BBL15 draft: Sydney Thunder targets batter ahead of Sam Konstas’ Test return

Sydney Thunder will enter Thursday’s BBL draft planning to spend most of the summer without Sam Konstas. Get the latest build-up here.

Sydney Thunder is planning to spend most of BBL15 without Sam Konstas as the teenage opener firms to return to Australia’s Test side in the West Indies.

Konstas burst onto the scene with the fastest fifty in Thunder history last season before being thrust into the international spotlight in the Boxing Day Test.

After not featuring during the Sri Lankan tour and being overlooked for the World Test Championship final, Konstas is expected to partner Usman Khawaja in the Caribbean.

Should he then be selected for the Ashes, Konstas would likely miss seven BBL15 games before being available at the tail end of the tournament.

Sam Konstas is set to return to the Test side for the West Indies tour.

“I will always plan for that to happen and be pleasantly surprised as opposed to the other way around,” Thunder general manager Trent Copeland said.

“We’re definitely looking at top of the order but we also have Cameron Bancroft and numerous others that are there that can do that as well.”

New Zealand quick Lockie Ferguson is a chance to return to the Thunder after taking eight wickets in six matches last summer.

However, Ferguson is no guarantee to be available at pick 8, with the Thunder holding the last selection of the draft’s platinum round.

“We’re here to win the tournament. Last year in the final in the men’s we got done by Mitch Owen and a team (Hobart Hurricanes) that was humming at that point,” Copeland said.

“I want to start from the point of view of, on our best day no one can beat us.

“If that is a five-game or six-game player that’s world-class and a level above everyone else on the board that’s available…and that gives us our best chance to win, I am totally up for that”

Konstas hits a boundary off Jasprit Bumrah in Sydney.

Copeland shapes as a kingmaker in the draft, holding the last pick of round one and the fourth selection in the second round after engineering a swap deal with Perth Scorchers.

“I am really going to be dictated to by the first seven picks. But I think there’s probably 15 world-class players in the draft that I genuinely think are elite at what they do and a lot of them are fully available,” Copeland said.

“It’s going to be bloody difficult to pick to be honest. Lockie Ferguson is one, we really love what Lockie did last year.

“Then skill set wise I reckon, all-rounders and those power hitters at the top of the order of which there’s quite a few.

“It’s almost like when I go to McDonalds or a restaurant, a lot of the time there’s so many options I can’t choose.

“So I just pull up to the counter and have the person put me under the pump and then I make a choice.

“In this instance it will be I’ll be on the clock and we’ll be under the pump to have conviction in the decision.”

The BBL draft will be broadcast on Kayo Sports and Foxtel from 4pm on Thursday (AEST).

‘IT’S A FINE LINE’: WINTER BBL DRAFT LEAVES CLUBS WITH JUGGLING ACT

Melbourne Renegades are poised to target a batting linchpin in the BBL draft as they hunt their first title in six seasons.

The Renegades have been one of the most active franchises this off-season, securing quicks Jason Behrendorff (Scorchers) and Brendan Doggett (Strikers) and luring opener Caleb Jewell from Hobart Hurricanes.

Jewell will add depth to one of the BBL’s most potent batting line-ups, headlined by power hitters Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Brown and Tim Seifert.

Last season the Renegades drafted English rising star Jacob Bethell to complement that trio, but he is destined to be unavailable for most of BBL15 due to Ashes duties.

“Someone that is sort of potentially an all-format player,” coach Cameron White said.

“Flexible with situations where they can bat in the line-up and someone, you know, (when) faced with a problem … just be able to adapt to a situation.”

Jacob Bethell will miss most of the BBL due to Ashes duties.

Bethell has become an important part of Enlgland’s Test squad.

With Mackenzie Harvey and Jon Wells out of contract, a middle-order batter shapes as a priority for the Renegades.

Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan and Englishmen Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence headline the players the Renegades could consider.

They also have the option of retaining Laurie Evans, although the former Scorchers hero’s first summer in Melbourne was one to forget.

White said the Renegades had scoured talent worldwide to find a batter who could provide bowling support, as Bethell did last season.

“We don’t want to go into a game with just straight up five bowlers,” he said.

“In today’s day and age the way T20 cricket is played, it’s bloody tough work to expect that 10 games out of 10 all five bowlers are just going to bowl four overs.

“The ability to have a sixth bowler is important for us. That’s definitely a factor going into the draft, a really important one.”

The Renegades are expecting Jake Fraser-McGurk to bounce back in a big way.

New Zealander Seifert was the Renegades’ leading run scorer in BBL14 with 200 runs, followed by Bethell (195) and skipper Will Sutherland (191).

Fraser-McGurk is set to be locked in to the No.3 role as he looks to put himself back in the international reckoning.

“I think one of the misconceptions around Jake is he probably comes across and the way he plays, a bit like Glenn Maxwell in a way, they can really cop a fair bit of criticism because they are such flamboyant players and sometimes when they get out it doesn’t look the best,” White said.

“But I can assure you from Jake’s point-of-view, he ticks all the boxes.”

Thursday’s international draft will be held earlier than it ever has in the year — and more than five months before the start of BBL15.

“It’s something we are weighing up from a coaching point-of-view,” White said.

“To be mindful of the here and now, the players doing well in the Blast (England’s T20 tournament), versus potentially the better player who’s not actually playing cricket at the moment.

“It’s a fine line to try and judge the talent or the role you’re after. It makes for good debate between the coaching staff anyway.”

The Renegades have the third pick in the draft’s first round behind Brisbane Heat (pick one) and Adelaide Strikers (pick two).

Melbourne Stars’ first selection is No.7.

SURPRISE ENGLAND CALL-UP LEAVES STRIKERS SCRAMBLING

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes will have a huge say on Adelaide Strikers’ plans for this summer as they face the possibility of star all-rounder Jamie Overton being selected for the Ashes.

Overton was a surprise inclusion in England’s squad for its series against India which starts this week, more than three years after playing his only Test against New Zealand.

The 31-year-old has been the linchpin of Adelaide’s side for the past two BBL campaigns, taking 27 wickets and scoring 276 runs in 18 matches.

“We were kind of already planning towards that potential anyway given the way we know that Brendon and Ben want to play their cricket,” Strikers coach Tim Paine said.

“I feel like Jamie’s a pretty good cricketer, particularly in Australian conditions. I think his bowling will come into its own here.

Jamie Overton is a chance to feature in England’s Ashes squad.

Overton has been a key figure for the Strikers in the past two seasons.

“Someone who’s as tall as he is and as quick as he is, I think we can be a real weapon for England in the Ashes, with both bat and ball.

“He’s clearly a super aggressive batter as well, which they love. For his size he’s super agile and good in the field. He’s a great package for England cricket and I’m sure when he plays this week, hopefully, and if he does come out for the Ashes he’ll do a great job.”

While Overton will be selected in Thursday’s BBL draft, Paine conceded the Strikers were already working on contingency plans.

“We have got lots of contingency options and a lot of that will centre around Jamie because that can change the whole set-up of our team,” he said.

Overton was called up due to fellow all-rounder Gus Atkinson’s hamstring injury.

The Strikers are expected to target a pace bowler or all-rounder in the international draft, having lost Test squad member Brendan Doggett to Melbourne Renegades.

Jake Weatherald (Hurricanes) has also departed, with breakout all-rounder Liam Scott and South Australian Sheffield Shield hero Jason Sangha set for middle-order roles in BBL15.

The former Test captain said he was eyeing more coaching opportunities as he approaches his second season in charge of Adelaide.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my first year in charge of the Strikers. Probably a bit more stressful than being the assistant, which was an absolute blast, I must admit” he said.

“I’ve got a real taste for it now. I think probably 12 months ago when I was starting out you’re never quite sure how you’re going to go or how you’re going to react when you’re in that seat. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

“For me now, it’s about filling up the calendar, getting some more experiences under my belt – whether it’s as an assistant or a head coach in other programs – and just trying to get as many hours in coaching as I possibly can.

“Loving doing the role with the Strikers and can’t wait to get back there in sort of December this year.”