SuperCoach BBL: How to work the Strikers’ quirky fixture

The Strikers don’t feature in Round 1 of SuperCoach BBL but play in four of the tournament’s nine fixtures over the Christmas/New Year period. The Phantom looks at how to best use the men in blue over the first month.

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SuperCoach BBL is all about working to the fixture and the Adelaide Strikers are the most intriguing team in the first month of the competition.

Adelaide travel to Canberra next Saturday night to take on Sydney Thunder for its opening match of BBL09.

But the problem for SuperCoaches is that is the first day of Round 2, meaning there will be no points coming from the men in Blue in the opening round.

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In Rounds 3 and 4, however, the Strikers feature in four of the nine fixtures meaning Adelaide’s big guns will be the key to big scores over the Christmas and New Year period.

The allotted three trades per round will allow SuperCoaches to add a Strikers flavour to their line-up ahead of Round 3 but to maximise the fixture and give yourself flexibility, given there’s plenty to play out before December 23, it’s important to plan ahead.

Strikers Rashid Khan and Jake Weatherald in BBL08. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

THE MUST-HAVE

Rashid Khan

$203,300, BWL

Going without the star Afghanistan leg-spinner, who will lead the Strikers’ bowling attack for a third Big Bash season, for the back-to-back double-game week is SuperCoach suicide. Over his 193-match T20 career, on average, Khan takes a wicket every 17 balls – 272 in total – and concedes just 6.24 runs per over.

Khan should be your main target ahead of Round 3 and, given there is no bye in Round 2, offloading a top-price Brisbane Heat player before their third-round bye might be the easiest way to get Khan in.

Given his price, you might need two trades to make it work, making the idea of stashing a Striker to start even more appealing.

THE STASH

Jake Weatherald

$108,900, BAT

After a disappointing Marsh Cup saw him average just 23, the Strikers opener has found form at first-class level, posting a 126 and 198 in South Australia’s three most-recent Shield games.

And it’s easy to forget the 25-year-old was the third-highest run-scorer in BBL07.

At that price, stashing Weatherald on the bench will help the Round 3 trading strategy - and your total points tally - significantly.

Wes Agar celebrates after dismissing Jake Carder of Western Australia on day 3 of the Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and South Australia at the WACA Ground. Picture: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Wes Agar

$84,200, BWL

An even cheaper bench option to carry through the opening round is Agar, the younger brother of Australian spinner Ashton. The exciting 22-year-old looks set to start ahead of fellow quicks Harry Conway and Nick Winter against the Thunder after an outstanding domestic summer to date. Agar claimed 11 scalps in the Marsh Cup and his 23 wickets in the Shield is the third-most at the break.

Billy Stanlake

$108,900, BWL

He’s slightly more expensive than Agar but stashing the towering 204cm quick is also worth some thought. Stanlake took 2/23 against Sri Lanka in the first of two T20 internationals in October but failed to take multiple wickets in his next six innings. He will, however, spearhead the Strikers’ attack in BBL09 after taking 11 wickets in each of the past two Big Bash seasons. But an economy rate of 9.07 – the highest of the top-30 leading wicket-takers last year – is a concern.

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Matt Short

$73,800, BAT

Short top-scored against the Melbourne Renegades last season, clubbing 65 off 41 balls but his 10 other innings in BBL08 resulted in a combined 67 runs. And his off-spin produced just two wickets. But after hitting 88 in Victoria’s middle order against NSW in the recent Marsh Cup, before taking 2/21 with the ball, the 24-year-old is a chance to turn it around this campaign. The price is keeping him in the conversation but I wouldn’t be carrying more than two Strikers through the first-round bye.

Phil Salt, centre, trains with the Strikers for the first time. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

THE OTHER TARGET

Phil Salt

$125,000, BAT

If you decide against stashing a Striker, take a closer look at the big-hitting Welshman against the Thunder, before considering ahead of Round 3. The 23-year-old has 1112 T20 career runs at an impressive strike rate of 154 and is a star in the field. After blasting 406 runs, with a strike rate 161, during England’s T20 Vitality Blast, Salt looms as one of the surprise packets of the tournament

DON’T BOTHER FOR NOW

Alex Carey

$139,000, BAT/WKP

Australia’s limited-overs keeper didn’t get a chance with the bat in the five T20 internationals last month. And to keep Carey’s role consistent - and with Jake Weatherald and Phil Salt likely to open-up the innings - it’s the middle order where the 27-year-old is set to remain in BBL09.