SuperCoach BBL: Is it time to target the Renegades for your squad?
Conventional wisdom has it that this is the round in which to target the players from the reigning championship side – but could that be a false narrative ahead of Round 4? They have a heap of talented players but will they ever fire a shot?
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Conventional wisdom has it that this is the round in which to target the players from the reigning championship side – but could that be a false narrative ahead of Round 4? Sure, the Renegades have a heap of talented players – Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson – that could well be worth bringing in before their Round 5 double, but will they ever fire a shot?
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So far this season, the Renegades have been clearly the worst side in the competition; they’re the only side yet to register a win. Now for the first time this season they will play at their home ground of Marvel Stadium which is, frankly, a bit of a bowler’s paradise, which doesn’t bode well for the likes of top order players Finch, Harper, or Marsh, particularly when they are coming up against the undefeated Adelaide Strikers, who house a fearsome strike force with a wide variety of options in the likes of Pete Siddle, Wes Agar, Harry Conway, plus the guileful Afghani spinner Rashid Khan.
It’s especially true given that the Strikers have a double this round – if you didn’t get their players in in the previous round, this is a strong opportunity to benefit from their double in Round 4 before trading them out ahead of Round 5, when they are on the second of their two bye rounds.
BOOM OF THE ROUND: RILEY MEREDITH | HOBART HURRICANES | BWL | 122 points
While it would be so easy to pick Tom Curran after his incredible double match round performance, Shane Warne’s new favourite quick fired up against the ‘Gades, but was almost pipped at the points post by his teammate Nathan Ellis. Both quicks continued the trend that the fast bowler is the player du jour in BBL|09, with those two outpaced in the overall points tally by the likes of Sixers’ Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis, not to mention the Stars’ surprise packet Haris Rauf, who lost his place the match after taking a five-fer to international legend Dale Steyn. Suffice to say, Meredith – who as a Hurricane has no bye the entire SuperCoach BBL season – should absolutely be in more teams than just on 10%.
BUST OF THE ROUND: BILLY STANLAKE | ADELAIDE STRIKERS | BWL | 3 and 14 points
Perhaps not ALL fast bowlers are on fire in the BBL so far! Stanlake was in more sides than Meredith, but didn’t even come close to hitting the sort of numbers of the Hurricane, despite playing two matches in the SuperCoach BBL round. Against the Scorchers in the first match of the Round his only points came from three dot balls, while against the Renegades he boosted that to 11, but then lost two points for extras. At least he gained five bonus points for his Economy Rate, because his lack of wicket-taking is a major concern, as would be his guarantee of a spot in the Strikers’ side given the availability of Siddle, Agar, and Conway as fast bowling options.
UNIQUE OF THE ROUND: LLOYD POPE | SYDNEY SIXERS | BWL | 61 points and 108 points | 13.2% ownership
The 19-year old South Australian spinner looked to struggle with his control in his first match for the round, but still bowled 11 dot balls and claimed a wicket, as well as earning 25 bonus points for his Economy Rate. It gave no indication of what was to come at the Sixers’ home ground of the SCG, which has a history of being spin-friendly throughout the years. Pope affirmed that notion with an outstanding four-over spell, claiming 3/23, bowling 9 dot balls, and earning 15 bonus points for his Economy Rate. He’s one to give serious consideration to after the Sixers complete their Round 4 bye.
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PLAYERS TO TARGET NEXT ROUND
One of the trickiest things with managing a squad in SuperCoach BBL is to get ahead of the curve – while the Strikers have the double this round, and are thus the obvious team to target to bring into your side, they also immediately have a bye in Round 5 – so if you bring them in then you have to get rid of them immediately. Options may be to look towards the Heat, Hurricanes, and Thunder if you want to bed down your line-up, as they have no byes for the remainder of the season, or the Renegades, who won’t have a bye until Round 10.
SHAUN MARSH | MELBOURNE RENEGADES | BAT | 63.3 avg. | $163,800
While 134 runs in three innings thus far in his first season in red in the BBL is not exactly a smashing started, as noted previously, the reason to target Marsh is because of his historic scoring capacity in the competition. Coming in first drop for his new side, Marsh is equally capable of guiding the ‘Gades if they lose an early wicket or alternatively going hard early – when he’s got to double figures in his last 10 BBL innings, he’s gone on to make at least 30 runs. He’s a safe target at an affordable price point.
TOM BANTON | BRISBANE HEAT | WKP / BAT | 68.0 avg. | $136,400
He was a favourite in Round 1, amassing 136 points in total across two matches. Sadly for those extra few who brought him in ahead of Round 2, they missed out as he ended up in hospital battling illness! The likelihood is that he’ll only be around for the next few rounds, with England due to play white ball cricket in South Africa, and Banton part of their squad. If you want him back in your SuperCoach, now is the time to get him in.
USMAN KHAWAJA | SYDNEY THUNDER | BAT | 38.3 avg. | $156,200
With his price plummeting by more than $40,000 following a heap of failures, the 75% or so of SuperCoach players who don’t have the former Australian representative at all levels could definitely do worse than target the Thunder skipper. His poor run of form is sure to turn around soon and with a favourable fixture coming up – the Thunder are at the short square boundaries of Adelaide Oval next round before they play back-to-back home matches in Rounds 5 and 6 at Sydney Showground Stadium – it good be a very good time to bring Usman in.
PLAYERS TO AVOID NEXT ROUND
Clearly, it’s time to jettison the Sixers from your squad as they have a bye in Round 4 of the SuperCoach BBL season. There’s no point carrying donuts on field or on the bench when it’s three trades every round, use ‘em or lose ‘em, and you can instead bring them in again further down the track. So it’s goodbye to Philippe, Curran, and Henriques, all of whom are in over a third of sides.
GLENN MAXWELL | MELBOURNE STARS | BAT / BWL | 102.0 avg. | $235,700
It hurts to say it, as the Big Show is one of the absolute out-and-out stars of the BBL and a fan favourite for not just Stars’ fans but cricket followers worldwide. He’s been in super handy form and – unlike his teammate Marcus Stoinis – has also been rolling his arm over and impressing with the ball in hand. BUT, caveat emptor: it could be a case of chopping and changing with Maxwell over the next few weeks, rather than this week, when they face the in-form Hurricanes, as the Stars have the double in Round 5 and 7, but split that with a bye in Round 6.
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BILLY STANLAKE | ADELAIDE STRIKERS | BWL | 15.3 avg. | $90,800
As noted above, Stanlake is simply not taking wickets, and the tall quick may be in serious danger of losing his spot in the Strikers’ side. While they have the double, it’s simply not worth the risk that he’ll only play one of their two games before having the bye in the subsequent round.
MITCH SWEPSON | BRISBANE HEAT | BWL | 57.0 avg. | $121,400
In pretty handy form for the Heat, Swepson has been named as part of the Australian squad for the SCG Test, starting on Friday 3 January. With the Heat playing in the last match of Round 4 on New Year’s Day, the likelihood is that he won’t be in the Heat’s line-up.
CAPTAIN’S CHOICE
Ultimately you should be picking a Striker on the double this round and the options are wide and varied – you could go for one of their star top order batsmen – the in-form players such as Jake Weatherald, Alex Carey or Jon Wells. Alternatively look to their bowlers – Rashid Khan is the obvious option, but don’t sleep on Pete Siddle, who bowls at the death, takes wickets regularly, and is as miserly as they come. If push comes to shove it’s hard to go past the former … but with Siddle a handy price he is our choice bowling on Marvel Stadium and then on New Year’s Eve – the veteran loves nothing more than performing on a big occasion.
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Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: Is it time to target the Renegades for your squad?