The new faces in BBL09 to consider for your SuperCoach BBL team
There has never been more buzz about a Big Bash season following the star signings of AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn and many more. TEAM-BY-TEAM GUIDE
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No signing in Big Bash League history has generated the same level of excitement as South African dynamo AB De Villiers.
The 35-year-old will feature in the last six games of the BBL regular season for Brisbane Heat and is also available for finals.
The former Proteas skipper’s signing is a huge coup for Australia’s Twenty20 scene, bringing one of the sport’s most eye-catching batsmen to the BBL.
SUPERCOACH BBL LAUNCHES SOON!
While De Villiers will be an obvious addition to SuperCoach BBL teams when he makes his debut for the Heat, there are several other signings and players who have switched franchises worth consideration.
Test star and Perth Scorchers veteran Shaun Marsh joins Melbourne Renegades
Brisbane Heat pull off major coup to sign Proteas star AB de Villiers
Sydney Thunder sign controversial England powerhouse Alex Hales
ADELAIDE STRIKERS
Phil Salt (England)
Cameron White (Melbourne Renegades)
English batsman Phil Salt has signed with the Strikers as a replacement for South African Colin Ingram. The 23-year-old was one of the leading run scorers in this year’s English Vitality Blast, amassing 406 runs at 36.9 for Sussex with a strike rate of 161.
The highlight of his tournament was a blistering 72 from 40 balls opening the batting against Worchestershire. Expect him to fill a similar top-order role at the Strikers. Matt Short was a popular SuperCoach BBL player last summer after transferring from the Renegades to South Australia and veteran Cameron White will be hoping for the same levels of success. Monitor his Premier Cricket form with Melbourne before deciding to add him to your team.
BRISBANE HEAT
AB De Villiers
Zahir Khan (Afghanistan)
Tom Banton (England)
AB De Villiers will be close to a ‘must-have’ player ahead of his BBL debut midway through the tournament. You’ll need to bank cash or be prepared to trade out another star to make room for the South African. He averaged 69.8 and had a strike rate of 182 for Middlesex in the Vitality Blast.
Khan, a left-arm wrist spinner, has played T20s in England and West Indies. He has eight wickets with an economy rate of 7.66 in this year’s Caribbean Premier League. Be aware the Heat have already flagged Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will share spinning duties, with only two internationals permitted to play at one time.
Before De Villiers arrives in Brisbane midway through the tournament, the Heat will call on English rising star Tom Banton.
Banton was the second leading run-scorer in this year’s English Vitality Blast, with 549 runs at a strike rate of 161.5.
HOBART HURRICANES
Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan, full-time deal)
It has been a quiet off-season in Hobart, although locking away last summer’s revelation Qais Ahmad on a full-time deal is a bonus. The Afghani leg-spinner more than proved his worth during a short stint with the Hurricanes in 2018-19, taking seven wickets in three games. Ahmad was a bargain late-season addition to SuperCoach teams last summer at $62,500 but won’t come cheaply this season after averaging 82 points per game.
MELBOURNE RENEGADES
Shaun Marsh (Perth Scorchers)
Jake Fraser-McGurk (upgraded)
Discarded Test batsman Marsh has one of the best BBL records of any batsman with 1435 runs at an average of 49.5 during his time with Perth. The Marvel Stadium pitch traditionally hasn’t been friendly for batsmen, however Marsh has a top score of 76 not out at the venue which he compiled in 2015-16.
SUPERCOACH BBL LAUNCHES SOON!
He’s floated in and out of the Scorchers team due to Australian duties in recent years, but must be considered if he’s going to play a full BBL campaign. His price should be friendly and he’ll have a major role to play when Aaron Finch is away. Jake Fraser-McGurk is a promising young Victorian who has been upgraded from a rookie deal.
MELBOURNE STARS
Dale Steyn (unattached)
Hilton Cartwright (Perth Scorchers)
Clint Hinchcliffe (Perth Scorchers)
Nathan Coulter-Nile (Perth Scorchers)
Steyn is one of the marquee signings of BBL09 and his record in T20 matches demands attention. In 44 T20 internationals for South Africa he snared 61 wickets at an average of 17.5 with an economy rate of 6.8. Those sort of numbers will equal huge SuperCoach numbers, but be prepared to pay a high price.
The Stars have brought three Perth players east for 2019-20, although World Cup squad member Coulter-Nile could be unavailable for several games if chosen for Australia in the one-day or Twenty20 team. He was a reliable SuperCoach BBL player last season, averaging 60.9 and scoring four tons in his last seven matches and a 99 in Round 1.
Hinchcliffe played three games for the Scorchers last summer and is likely to be a depth player. Cartwright’s SuperCoach worth will depend largely on his role in the Stars batting line-up. Last season he batted largely at No. 5 for Perth, too low to be much of a factor as he averaged only 22.7 points.
PERTH SCORCHERS
Fawad Ahmed (Sydney Thunder)
Kurtis Patterson (Sydney Thunder)
Experienced tweaker Ahmed was one of the leading spinners in the recent Caribbean Premier League with 10 wickets and an economy rate of only 6.4 runs per over. Perth was stacked with quicks last year but rarely called on its leg spinner Usman Qadir. He also had one of the best economy rates of bowlers who took 10 wickets in last summer’s BBL, which equates to points for economy bonus. Patterson didn’t have much impact during his time at the Thunder and wasn’t used in BBL08.
SYDNEY SIXERS
Jackson Bird (Melbourne Stars)
Bird is renowned as a new-ball bowler and was used predominantly in that role when he played for Melbourne Stars. He has a high ceiling — three scores of 75 or more in BBL08 — but can also score poorly when he doesn’t take wickets. One to steer clear of unless he comes at a bargain price. Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis will be the two key bowlers for the Sixers.
SYDNEY THUNDER
Chris Morris (South Africa)
Alex Hales (England)
Alex Ross (Brisbane Heat)
Chris Tremain (Melbourne Renegades)
Brendan Doggett (Brisbane Heat)
Chris Morris is an experienced Twenty20 all-rounder who has played 61 times in the Indian Premier League. He took 12 wickets from 11 games in the Vitality Blast for Hampshire. However, he didn’t do much batting in England, finishing with 86 runs at 14.3. If you’re going to spend big SuperCoach BBL dollars for an import, you want to be confident he will have an impact with both bat and ball to generate the most points.
SUPERCOACH BBL LAUNCHES SOON!
Hales scored 418 runs at 38 in English T20 tournament with a strike rate of 140. He has played for Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide and Hobart previously, averaging 21.9 with the Strikers, 54.5 in two games for the Renegades and 14.2 for the Hurricanes. Unless Ross is elevated up the order, he bats too low to be a SuperCoach factor. Tremain heads to Sydney after only playing five games in BBL08 for Melbourne Renegades, during which he averaged 47.8 points. Doggett averaged 46.1 points in eight matches for the Heat in 2018-19. Both pacemen were too expensive to consider last summer but consider whoever starts in the Thunder side.
Originally published as The new faces in BBL09 to consider for your SuperCoach BBL team
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