Mike Hussey answers five of the toughest SuperCoach BBL questions for BBL13
Is Matt Short too expensive? Can you afford to leave out Ben McDermott? How do I navigate Brisbane’s round 1 triple? MIKE HUSSEY answers the tough SuperCoach BBL questions ahead of BBL13.
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I was burned badly by not starting Matt Short last year in SuperCoach BBL.
The Adelaide Strikers opener has been the dominant SuperCoach player in the past two seasons, averaging 68.1 and 78.8.
It’s little wonder he earned debuts for the Australian one-day and T20 teams on the back of those efforts.
The issue I have this summer is that at $244k, I’m going to have to run the risk of leaving Short out of my round 1 team again.
He’s too expensive too squeeze in when there’s four teams playing twice in round 1 and the Heat playing three times.
Why couldn’t it be the Strikers with a triple to start?
Short isn’t the only top premium I’ve had to forego — Rashid Khan and Daniel Sams are on that list too.
Here are five questions I’m going to consider long and hard in pre-season before picking my final side.
HOW MANY HEAT PLAYERS SHOULD YOU START IN ROUND 1?
The ‘super round’ — as some are calling it — has brought a whole new element to SuperCoach BBL.
There’s no doubt you have to captain a player from Brisbane Heat, with Michael Neser a standout option.
Brisbane plays the Stars, Strikers and Thunder in round 1, so there could be some huge points on offer if you choose the right players.
What I have found when playing SuperCoach BBL though is it’s crucial to plan at least one — if not two — rounds ahead.
The Heat’s stacked opening fixture ends when they have a bye in round 3, so SuperCoaches won’t want to be carrying more than two Brisbane players then.
The other factor to consider is how resilient the players are and whether they will be selected for all three of those round 1 games.
I’m confident Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Matt Renshaw and Michael Neser will be, but am wary of picking Spencer Johnson as he’s carrying a few niggles.
The last thing you want is a player to be managed and not play all three games.
The ideal number of Heat players is likely 6-7, which will give you enough time to trade them before the round 3 bye.
IS BEN MCDERMOTT TOO CHEAP TO OVERLOOK?
I feel like Ben McDermott could be the Matt Short of BBL13 — the player I regret not picking most.
The issue is that the fixture is packed with doubles early on and Hobart doesn’t play twice in any round until round 7.
There’s absolutely no doubt he is insane value at $88k.
It was only two summers ago he was the leading run scorer in the BBL and averaged 73 SuperCoach points.
His form for the Hurricanes last season didn’t reach those heights, but if you watched his recent Marsh Cup knock against Tasmania (143 off 112) you’d understand why McDermott is such great value.
I’ve had to squeeze him out of my team due to the fixtures, but I don’t think you can go wrong starting him and then carrying him all the way through to that round 7 double.
CAN YOU REALLY LEAVE MATT SHORT OUT?
The Strikers have a double in the second round, so at least we won’t have to go without him for long.
He’s going to captain Adelaide, bat at the top and probably bowl a few overs every game too.
In an ideal world for SuperCoaches he misses out a few times early on, drops in price and we can trade him in while preparing for the Strikers’ round 6 double.
But he’s been so devastating in the past two seasons that we might be relying on a price drop that never comes.
He should be in your trade plans for round 2 and definitely round 6 when the Strikers play twice.
WHICH PREMIUMS COULD YOU REGRET NOT STARTING?
The fixture hasn’t done us any favours here.
Rashid Khan is incredibly cheap at $132k, but you can’t start him when so many teams have a double (or a triple).
The strategy might be to pick Rashid for your bench and put yourself one player ahead for Adelaide’s round 2 double.
The issue there is that you might then be sacrificing a spot in your team which would be better utilised by choosing a player with a round 1 double.
Forward planning is important, but probably not if it costs you points.
I’ll be looking at ways to start Rashid, but at $132k his price might be too high to sit on the bench.
Daniel Sams is the other player I would love to squeeze in.
He has a dream role batting in the middle-order and bowling the late overs for the Thunder.
Their first double isn’t until round 4 though, so I’ll be holding off with full knowledge both Sams and Rashid could still go big.
WHICH CASH COWS ARE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR?
There are a few underpriced players who have definitely been on my radar.
Alex Hales is value at $125k, but likely won’t make my round 1 team due to all the doubles and Brisbane triple.
He had three rounds where he scored 104 points or more in his first five rounds of BBL12.
Chris Jordan is one of the most experienced T20 bowlers in the world at only $106k, but like Hales doesn’t have an early double after being drafted by the Thunder.
Hales’ teammate Tanveer Sangha is another player I’m pretty hot on.
He’s only $83k after missing BBL12 and was recently with the Australian team, so he’s clearly back and bowling well.
Even without an early double, I might have to find a spot for him at that price.
The player who has a round 1 double that I’m a fan of is Usama Mir, the Pakistani leg-spinner who has joined Melbourne Stars.
He’s $125k, has almost 100 career T20 wickets and hits a big ball too.
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