BBL Agenda: Jamie Overton at the centre of BBL’s biggest fireworks, and how Bryant, Maxwell, have found their best
The race for the finals is heating up and tensions are rising - with a Strikers star at the centre of BBL14’s biggest blow-ups. TIM MICHELL wraps up the key talking points in BBL Agenda.
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The race for the BBL14 finals is heating up and tensions are rising.
There have been run-ins, imports facing the axe and a seven-year first for one of the competition’s in-form sides.
Tim Michell wraps up the biggest talking points in the BBL Agenda.
ANGRY OVERTON
There was no love lost on New Year’s Eve when Jamie Overton and Finn Allen kicked off the fireworks early at Adelaide Oval.
Strikers all-rounder Overton threatened to Mankad the Kiwi opener and tensions ignited between two of the BBL’s best imports.
“Heat of the battle, things can happen,” Allen later told Channel 7.
“We both got in the fight, we both wanted to perform and he’s going pretty well for Adelaide.
“He’s a big boy, he’s got me covered, I reckon.”
The Strikers’ finals hopes took another hit against Hobart when Overton was on the end of an onslaught from breakout star Mitch Owen and later Tim David.
Overton and David then came face-to-face in the middle of the pitch. At one stage, David tried to walk away but Overton grabbed his arm to keep him close.
“I played with Jamie before and I’m going to play with him a little bit later this year,” David said on Fox Cricket.
“Jamie’s had a great season. He’s just getting stuck into everyone. You’ve got to give it back.” Watch out for more fireworks when the Strikers play the Heat on Saturday.
IMPORTS FEEL THE PINCH
Nothing guarantees your spot at selection in the BBL, as several imports have learned this season.
English opener Keaton Jennings only lasted three games for Perth before being squeezed out after scores of 4, 35 and 9.
His compatriot and fellow Scorcher Matt Hurst was also axed for Perth’s clash against Melbourne Renegades when part-timer Allen took the gloves.
One of last year’s cult heroes, Paul Walter, was also left out for Brisbane Heat’s must-win clash against Sydney Thunder on Monday night, although he was believed to be managing soreness.
Walter faces a battle to get his spot back.
BRYANT BRILLIANCE
Max Bryant was one of those frustrating players who promised so much yet for many years delivered once or twice a summer.
Who could forget when he scored 71 off 30 balls as the Heat chased down 158 in 10 overs in 2019?
He seemed to have been pigeonholed as a hard-hitting opener in the Josh Brown mould for much of his early career.
However, Bryant has truly flourished as a middle-order player.
He has won two games for the Heat off his own bat this season with an unbeaten 77 against the Melbourne Stars and 72 against the Sydney Thunder.
“I think it’s just staying still at the crease and not overthinking and just playing the ball how it is,” Bryant said on Fox Cricket after his innings against the Thunder.
“I think in the past I have just looked too far ahead. Tonight was the stuff you dream of.”
CHRISTIAN’S COMEBACK
Watching Dan Christian make his comeback after two years out of the BBL, you had to wonder why he ever pulled the pin.
Christian, who has been playing grade cricket in Sydney and working as an assistant coach at the Sydney Thunder, replaced Daniel Sams in the Thunder side for its clash against Brisbane Heat.
He showed he’s still got it at age 41 when he clubbed 23 off 15 balls and took 1-25.
Brad Hogg was almost 47 years old when he played his last BBL match, so Christian’s comeback will need to stretch for another five summers to break the record.
PARIS RESURGENCE
You have to wonder what might have been for Joel Paris had it not been for injury.
The big left-armer was highly rated and played two ODIs in 2016 but has since been cruelled by injuries.
The Melbourne Stars quick is stringing together one of the best summers of his career.
He has taken four wickets in three BBL games and 15 wickets in three Sheffield Shield matches.
Fingers crossed for Paris and the Stars he gets some luck with his body and continues to have a big impact.
He’s found a real niche as a new-ball bowler and then returning in the surge.
RECORD CROWDS – AGAIN
The Perth Scorchers have long been one of the best-supported BBL franchises, dating back to the days of the WACA “Furnace”.
The Scorchers set a crowd record for a regular-season match on January 3 during their clash against the Thunder when 46,471 turned out to Optus Stadium.
It’s been a summer of crowd records in the BBL, which smashed the record for the most fans through the gates by the new year.
MAXWELL AT SIX
The Melbourne Stars have finally got their season up and going – and it’s happened with their biggest star being shuffled down the order to No.6.
Former skipper Glenn Maxwell has been batting behind Tom Rogers, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Marcus Stoinis and Sam Harper in recent games.
“We have been adaptable so far, that’s been a message to the boys, keeping adaptable with that,” Stoinis said recently.
With new Test hero Beau Webster to return, we’re tipping Maxwell might regain his top-three spot in coming matches.
“We have so many options where guys can bat anywhere depending on the situation,” Maxwell said on SEN.
WHERE’S LYON?
While several of the Test stars will play at least one-off cameos in BBL14, Nathan Lyon won’t be one of them.
Lyon will not make his Renegades debut in BBL14 due to concerns about a heavy workload during the upcoming Sri Lanka series.
Surely four overs of BBL wouldn’t have scuppered his preparation?
Lyon bowled 116 overs in three Tests against New Zealand in the 2019-20 summer and then suited up for six matches for the Sydney Sixers. Against India, he bowled 122.4 overs.
While it’s understandable to put your Test stars in cotton wool, having Lyon play even a one-off game would have been a win for fans and the BBL.
CANES ON A ROLL
Is this the year the Hobart Hurricanes are crowned BBL champions for the first time?
It was noted after Hobart’s win over the Adelaide Strikers that for the first time since 2019, the Hurricanes have won four games in a row.
The signs are ominous for Hobart’s title rivals.
Breakout star Mitch Owen has been a revelation, middle-order slugger David has found form and Riley Meredith is bowling as well as he has for several years.
“The wrong players are starting to come into form, for me as an opposition captain,” Sixers skipper Moises Henriques told Fox Cricket. “I think Hobart have a very strong list.”
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