KFC SuperCoach BBL: Brisbane Heat players to pick, fixture and team advice

Brisbane Heat is the team every KFC SuperCoach is talking about ahead of the first ball of BBL13 on December 7. Find out how to enter your team and the best Heat picks here.

Set your alarms for 6.30pm on December 7.

The first Brisbane team of BBL13 will shape the plans of many KFC SuperCoaches hoping to take advantage of the Heat’s round 1 triple.

Brisbane has games against Melbourne Stars, Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder in the opening week of BBL13.

The problem confronting KFC SuperCoaches is many of the Heat’s best players won’t feature in all three games.

Nathan McSweeney has been chosen to lead the PM’s XI team.

Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson and Matthew Renshaw will also face Pakistan.

Marnus Labuschagne an Usman Khawaja will play in the season opener, but then jet off to Test duties and likely not feature again in the BBL this summer.

Despite those selection headaches, there are still a host of great Heat players to consider for your round 1 SuperCoach team.

Head over to supercoach.com.au and lock yours in today.

FIVE HEAT PLAYERS TO CONSIDER FOR ROUND 1

Englishman Sam Billings is back at the Heat. Picture: Russell Freeman/Getty Images

1. Sam Billings $116,900 WKP-BAT

The English wicketkeeper-bat averaged 23.4 runs in eight matches last season with a top score of 79. Those numbers sound concerning, but much of the risk is offset by Brisbane Heat’s triple in round 1. Billings has a breakeven (the score a player must hit to start making money) of 112, which is very achievable. He will almost certainly be keeping for the first two games while Jimmy Peirson is with the PM’s XI and is likely to bat in the top four. His form this year hasn’t been great, but Billings is capable of exploding out of the blocks.

Colin Munro is one of the most experienced players in T20 cricket. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

2. Colin Munro $156,100 BAT

Munro has racked up more than 400 T20 appearances and more than 10,000 runs in his career. And at 36, the New Zealander is showing no signs of slowing down. He tuned up for the BBL with a knock of 36 off 15 balls in the Abu Dhabi T10 competition which suggested he’s seeing the ball very well. Averaged 34 runs last season with a strike rate of 150 and finished with a KFC SuperCoach average of 50.4 — one of the highest of any BAT only player.

Mitch Swepson will be keen to bounce back from a quiet BBL12. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

3. Mitchell Swepson $71,300 BWL

The Heat’s leg-spinner was well below his best in BBL12, only managing five wickets in 14 games at an average of 67.8. But the best SuperCoaches know trusting a player’s career form as opposed to one poor campaign can help snare a bargain. With a break even of 68, Swepson only needs one haul in Brisbane’s opening three games to start generating money. He scored 71 when he took 2-23 against the Heat’s first opponent Melbourne Stars last summer.

Matt Kuhnemann bowls in last season’s BBL final. Picture: Trevor Collens

4. Matt Kuhnemann $104,000 BWL

Kuhnemann took the mantle of the Heat’s No. 1 spinner last summer, playing 18 matches and finishing with 16 wickets. Only Michael Neser (58.1) bowled more overs than Kuhnemann (56) for Brisbane in BBL12. He consistently scored between 30-60 SuperCoach points last year, posting totals in that range in seven of the last nine rounds. So expect solid returns, rather than big hundreds, if you choose to start Kuhnemann. Still, three 30s in round 1 would guarantee a score of 90, which isn’t to be scoffed at.

Paceman Spencer Johnson has been a great find for the Heat. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty Images

5. Spencer Johnson $125,500 BWL

The big left-armer was one of the breakout stars of BBL12 and his accuracy in the death overs won him a call up to Australia’s white-ball squads. He could be a must-have in SuperCoach if he’s fit for round 1, but that’s still not certain. Johnson didn’t feature in the T20 series against India and has been struggling with a few niggles this season. Three games in six days might be a big ask after not playing since September 24.

AVOID — Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw

But aren’t they some of Brisbane’s best players? Yes, that is correct. The issue is that availability is a key factor in SuperCoach BBL and most of these players will feature only once in round 1. Neser, McSweeney, Perison and Renshaw will miss the first two BBL games after being chosen in the PM’s XI, while Khawaja and Labuschagne will only play once before joining the Test squad.

MOST POPULAR HEAT PLAYERS

(Stats current as of December 2)

Michael Neser — 39.3 per cent of teams

Mitchell Swepson — 38.7 per cent of teams

Sam Billings — 27.4 per cent of teams

Spencer Johnson — 26.4 per cent of teams

Colin Munro — 22 per cent of teams

Matt Kuhnemann — 17.1 per cent of teams

Josh Brown — 11.6 per cent of teams

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach BBL: Brisbane Heat players to pick, fixture and team advice