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David Shortte’s Big Bash Preview

Posted on | Posted by David Shortte

The BBL 15 is set to get underway on Sunday with the Perth Scorchers hosting the Sydney Sixers at The Furnace.

I’ve had an extensive look through the teams and will share my overview of each team, suggest some key players to include in your Same Game Multis throughout the tournament and some overall tournament plays.

Adelaide Strikers

Team : Hasan Ali (Pakistan), Cameron Boyce, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Mackenzie Harvey, Travis Head, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton (England), Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Tom Straker, Henry Thornton, Luke Wood (England)

TABtouch Tournament Odds : To win outright : $8 Top 4 : $2

Overview : The Strikers will once again rely heavily on white ball stars Matt Short and veteran Chris Lynn to do the bulk of their run scoring before welcoming back Travis Head and Alex Carey post the Ashes. Alex Ross played some crucial knocks last summer and will offer key support.

English All-Rounder Jamie Overton has proven a valuable asset with bat and ball and will again have a big role to play while Henry Thornton remains one of their key spearheads. The twin spin options of Cameron Boyce and Lloyd Pope remain wicket taking threats through the middle overs.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : Matt Short missed a few games with injury last Big Bash which pulled back his numbers but his prior work was spectacular – use him to advantage in SGM and Hi-Bat markets. Ross could be good value for your SGM’s at bigger prices to pick off some 20’s and 30’s – he averaged 32 over 10 games last season. New recruit Jason Sangha scored 130 in 3 innings last season and is a close watch! Pope and Thornton were the top two wicket takers for Adelaide last season and look your wicket players for SGM’s.

Brisbane Heat

Team : Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan), Tom Alsop (England), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Lachie Hearne, Spencer Johnson (Injured – out for season), Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Michael Neser, Oli Patterson, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To win outright : $7 Top 4 : $1.80

Overview : The Heat had their troubles in the back part of last season and while their bowling lineup looks as potent as any side in the competition the same can’t be said for their batting.

Pakistan left arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi will team up with Xavier Bartlett to provide one of the most potent new ball attacks in the competition while Matt Kuhnemann has proven one of the more effective spinners in the league in recent times.

From a batting perspective the quartet of Renshaw, Bryant, Munro and McSweeney will have plenty of heavy lifting to do.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers :  Renshaw, Bryant and McSweeney all averaged between 29 and 43 last season and will get plenty of opportunities again this season – all good SGM 20 plus, 30 plus players. Bartlett is a favourite of mine in the most wickets and 2 plus wickets SGM space.

Hobart Hurricanes

Team : Rehan Ahmed (England), Marcus Bean, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Chris Jordan (England), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Mac Wright

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To win outright : $5 Top 4 : $1.50

Overview : Last year’s champions and they once again have a magnificent squad assembled. Mitch Owen had a breakout tournament and was the league’s leading runscorer overall piling 452 runs in 11 games at an average of 45.2.

Tim David is coming off some phenomenal innings in the recent Abu Dhabi T10 tournament including a 98 not out off 30 balls in the final and while the Big Bash is a much better standard of competition he will be brimming with confidence. My query is when are they going to start batting him higher? A man of his destructive capabilities needs to face as many balls as possible. If we identify a move up the order for the Hurricanes we should be betting accordingly. Wade and McDermott are also proven commodities in the top order.

Their bowling is also deep with Ellis, Meredith and Jordan all high quality white ball operators.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : Owen and David are my go to men for runs while Ellis and Meredith consistently average 1-2 wickets per match for SGM’s.

Melbourne Renegades

Team : Jason Behrendorff, Josh Brown, Harry Dixon, Brendan Doggett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Caleb Jewell, Hassan Khan (Pakistan), Nathan Lyon, Fergus O’Neill, Ollie Peake, Muhammad Rizwan (Pakistan), Tom Rogers, Will Salzmann (Injured – out for season), Gurinder Sandhu, Tim Seifert (New Zealand), Callum Stow, Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa, AJ Tye (Late Inclusion)

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To win outright : $12 Top 4 : $2.25

Overview : The Renegades pulled off a couple of major recruiting coups landing veteran left armer Jason Behrendorff and dynamic Pakistan keeper batsman Muhammad Rizwan for this year’s tournament.

Tom Rogers was the second leading league wicket taker with 16 wickets and Behrendorff was number one with 17 wickets so one thing is for sure the Renegades will be looking to wreak some havoc with their new ball attack! It’s worth noting that their games in Geelong and at Marvel tend to be on decks that aren’t conducive to high scoring fixtures either.

To be fair though the Renegades are going to need their attack to fire because their batting lineup has proven inconsistent for some time now. Fraser-McGurk made just 188 runs at an average of less than 19 last season and their leading runscorer was Kiwi Tim Seifert with 200 at an average of 22. Will Sutherland continues to get better every season and his 191 at an average in the high 20’s was impressive.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : Behrendorff and Rogers will both take plenty of wickets while Rizwan will be our man for most runs markets for the Gades – he tends to take his time to get in and looks the sort of player they will bat around through the innings. Sutherland at value for 20’s and 30’s in SGM’s is on my radar too.

Melbourne Stars

Team : Austin Anlezark, Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Tom Curran (England), Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Hamish McKenzie, Jono Merlo, Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mark Steketee (Injured – out for season), Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Swepson, Tom Whitney

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To Win outright : $9 Top 4 : $2.10

Overview : Any side with Maxwell, Stoinis and Cartwright need to be respected from a pure gunpowder perspective but in reality it has been a bit of an all duck or no dinner sort of operation from the Stars in recent times. The emergence of Campbell Kellaway is exciting and this looks his tournament to step up in to his work. The overseas contingent of Clarke, Rauf and Curran are all quality operators and add some quality depth to the team in green.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : Maxwell is quite simply a Big Bash Monster and he fills his boots pretty much every Summer in this tournament. Last season’s 325 runs at an average of 54.16 tell you all you need to know about what to expect when he steps to the crease – He is the Hi-Bat King for the Stars. Keep a close eye on the emerging Kellaway – given opportunity he could absolutely score some nice runs, hopefully at a bit of value for SGM’s.

Perth Scorchers

Team : Ashton Agar, Finn Allen (New Zealand), Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Laurie Evans (England), Sam Fanning, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Bryce Jackson, Matthew Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris (Injured – out for season), Joel Paris, David Payne (England), Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To Win outright : $5.50 Top 4 : $1.58

Overview : This tournament the Perth Scorchers have pieced together one of the most spectacular white ball batting lineups the Big Bash has ever seen. Mitch Marsh and Finn Allen, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Laurie Evans and Ashton Turner with the potential for Josh Inglis to return at some point – Dynamite!

To counter that the Scorchers have lost their gun new ball bowler Jason Behrendorff and speed demon Lance Morris is out with injury. It is an attack that has the potential to leak runs but they will be backing that batting lineup to chase down whatever score their opponents put on the board. A fit and well Jhye Richardson returning to this bowling outfit with the new ball is high on my wish list.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : A fit and healthy Mitch Marsh for the entire tournament at the top of the order in the lead up to the T20 World Cup has run frenzy written all over it. He will be popular with me for Hi-Bat plays and overall tournament achievements. It doesn’t end there though – Connolly looks set for a quality campaign and Laurie Evans and Ashton Turner are two of the best run chase players in the game right now. Ashton Agar has always had a knack of taking 1 or 2 wickets in key moments and is a viable SGM option and if Richardson is healthy he can ruin opposition top orders.

Sydney Sixers

Team : Sean Abbott, Babar Azam (Pakistan), Jafer Chohan (England), Sam Curran (England), Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To Win outright : $6 Top 4 : $1.62

Overview : The Sixers have one of the most experienced and respected teams in the competition and an overall record which is the envy of many. Proven commodities like Henriques, Phillipe, Hughes, Silk, Abbott, Murphy and Dwarshius will be joined by Pakistan Superstar Babar Azam and Sam Curran along with journeyman Kane Richardson. When the Ashes concludes there is the prospect of Steve Smith and Mitch Starc joining them too!

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : Henriques may be getting on in years but he has been one of the most reliable run scorers in this league for a long time. He was the Sixers leading run scorer again last season with 236 at an average of 29.5. His best was 53 not out so he is not always a great hi-bat play but he is a wonderful 20 plus and 30 plus man for SGM’s. Dwarshius and Abbott simply take 1-2 wickets most games and can be relied on in the SGM space.

Sydney Thunder

Team : Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings (England), Ollie Davies, Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand), Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan (Pakistan), Sam Konstas, Nic Maddinson, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Adian O’Connor, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley (England), David Warner

TABtouch Tournament Odds :  To Win outright : $7.50 Top 4 : $2

Overview : The Thunder had a good time of it last season making it all the way to the final and most of the core of that side remain for BBL15. Retired International David Warner was the 2nd leading runscorer in the tournament managing 405 at an average of 45 and Sam Billings was as busy as ever at the crease with 271 runs at an average of over 30. At the top of the order the likes of Konstas, Davies and Bancroft can prove valuable allies. The attack of Sams, Topley, Khan, Ferguson, McAndrew and Green are one of the more experienced and reliable combinations in the competition.

SGM & Game By Game Helpers : David Warner showed last season that even in international retirement he is still a run machine. He may not be quite as destructive as what he was at his best but his experience generally means he bats long enough to put some nice scores on the board. He is a great Hi-Bat option.

Season Plays

I thought it was one of the most open tournaments in the history of the BBL and I don’t have a firm pick for the overall winner. The Scorchers, Sixers, Thunder and Hurricanes are all strong hopes and I don’t have much between them – take your pick!

I have had two bets in the top tournament run scorer space – Glenn Maxwell at $10 and Mitch Marsh at $11.

I have also had two bets in the top tournament wicket taker space – Ben Dwarshius at $15 and Xavier Bartlett at $23.

Keep an eye on TABtouch for the Bet with Shortte options.

David Shortte

*Odds correct at the time of publication.




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