KFC SuperCoach BBL: Shane Warne, Callum Ferguson name their best picks
Shane Warne names the batters you need on your KFC SuperCoach BBL short list as we lock in teams for the season start on December 5.
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He’s revealed his team, now Shane Warne is back to help choose yours.
The spin king has revealed his top cheapies, bowlers and batsmen for BBL11 in countdown to the start of the tournament on December 5.
Today he names his five batters to watch in BBL11, including a Stars recruit who is flying under the radar.
Scroll down to check out Warnie’s top five cheapies and Callum Ferguson’s 11 must-have batters – then head to supercoach.com.au to enter your team.
1. Joe Clarke (Stars) $112,500 WKP-BAT
I have spent a fair bit of time in England in the past few winters and Clarke is one of the most-promising batsmen in the Vitality Blast. He’s been one of the leading run-scorers in the past two years and got a taste of the BBL with Perth last season. The Stars could have a real gem.
2. Tim David (Hurricanes) $113,900 BAT
David showed his talent last season for the Hurricanes with some big blows and big innings. He’s been making plenty of runs around the world in the BBL off-season and is primed to step up to another level for Hobart. He might even bowl a few overs early in BBL11, too.
3. Josh Inglis (Scorchers) $133,900 WKP-BAT
OK, I’ve snuck a wicketkeeper into this mix. And I won’t be surprised if he’s keeping for Australia by the end of the summer. But if Inglis returns from Australia A to the Scorchers when we expect, he’ll be one of the top run-scorers in BBL11. He was brilliant in England in the off-season before being part of the T20 World Cup squad.
4. Jake Weatherald (Strikers) $133,900 BAT
The Strikers need someone to step up, particularly early on when Matt Renshaw and Alex Carey won’t be there. Adelaide also doesn’t have Phil Salt for BBL11, so that puts a fair bit of pressure on Weatherald at the top of the order. He’s done it plenty of times before in the BBL, though.
5. Ben McDermott (Hurricanes) $163,000 WKP-BAT
He’s not as cheap as he started last season in KFC SuperCoach but I’m confident McDermott can be worth the higher price tag. He should bat at No.3 or No.4 for the summer and come to the crease when D’Arcy Short and Matthew Wade have already put the bowlers to the sword.
Warnie’s top five KFC SuperCoach BBL bowlers
1. James Pattinson (Renegades) $157,900 BWL
Since retiring from the Test squad Patto has been in stunning form, taking 10 wickets in two Sheffield Shield games for Victoria. He’s almost always been a wicket-taker at BBL level and is going to cause serious headaches for the Renegades with the unplayable deliveries he has been producing for Victoria.
2. Adam Zampa (Stars) $169,500 BWL
How can you go past a player who was arguably the bowler of the T20 World Cup? Zampa has averaged about two wickets a game in the BBL in the past two seasons and is bowling better than ever. Could he take 20 wickets this season? It’s a real possibility.
3. Saqib Mahmood (Thunder) $125,000 BWL
Aussie audiences won’t know just how quick Mahmood bowls, but he delivers some absolute heat. He’s in the English Lions squad so won’t play for the Thunder until a few rounds into the season – but watch out when he is unleashed.
4. Nathan Ellis (Hurricanes) $157,100 BWL
KFC SuperCoaches seem to have forgotten just how good this guy is. It was only a few months ago he made his international debut and he was part of the Aussie T20 squad at the World Cup. With a few injuries in the Hurricanes’ bowling stocks, Ellis is going to be the main man in BBL11 – if he wasn’t already.
5. Fawad Ahmed (Strikers) $102,700 BWL
Don’t write off Fawad just yet. How he bowls in tandem with Rashid Khan will be fascinating to watch and he could be the beneficiary of Rashid piling up pressure at the other end.
Callum Ferguson’s 11 must-have batsmen
From young openers to bargain buys and hard-hitting finishers, there are so many great batting options in KFC SuperCoach BBL.
I’ve seen a number of them up close, but who are the must-haves?
Check out my top 11 batsmen for KFC SuperCoach BBL this summer, in no particular order, and then head to supercoach.com.au to enter your team.
Josh Philippe (Sixers)
$177,300 BAT-WKP
Dashing opener on the rise, who also wears the gloves for the Sixers which is an added bonus. After missing out on the Australia A squad, Philippe, the third-highest KFC SuperCoach scorer last year, is a must-have with an opening-round double.
Glenn Maxwell (Stars)
$195,500 BAT-BWL
The Stars skipper does it all and his strike rate, an important part of scoring points as a batsman in KFC SuperCoach, is through the roof. Coupled with his bowling and fielding, he’s a beauty. Pick him.
Chris Lynn (Heat)
$172,500 BAT
Year in, year out, Lynny gets the job done for the heat. With the captaincy burden removed, he’s in for a huge season. Do you really want to be the one that leaves him out in a double-game round?
Marcus Stoinis (Stars)
$163,200 BAT-BWL
What an imperious unit big Stoin is at the top of the list for the Stars. A bit like his skipper, Maxwell, Stoinis has plenty of strings to his bow, allowing him to bring in KFC SuperCoach points from multiple avenues. When he bats deep into the innings, watch his strike rate soar.
Aaron Finch (Renegades)
$62,500 BAT
Who would’ve thought we would see Finchy in the fire sale this year? The Australian T20 captain is one of the most consistent players we’ve seen throughout BBL history. If he is fit, at $62k, get the man in!
Alex Hales (Thunder)
$183,900 BAT
The powerhouse at the top of the Sydney Thunder batting order, he has taken bowling attacks across the country to the hurt locker for years and there is plenty more to come. Hales finished as the fourth and seventh-ranked KFC SuperCoach scorer in each of the past two tournaments, respectively.
Colin Munro (Scorchers)
$135,300 BAT
The big-hitting New Zealand international, who was overlooked for the T20 World Cup, has had a couple of looks at the BBL now and is primed for a big season. Highest run scorer outside of openers in last year - and he’s at a great price!
D’Arcy Short (Hurricanes)
$179,600 BAT-BWL
One half of the dominant tag-team at the top of the Hurricanes’ order. Short had an inconsistent tournament last summer and didn’t seem at his best, which is ominous for opponents this season if he finds his rhythm.
Matthew Wade (Hurricanes)
$145,800 BAT-WKP
The other half of Hobart’s menacing duo. Fresh off a quality performance at the T20 World Cup in the lower order, Wade is going to thrive moving back to the top of the list in home conditions. Taking the gloves, too, would be icing the cake.
Dan Christian (Sixers)
$184,700 BAT-BWL
The star of last summer’s BBL, Christian, who was the second-highest scorer in KFC SuperCoach, just hits at an enormous strike rate due to his rare ability to ‘go’ from ball one. Coupled with his bowling and his ability in the field, that sees him positioned in the catching hot spots, he’s a point scoring machine.
Moises Henriques (Sixers)
$171,800 BAT
Just the five games for Big Moe last season, but, boy, didn’t he have a big impact!? With a clear run at it this year, he could be in for a big tournament, and is looming as a nice point-of-difference.
Warnie’s best cheapies for BBL11
- Shane Warne
He’s revealed his team, now Shane Warne is back to help choose yours.
The spin king will release his top cheapies, bowlers and batsmen for BBL11 in the next week before the tournament starts on December 5.
As cash cows are so important in KFC SuperCoach, that’s where Warney has started.
Check out his top-five cheapies below and then head to supercoach.com.au to enter your team.
1. Mackenzie Harvey (Renegades) $97,800 BAT
The Renegades middle-order batsman had an outstanding finish to the last BBL tournament and with Aaron Finch under a cloud and Shaun Marsh injured, he’s going to get loads of opportunities early in BBL11. He’s shown he can score quickly and I’m surprised to see he’s available for less than $100k in KFC SuperCoach.
2. Aaron Finch (Renegades) $62,500 BAT
Speaking of Finch, no cheapies list this summer is complete without the Australian T20 captain. OK, he had a very poor BBL10 – every KFC SuperCoach knows that. But at $62k you can’t afford not to pick him. If he regains the type of form which has seen him dominate the BBL for a decade, this will be the greatest bargain in SuperCoach history.
3. Matthew Renshaw (Strikers) $67,400 BAT-BWL
He won’t be available at the start of the tournament after being picked for Australia A, but Renshaw is a great price for a player who does a bit of everything for the Strikers. He’s going to bat in the top-order this season and has shown he can provide a few handy wickets too.
4. Oliver Davies (Thunder) $74,200 BAT
Davies is another who won’t feature in Round 1 after he broke his thumb in a grade cricket game. That’s a shame as he’s a player I had locked in to my Club 23 Legends. He burst onto the BBL scene last summer and no Cal Ferguson – who is part of our KFC SuperCoach team now – means he’ll get big opportunities to bat at No. 3 or No.4.
5. Zahir Khan (Renegades) $95,300 BWL
The Renegades are a haven for SuperCoach cheapies this season and Zahir is hard to pass up at $100k. He’s shown talent during stints with Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars and will be tricky to face for batsmen at Docklands. He’s got the goods to be one of the leading spinners of BBL11.
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