SuperCoach BBL Cheapie Bible: Best bargains to target
Two Sydney teenage spin kings are at the top of the wish list for SuperCoach BBL. Check out our UPDATED Cheapie Bible.
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Cheapies are the lifeblood of every SuperCoach side.
Fail to plan in this department and plan to fail.
To fit under the $2m salary cap you need approximately five cheapies in your starting side.
We’ve defined cheapies as any player between the base price of $42,000 and $100,000.
These bargain buys come in many forms — the Test stars returning at a reduced price due to lack of games at domestic level, proven performers who start cheap due to injury, veterans aiming to return to their best and, of course, rookies looking to make their mark (the most common type of cheapie).
TANVEER SANGHA (Thunder) $42,000
The Thunder have confirmed the signing of hyped young gun Tanveer Sangha, just 17. Former Test cricketer-turned-commentator Kerry O’Keeffe has a high opinion. “He’s in the Australian under-19s, he fizzes it, bowls it into the shoebox five or six out of six and he’s temperamentally strong,” O’Keeffe said. “Batsmen, former first class players, have told me he’s the best spinner in club cricket ... I’ve watched Tanveer bowl and I think he’s the real deal.” Like every rookie, Sangha has been added to SuperCoach at bottom dollar.
LLOYD POPE, $62500, 17.09% ownership
Pope is one of the most hyped young spinners in the country and the double in Round 1 is handy. But he sits behind Steve O’Keefe in the Sixers’ spin pecking order and may only play if conditions suit, particularly given the proven pace attack of Sean Abbott (second most wickets last year), Tom Curran (fifth), Ben Dwarshuis (11th) and former Test star Jackson Bird.
CAMERON GREEN (Scorchers) $42,000
Recently scored 87 not out and 121 not out in the same Sheffield Shield game — that’s 208 runs in the match without being dismissed. That’s obviously an amazing achievement, especially considering he’s actually more of a BOWLER.
The West Australian is a strapping specimen at over 200cm tall, capable of hitting 140km/h and possessing an outrageous first-class bowling average of 21.53.
Green has admirers in very high places at Cricket Australia. Translation: Don’t be surprised if he plays for Australia very soon, before the “average” fan has even heard of him. More here
JAMES PIERSON (Heat) $62500
Currently the fourth most popular player in SuperCoach so we have to mention him. Definitely appealing given his double game in Round 1 and near-bottom-dollar price. But with Max Bryant, Tom Banton, Chris Lynn and Matt Renshaw to command high spots in the batting order - and Ben Cutting playing his usual role as a floater - Pierson may struggle to face enough balls to be a SuperCoach factor. In fact, he may struggle to make the side altogether given Banton has the ability to keep wickets. With Banton, Josh Philippe, Matthew Gilkes and Harry Nielsen popular picks in the keeping position, expect Pierson to plunge in popularity.
MARCUS HARRIS (Renegades) $62,500
The Renegades’ Test hopes appear over for now after missing the squad to play Pakistan, paying the price for a horror 58 runs in five Ashes Tests at 9.66. This means Harris is free to play for the Renegades where he likely bats at No.3 behind new opening pair Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch.
Harris starts cheap after limited Big Bash game time last year due to Australian duty (all prices are based on last season’s stats), but he started his career as a hit-out-or-get-out dasher in the short forms.
CAMERON WHITE (Strikers) $77,200
The former Australian representative, now 36, has left the Renegades for the Strikers. That means he says goodbye to the Marvel Stadium minefield and hello to the best batting pitch in Australia in the Adelaide Oval.
What’s more, with South African import Colin Ingram having left, plus Travis Head and Alex Carey in contention for national duty, White could bat very high at stages for the Strikers. However, we currently have him at No.5 in our predicted teams.
JOEL PARIS (Scorchers) $81,000
The left-arm swinger was once so highly rated he played two ODIs for Australia after only a handful of games. Paris’s domestic numbers are simply insane, averaging 21.7 in first class cricket and 22.89 in List A.
However, the 26-year-old’s career has never taken off due to a succession of serious injuries, playing just 52 games across all three formats in eight seasons. He starts just above bottom dollar at $81,000, but has a huge chance to impress in a Scorchers’ side missing Nathan Coulter-Nile (Stars), Jason Behrendorff (back) and Andrew Tye (elbow) at the pace-friendly Optus Stadium.
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MOISES HENRIQUES (Sixers) $101,500
OK, so we’re testing the limits of the term “cheapie” at $101,500, but the St George junior offers serious value at the price.
Not only is Moises a proven performer at T20 level, playing for his country 11 times, but the Sydney Sixers have a very favourable draw to start the season.
The Magenta Men have two double games in the first three rounds.
This means the Sixers play five games when most other teams play just three, giving Henriques and his Sixers’ teammates a huge SuperCoach advantage (scores from all games count).
And these from our young guns story ...
MATTHEW GILKES (Thunder) $96,700
The 20-year-old from Ulladulla is so highly rated he leapfrogged a number of veterans into a near Test-strength NSW XI in the Marsh one-day Cup. Taking the field alongside David Warner, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood, Gilkes bettered all of them with 43 off 41 balls. It came on the back of 82 off 51 the previous match.
He will bat high — probably at No.4 — in a Thunder side missing huge batting power in Jos Buttler (England), Joe Root (England), Shane Watson (retired) and Kurtis Patterson (Scorchers), with Alex Hales (England) the only batting recruit. More here
NATHAN ELLIS (unsigned)
Not yet officially signed by a Big Bash team, but the 25-year-old is hot property after topping the wickets in the Marsh Cup, sitting with 11 scalps at a miserly 18.90 runs apiece.
Ellis’s haul includes 5-38 on a notoriously flat North Sydney Oval against possibly the best domestic batting line-up he’ll ever bowl against — a NSW team featuring all Test stars. More here
OLLIE DAVIES (Thunder) $42,000
The 19-year-old from Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches became a viral sensation last year when he hit 17 sixes in an innings at the Australian Under 19 championships. Davies finished with a brutal 207 off 115 balls and hit one hapless bowler for six sixes in an over.
Since his junior heroics, Davies has gone on to dominate against men, becoming the youngest Manly-Warringah player to score a first-grade century and forcing his way into the NSW second XI. More here
CALEB JEWELL (Hurricanes) $67,300
When a youngster goes stroke-for-stroke with D’Arcy Short, the cricket world takes notice. The dashing left-hander did exactly that last year by notching 61 from 38 balls as Short stroked 68 from 41 at the other end, their partnership ending unbeaten in an emphatic victory within 14.2 overs.
With Matthew Wade on Test duty over the opening BBL rounds and Tim Paine confirmed to sit out the Big Bash, Jewell is a huge chance to open alongside Short and is therefore a SuperCoach bargain at $67,300. More here
WES AGAR (Strikers) $84,200
The in-form 22-year-old is the younger brother of current Australian T20 representative Ashton Agar. But that’s where the similarities end.
While Ashton is a crafty spinner and free-wheeling batsman, Wes is an out-and-out quick.
The Victorian-come-South-Australian is in the midst of a breakout season, taking 5-69 in the recent Marsh Cup clash against Queensland, including the first four wickets.
He also dominated the preceding Sheffield Shield clash with match figures of 6-91. More here
HARRY NIELSEN (Strikers) $75,400
The oldest son of former Australian coach Tim Nielsen will play an increased role at the Strikers this year, with Alex Carey to miss the middle of the tournament due to an ODI tour to India.
Even when Carey is in the side, Nielsen hopes to play as a specialist batsman — a role he’s more than capable of, as evidenced by his 79 off 49 balls to lead the Prime Minister’s XI to victory over Sri Lanka last week. More here
WILL SUTHERLAND (Renegades) $42,000
The son of former Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland was one of the buzz buys of the BBL08 pre-season, but a serious back injury limited the hulking all-rounder to just one game as a specialist batsman.
He therefore starts at cheapie price for BBL09 and is building back to form after troubling stress fractures. Sutherland has taken seven wickets from five games in the Marsh Cup and averaged a more-than-handy 30.5 with the bat, including two 50s. More here
JACK PRESTWIDGE (Heat) $75,400
Bowls 140km/h and has big opportunity at the Heat — if he can stay fit. While Darren Lehmann’s Brisbane side have recruited well in batting (think South African superstar AB de Villiers and reigning England Young Cricketer of the Year Tom Banton) and spin (think boom Afghanistan tweakers Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Zahir Khan), their pace stocks remain remarkably thin. With Brendan Doggett having left and James Pattinson potentially on Test duty, largely unheralded quicks Josh Lalor, Mark Steketee and Cutting make up the rest.
NATHAN McANDREW (Thunder) $64,000
The all-rounder forced his way into the NSW Marsh Cup side on sheer weight of performance, without having a contract. Injury struck soon after, but look out for the 26-year-old later in the one-day tournament and into the Big Bash with the Thunder.
MORE SUPERCOACH BBL CONTENT
Star-studded squad lists / Top 10 young guns / Everything you need to know / Key dates to shape your season / Gun imports set to explode / New faces to target / How players earn points
Originally published as SuperCoach BBL Cheapie Bible: Best bargains to target
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