With Round one of the Supercoach BBL season now done and dusted, there are plenty of talking points revolving around my own team and how the first round played out. I will walk through each position and player-by-player to see how it all panned out, as well as my late changes to my squad.
Wicketkeepers:
There were a range of selections to choose from in the WKP position, some being a hit, whilst others were unfortunate flops. I stood by the experienced Heat import, Sam Billings, who managed a solid score of 56 (from two games). Billings ends the round as the second highest scoring wicketkeeper, behind Philippe who starred with 100 SC points. While the Heat were harmed by their Strikers matchup being abandoned due to rain, I am still happy with Billings' score as I plan to move him on after this round. Josh Philippe would still have been nice to have as his owners are protected by his ownership (52% at time of writing), but the Sixers don't have another double for the season.
The first change I was forced to make to my team was dealing with Whiteman's omission. While I still have Whiteman in my team, I switched him to a BAT slot and unwillingly traded Aaron Hardie to Matt Gilkes of the Thunder. Gilkes only managed 3 points in the Thunders single game, which wasn't ideal but I plan to hold him for their double in round four.
Batsmen:
Overall, I like each of my batsmen picks as they all firmed as key contributors to their individual matches and teams. I had a tough choice to either trade out Curran or Abbott, to make way for Neser who returned to the Heat's team. I chose to keep Curran, due to his batting/bowling capabilities, which now seems to be paying off as he smashed it with the ball. Managing figures of 0/23 and 3/19 off his four overs, in each of the Sixers first two games. Regardless of the Sixers lack of a double game round from here on in, Curran is still showing his ability to score well over time.
Secondly, Colin Munro starred across the Heat's first two games. Accumulating 145 runs in two innings, with a 99 not out against the Stars. Many people were fortunate enough to VC and loop him after the first game, whereas I went with Neser instead, who was still fairly solid with 105 SC all up.
Arguably the MVP of my team after this week, Sutherland smashed out 177 SC points across both games. Impressing with all his bowling change-ups and power with the bat, Sutherland seems the frontrunner to captain my team in round three.
The last on-field batsmen that remained unchanged was Stars captain, Glenn Maxwell. While his side struggled, Maxy still smacked a quick fire 23 off 14 deliveries and got a wicket with the ball. Maxwell should be a mainstay in every owners team regardless of the fixture. I just hope he doesn't begin to struggle like the Melbourne Stars are early in the competition.
Two of my late changes came in the BAT positions, with my hand being forced with Hardie and I moved Overton to make room for Jake Fraser-McGurk. When the Scorchers announced their first lineup, I required more cash to replace Whiteman. I decided to shift Whiteman so I could loop Fraser-McGurk's score of 73, meaning Hardie had to make way. This move seems to be successful at the moment, as JFM scored similarly to Hardie and the Scorchers don't have another double until round six. I chose to switch to Fraser-McGurk as he was positioned to bat at three, as well as the Renegades early double game round. This proved instrumental towards early cash generation, as JFM rose $10k after the first game, from a 48 run outing against the Sixers.
D'Arcy Short still remains stashed away on my bench to provide another double game player in this upcoming round. Although it was still slightly frustrating that the Strikers didn't play, as owners couldn't get a look into the Strikers squad.
Bowlers:
The bowler position was where my score started to falter, with two Melbourne players underperforming whilst being unlucky due to match conditions.
Michael Neser was my captain choice for the round, which I myself didn't even ponder as an option until he returned from the Prime Minister's XI. Although Munro proved to be the best C option, Neser was still impressive with 105 SC points across both games. Putting the captaincy choice aside, Neser was always going to require selection if he made it back to play. This meant that Sean Abbott made way, which seems to have worked since he only managed one wicket in the first game, then was omitted in the next match.
Australia's prime ODI spinner, Adam Zampa, stayed in my starting side. Zampa impressed with figures of 2/24 from his four overs, before being rested for the second match which was called off anyway. He was rested only because of his workload in the World Cup, so shouldn't be a concern for the Renegades upcoming double game round.
Paul Walter was the final Brisbane Heat player I selected. The English giant was decent in his first game with 30 SC points, but he fully illustrated his ability with 71 SC points in the second game. With the ball he has excellent, using different change ups in key moments in the game to take wickets and also taking a catch against the Stars. I plan to keep him on the bench to hopefully grow in price, as well as further improve in Australian conditions.
Afghanistan spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, was my other Melbourne Renegades bowler that I unfortunately took a risk on. He was already a frustrating pick because of the Melbourne Renegades abandoned second match, but he also didn't put out his regular economical performance against the Sixers. During Mujeeb's spell he bowled slightly wide of the stumps, opening up scoring opportunities for the Sydney Sixers batsmen. Accompanied by a high breakeven and the announcement of an Afghanistan T20 series, I'm looking to avoid the risks and probably move him on.
My final bowler on-field was the Stars stand-in captain, Marcus Stoinis. Stoinis is encountering a rough patch, currently stemming from late in the ODI World Cup to the start of the Stars BBL campaign. Across the Stars opening two games, Stoinis has scored 15 runs and hasn't taken a wicket. Despite this, Stoinis looked impressive with the new ball against the Scorchers, as he swung the ball late on his return to bowling. I will still hold him for the Stars round three double and his ownership is still protecting him (38.3% at time of writing).
Both Overton and Manenti remain in my team ready for this upcoming round, for the same reason as D'Arcy Short.
Plan for the round:
This week I am looking to take full advantage of the Strikers double by using maximum trades and the boost. I will also trade out as many Heat players as possible due to their upcoming bye, whilst also taking cash generation into consideration.
Firstly, Colin Munro will be traded out for Matt Short, who is the best Adelaide Strikers option as he opens the batting and bowls handy off spin at the beginning of an innings.
Secondly, Michael Neser will make way for Wes Agar of the Strikers. Agar is now a seasoned campaigner in the BBL, which I hope will allow him to at least compete with or outperform his teammates with the ball.
My last two trades lean into building some cash whilst having an eye on future double game rounds. Ben McDermott comes in and takes Sam Billings' place to mainly build towards the fixture, as the Heat have a third round bye whilst the Hurricanes have a double in the distant future.
Lastly, I have decided to trade out Mujeeb due to his high breakeven of 89, meaning another gun spinner in Tanveer Sangha arrives. Sangha was great in his teams first match of the season, taking three wickets with a 5.25 economy rate. His price is set to be boosted by his -35 breakeven, alongside the appealing double the Thunder have in round four.
I also have many loopholes set up across every line to give further chances to my bench players, as well as take advantage of Matt Short as a possible captain option.
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