KFC SuperCoach BBL: Expert teams for BBL12 revealed

The countdown to the first ball of the KFC SuperCoach BBL season is on – and it’s time to start picking your team. Find out where six of our experts are at.

Mr SuperCoach Mike Hussey is on board and the countdown to the first ball of the KFC SuperCoach BBL season is on.

After keeping a close eye on the T20 World Cup, and monitoring form across the globe, our team of experts reveal their current teams for BBL12.

Plenty can – and will – change ahead of the first game on December 13 but much of the strategy will remain, including that of a hardcore AFL SuperCoach with limited cricket knowledge. This is a fantasy game for everyone!

The Phantom

The Phantom's KFC SuperCoach BBL team

It’s all about the double-game rounds, right? Well, yes but it’s not an instant ticket to success. We’ve seen some of the competition’s better players outscore those playing twice in a single game, many times in the past. It’s why – to be a little different – I’ve included the incredibly well-priced pair Shadab Khan and Michael Neser. The former impressing, again, for Pakistan at the T20 World Cup – now we just wait to see where he bats for the Hurricanes in BBL12. And Neser isn’t in the Aussie Test squad to start the summer, and there are no Covid bubbles, meaning he will be available to start the tournament for the Heat. He took 5/28 in his last Marsh Cup game against WA and, before that, seven wickets for the match and a first-innings half century in the Shield clash. Before that? 136 with the bat against NSW. Josh Philippe is in form, too, and I’m not sold on any of the DGW keepers. Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams are must-haves with two games in the opening round, though. And I might have to make room for another Thunder gun – probably Rilee Rossouw.

Dan Batten

Dan Batten’s KFC SuperCoach BBL team.

No point straying away from the No.1 formula in KFC SuperCoach - double game stacking - this year. Especially when the Sydney Thunder have a double-double in the first two rounds. That is why I have loaded up on five Thunder players — KFC SuperCoach staple Daniel Sams, cheapie keeper Matt Gilkes, along with internationals David Willey, Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw. Hales and Rossouw have had some ominous innings in the T20 World Cup and both loom as steals for the start of the season. Going into Round 1 without Rashid Khan and Glenn Maxwell is asking for trouble with both on the double, and the two have had their moments in the World Cup. New BBL arrival Trent Boult is another who I’ve locked in after his feats at the tournament. I have tossed up picking his compatriot and Strikers draftee Colin de Grandhomme, but I have settled on fielding one non-double game player in World Cup wizz Shadab Khan. The Pakistani all-rounder has been used as a pinch-hitter up the order for his nation and he has had batters in a spin with the ball, claiming 10 wickets from his five matches. And he is a measly $125,000 after modest returns in his short stint for the Sixers last season. Marcus Stoinis picks himself at $83k with a Round 1 double, and I’ve made sure to stash a couple of Scorchers on the bench - even though they have the bye first up - as they play twice in Round 3.

Tim Michell

Tim Michell's KFC SuperCoach BBL team.

CHEAPIE GUIDE: THE BARGAIN OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

Starting two Scorchers should make it easier to get Mitchell Marsh in for the Round 2 double. I’m not sold on what Aaron Hardie’s role will be but he’s been in good form with WA and is back bowling which is important. The main debate now is what premium/midprice combination I go with out of Trent Boult/Colin De Grandhomme or Matt Short/Chris Lynn. KFC SuperCoach BBL is normally a bowler’s game so I have trended that way for now. The plan after Round 1 will be to turn Maxwell, Boult and Zampa into Richardson, Tye and Marsh for the Scorchers Round 2 double. Easier said than done and might have to involve a boost to pull it off. I would love for a $42k player to get a game in Round 1 but right now I’m not convinced Josh Brown or Cooper Connolly will make the cut. I’ve gone for a money-making strategy over a loophole. The player I wanted most but just can’t fit due to doubles and the fixture in Shadab Khan. He’s been brilliant at the World Cup and could be $200k before we know it if he translates that form.

Al Paton

Al Paton's KFC SuperCoach BBL team

I don’t pretend to know as much about cricket as I do about AFL, but I do know that I love SuperCoach. And KFC SuperCoach BBL is a really fun form of the game that matches the smash and grab nature of the sport. In KFC SuperCoach AFL, the art of trading is waiting for players to increase in value then cashing them in to grab top-liners who have fallen in price.

Patience is for losers in KFC SuperCoach BBL. While price movements are important, the real game is playing the fixture to cram as many players on a double-game round into your team as possible. In Round 1, Adelaide Strikers, Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars all have a double – which means players get their scores from both games as their total for the round. There is a catch, though. The Stars have a bye in Round 2 so you don’t want to be stuck with six of them in your team and only three trades to move them out. The Thunder have two doubles in a row to start the season followed by a bye in Round 3, while it could also pay off to start a Scorcher or two on the bench – they have a Round 1 bye then a Round 2 double. With all that in mind I’ve got four Thunder players, three Stars and three Strikers in my starting 11, with a couple more on the bench. Most will be popular selections, headed by BBL superstars Rashid Khan and Daniel Sams and $83k bargain Marcus Stoinis. My big wildcard is spending up on Sean Abbott, who doesn’t need two games to put up monster scores, and could be a nice point of difference until the Sixers’ Round 5 double. And I have no idea who Ruwantha Kellapotha is, but hopefully he dominates for the Renegades this summer!

Damo (@DamoSC)

Damo's KFC SuperCoach BBL team

Lots of DGW players – hard to go past Glenn Maxwell and Daniel Sams, especially with a double game week first up. Rashid Khan was one of my first picked, and Shadab Khan has been electric in the World Cup. Stashing a few Scorchers on the bench for their Round 2 double game round, but the precarious thing is not to limit myself too much by having a lot of money on the bench. Marcus Stoinis is too cheap to ignore at 83k.

Azza Jewell (@azzajewell)

Azza's KFC SuperCoach BBL team

Joe Clarke almost feels like a point of difference this early into pre-season. Owned by only 18% of coaches, he’s ownership is lower than that of other double game round players Harry Nielsen and Matthew Gilkes, but averages more combined. Two of the most prolific KFC SuperCoach players, Glenn Maxwell and Daniel Sams, were impossible to leave out and Maxwell will definitely have the VC tag come Round 1. Alex Hales is a must after his recent T20 World Cup campaign with England and I’m taking the punt on Chris Lynn after his move to the Adelaide Strikers. Phil Salt is nicely stashed away for Round 2 and I’m opting to loop either Rilee Rossouw or Clarke’s score after the first game of Round 1. Do you even KFC SuperCoach if you don’t have Rashid Khan in your side? With a double in Round 1, and a career average of 67.3, just lock him in. Same goes for Marcus Stoinis, who looms as the bargain of the season. Trent Boult has done enough to warrant selection for Round 1, and Damo has also done enough to talk me into former Scorcher, now Thunder player David Willey. My one sticking point is Chris Connolly, who, at $42k, has helped strengthen my side but he also comes at the detriment of cash generation. Time will tell if that’s still the case, but rather happy with the side….for the next 5 minutes.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach BBL: Expert teams for BBL12 revealed