Brisbane Heat BBL10 preview: KFC SuperCoach best buys rated

Is this the summer Brisbane Heat deliver on their sky-high potential? We assess the Heat’s BBL10 squad and their best KFC SuperCoach targets.

After a seventh-placed finish last summer, there are, again, plenty of questions marks over the Brisbane Heat in BBL10.

From a pure team perspective and in KFC SuperCoach.

With star English opener Tom Banton not arriving until late December, can ‘Bash Brothers’ Max Bryant and Chris Lynn get the side off to a fast start?

If it clicks, there will be some fireworks and plenty of KFC SuperCoach value, given the pair’s inconsistent form in last year’s tournament.

But, while the squad looks solid on paper, do the Heat have enough other weapons?

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BBL10 SQUAD

Tom Banton (Eng), Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Tom Cooper, Lewis Gregory (Eng), Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Ben Laughlin, Dan Lawrence (Eng), Chris Lynn, Morne Morkel, Jimmy Peirson, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afg), Jack Wildermuth, Matt Willians.

In: Jack Wildermuth (Renegades), Tom Cooper (Renegades), Lewis Gregory (Eng), Morne Morkel (Scorchers), Dan Lawrence (Eng), James Bazley, Xavier Bartlett, Matt Willians.

Out: Ben Cutting (Thunder), Matthew Renshaw (Strikers), AB De Villiers, Cameron Gannon (Perth Scorchers), Josh Lalor, Jack Prestwidge, James Pattinson (Renegades), Zahir Khan (Stars).

Internationals: Tom Banton (Eng), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afg), Lewis Gregory (Eng), Dan Lawrence (Eng, replacement player)

Tom Banton made a big impression in seven matches for Brisbane Heat last summer.

KEY SUPERCOACH BBL PLAYERS

Tom Banton WKP-BAT BBL09 avg: 54.7

Englishmen haven’t enjoyed great success in the BBL — especially with the bat — but rising star Banton bucked the trend last season. Playing the first seven games before he was replaced by AB De Villiers, Banton bludgeoned 223 runs at a staggering strike rate of 177. That strike rate was pivotal to his KFC SuperCoach average of 54.7. Banton’s best outing was in a rain--shortened fixture against Sydney Thunder when he launched Arjun Nair for five sixes in an over and passed 50 in 16 balls. He must be a nightmare for opposition captains with his imaginative stroke play.

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Chris Lynn (right) has one of the biggest ceilings in KFC SuperCoach BBL.

Chris Lynn BAT BBL09 avg: 46.1

While he had six KFC SuperCoach scores of 27 points or less in BBL09, coaches only need to look to Round 2 last season for a reminder of Lynn’s matchwinning ability. Traded out by 13 per cent of teams after a 27-point return in a Round 1 double, Lynn blazed 94 from 35 balls for a score of 189 points. It’s hard to know exactly when the BBL’s all-time leading run scorer is going to go ballistic, but when he does his ceiling is as high as any player in the game. Coaches certainly won’t want to go into a Heat double without Lynn in their teams.

Veteran seamer Ben Laughlin will be an important figure with the ball for the Heat.

Ben Laughlin BWL BBL09 avg: 49.8

Death bowlers are where the most points are in KFC SuperCoach and no player has nailed that skill better than Laughlin in the history of the BBL. The veteran seamer was a consistent KFC SuperCoach scorer in his first season with Brisbane, producing eight scores between 35-88 in 13 matches. The key outliers were a season-best 108 against Melbourne Renegades and a low of 11 against his former side Adelaide Strikers. Expect Laughlin to have a prominent role in the second half of the innings for the Heat again.

Lewis Gregory BAT-BWL

The English all-rounder will arrive in Australia around Christmas and immediately assume the role vacated by Ben Cutting. The 28-year-old has become part of England’s national T20 team in the past 12 months and was one of the leading wicket-takers in last year’s County Championship with 51 wickets in 11 games. Gregory has conceded an average of 8.82 runs an over in 113 career T20s but averages about a wicket a game. He looms as a finisher in the last five overs with the bat, averaging 22 runs with a strike rate of 146.8. The first game of Brisbane’s Round 8 double is on January 7 so coaches will have a chance to assess Gregory before then.

KFC SuperCoach doubles: Round 8

KFC SuperCoach byes: None

BEST LINE-UP

Max Bryant

Tom Banton

Chris Lynn

Marnus Labuschagne

Lewis Gregory

Jimmy Peirson

Jack Wildermuth

Mitch Swepson

Morne Morkel

Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Ben Laughlin

PREDICTIONS

Finishing position

The Phantom: Seventh — I think the Heat will be playing catch-up again - and it might be too late by Christmas time.

Tim Michell: Sixth — They’ll get momentum going later in the tournament but it might be too late to mount a finals surge.

Top KFC SuperCoach BBL scorer

The Phantom: Chris Lynn - His big scores could be enough to drag him over the line for total points. Lewis Gregory for average.

Tim Michell: Morne Morkel — will play the full season and will be bowling at important times. Can see him going close to being the leading wicket-taker for BBL10.

BURNING QUESTIONS

Max Bryant has a great opportunity to stamp himself as one of the most dangerous BBL openers.

Can Max Bryant live up to his potential?

The hard-hitting opener was unable to back up his breakout summer in BBL09, finishing the tournament with an underwhelming 145 runs from 10 games. In BBL08, Bryant underlined his talent with 335 runs at a strike rate of 150, including a knock of 71 not out from 30 balls against Melbourne Stars. Brisbane needs him back to his best as part of the ‘Bash Brothers’ alongside Chris Lynn and Tom Banton.

Tom Cooper could fill the role vacated by Matt Renshaw in Brisbane Heat’s middle order.

What role does Tom Coooper play?

The role vacated by Matt Renshaw seems most likely. That would put Cooper in the frame to bat at No.4 or No.5 for the Heat and bowl 1-2 overs a match, likely in the power play. He’s cheap in KFC SuperCoach too after only playing a bit-part role for the Renegades in recent campaigns.

Is Jack Wildermuth a direct replacement for Ben Cutting?

The bowling all-rounder was largely a bit-part player for the Renegades last season and struggled to have an impact, only taking one wicket and conceding 9.8 runs an over from 20 overs across seven matches. There’s an opportunity for Wildermuth to seize on the all-rounder role vacated by Cutting, who has moved to Sydney Thunder. If he’s batting in the top six or seven and bowling at least two overs a game, he’s definitely an option as a bench cheapie in SuperCoach at just $62k and with BAT-BWL eligiblity. He opened the Queensland Premier Cricket season with five scalps in three games then hammered 92 from 59 balls in his fifth match.

Don't get #SuperCoach FOMO like @mitchswepson! 🤦🏻‍♂️

KFC SuperCoach BBL launches on October 29 🔥🏏 pic.twitter.com/dNdcvkGqbO

— KFC SuperCoach BBL (@SuperCoachBBL) October 22, 2020

Can Mitch Swepson maintain his red-hot start to the summer?

He bowled Queensland to victory in their Shield opener with 4-66 from 45.2 overs and leg-spinner Swepson has been dominant in Premier Cricket too with hauls of 7-47 and 6-71 in recent matches. The Heat are yet to announce whether he’ll have spin support — as he did last season with Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Zahir Khan. If Swepson is going to play a frontline role in BBL10, he could be a bargain at $105,900 in KFC SuperCoach BBL. He took nine wickets in 10 BBL games last season but only conceded 7.3 runs an over.

Originally published as Brisbane Heat BBL10 preview: KFC SuperCoach best buys rated