoided a disaster score, but did not put up a good, solid score. All between 24 and 45 SC points. It will all depend on how they fare in their second game of the round. 

*2 overs and batting at 7 for Rehan Ahmed. Not a true all-rounder role.

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Heat vs Strikers

Result: Heat won by 7 runs

Takes:

*The Heat predictably made a bowling line-up change, considering some of the totals they have conceded this BBL. Balkin in for his debut replacing Haskett. He held his nerve and should get some more games. 2/30 and doing well in the final over, granted he wasn’t bowling to major threats, but well done to the young fella!

*Many changes for the Strikers’ line-up as they really shook up things. Outs were Ross, Sangha and as they tend to do at some point each BBL Thornton. The ins were the international Wood as well as Manenti and Harvey.

*3 overs for Matt Short (he should have probably bowled 4!) and 2/13. Some catches and a quick-fire 63 off 39 balls. A mammoth 175 SC points in a single game round. It is a matter of when and clearly not if we get him. Do you wait later till the Strikers have their double or act quickly to get him in now? Can you get Cooper and Short next week at large prices? In regards to Short opening the batting, bowling bulk overs and fielding in hot spots, it really doesn’t get much better than that. We don’t want to points chase but with him it does feel a bit different! We’ve got some thinking to do once lockout lifts.

*Another bloke who has a gun SC role Wildermuth was rock solid again. Failed to fire with the bat and expensive with the rock but wickets and catches meant he reached 55SC points which would get a tick of approval from the dual champ Andrew Langley!

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*Bartlett scores more points in this game than he did with his double game round last round! Typical SC! 124 SC points with 3/26 off his 4 overs, 2 catches and sine bonus batting points. Well done to those that held and were able to get him on field. It doesn’t get SC points but I also thought he captained pretty well in some tense moments.

*If we see a turnaround in form. The veteran Chris Lynn will be very cheap soon!

*Wadia is not a pain for those looping. He is a genuine cash cow! Some big blows to start his innings and he got Adelaide in a prime position to win the match. 70 SC points. He did bowl 1 over, but I do get the impression he will only be a part-time bowler. 

*Renshaw is going well still with the bat and even bowled a cheeky over where he captured a wicket, but the stand out for the Heat  with the willow was Max Bryant. 63 off 32 deliveries and 98 SC points.

*Liam Scott 1 over 1/6. Bit stiff not to get a second!

*Multiple wickets for Wood and Ali.

*A rare quiet night for Overton. Same role but he just went wicketless and didn’t score many but did have the opportunity too. Hopefully thise means we can get him at a reduced price because he still is a prime target when the schedule dictates.

*Potential injury for Shaheen Afridi who didn’t complete his 4 overs.

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Stars vs Thunder

Result: Stars won by 9 wickets  

Takes:

*One change for both sides. McAndrew was out with illness replaced by Ryan Hadley. Rogers was back for the Stars and replaced Merlo.

*Stars bowlers did it again, restricting their opponents to a modest total. 

*Maxwell and Stoinis shared the 5^th bowler overs, however, only one over again for Maxy, who is yet the bowl 4 overs this tournament. 

*Stoinis again good with the ball taking 2/25 off his 3 overs. 55 SC points and 141 SC points for the round without even batting! Imagine if he did bat!

*Pick of the bowlers for the Stars was Rauf who was fairly economical and took 3/29 off his 4 overs. He even could have had a couple more wickets with a bit more luck.

*Swepson with his best outing in Stars colours taking 2/18 off his 4 overs. A cheapie option for people to consider ahead of round 5 that would have the Tim Williams tick of approval for sure. He is seat 1A of the Mitch Swepson fan club. What I do like about him is that he is part of the best side, part of the best bowling attack who are regularly taking the best part of 10 wickets each match. If you are going to go a cheap bowler, take the one from a side who regularly takes many wickets and they could get their slice of the pie across the double game round. 

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*Curran and Siddle both keeping up their fine form. 186 SC points and 152 SC points across the two game. Owners would be very happy with that! It would be very SC if we go to pick up Siddle next round and then he is rested second game!

*Thunder batting was ordinary and no-one made a decent score.

*A sad night for Sams. Only 3 SC points in an off night. 

*Joe Clarke’s turn tonight for the Stars. 60 off 37 balls to find some time in the middle to emerge as a cheap keeper option before the round 2 double. 

*Not as clean, not as explosive, but runs are runs for Sammy Harper who made 29 off 27 to not be dismissed across both games this round. He should be in this opening spot for the rest of the tournament. 204 SC points across the two games is elite!

*Maxy gave owners a taste of what he can do. Like a good quality slice of cheesecake, it was delicious, but you are left wanting more. 39 off 20 balls in an explosive innings that delivered some massive hits, some switch hitting left-handed magic and some off the toe end that went no where. 74 SC points in the little cameo. His position in the batting order is still one that is as flexible as it comes. The Stars have chased in all matches. I want to see them bat first and how they use Maxy and also Stoinis when they are setting a target, rather than chasing down a modest total like they have done each game this tournament. 

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Hurricanes vs Renegades

Result: Hurricanes won by 4 wickets. 

Takes:

*Two changes for the home side. In were Beau Webster and Wade back from injury (who was very handy during the run chase). Outs were David who unfortunately looks set to miss the whole BBL as well as Wright. Tye in for his first game for his new side replacing Fergus. 

*A great powerplay for the Renegades as Brown was finally able to hit a few boundaries along with Seifert who has done it all tournament before the momentum stopped and spluttered for pretty much the rest of the innings.

*Not a BBL trade in because he is going to play in the U19 World Cup but Peake again looked impressive for a young player. A move up the order and he will be a player for us to consider to years to come. 

*Rehan Ahmed the top SC scorer for the Hurricanes with 93 SC points. 3 tidy overs where he was unlucky to pick up a pole. A cheeky run out, a quick-fire 23 and a catch. Some injuries to players above in the order, recalls to the test squad and some players underperforming. This could be optimistic but I am watching to see if he is promoted up the order. 

*Ellis with clearly his best game so far. 3/30 off his 4 overs.

*The underrated performance across both games for the Hurricanes was Rishad Hossain. 2 wickets and a good catch in this one as he top scored for the men in purple with 136 SC points across their double. BAT/BWL eligible too!

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*1 over for Mitch Owen where he took a wicket. This, unfortunately for owners and captainers was where it stayed. The old adage swinging like a rusty game comes to mind when thinking of his innings against the Hurricanes. He looks like a totally different player to the one who dominated last years BBL. 

*Zampa clearly the best Renegade bowler. 3/25 off his 4 overs. The more cricket he plays, the better he gets in this tournament one would imagine. 

*Hurricanes batters were spluttery like the Renegades until Wade and Ahmed got busy at the end.

*Good news for Chaudhary owners who came in and batted after what looked like a painful shoulder injury he suffered in the field when attempting a boundary catch. He came in at 5 but this should only be temporary as Webster will be back in the test squad and the opening combination for the Canes not working so well.

*McDermott with a duck. He didn’t pick Zampa whatsoever.

*Small shout out the Sandhu who I thought bowled okay for the Gades. 1/50 off his 4 overs seems harsh but that can be the nature of the T20 beast.