Brisbane Heat’s Max Bryant looking to perfect his T20 game at Darwin’s Strike League
Some of the best young cricketers from around the country - including Brisbane Heat’s Max Bryant -will converge on Darwin for what promises to be an epic Strike League season. SEE THE PLAYERS HERE
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BIG-hitting Brisbane Heat batter Max Bryant intends to use his time playing in Darwin’s looming Strike League to turn himself into a better T20 opener following the loss of Chris Lynn.
Bryant, 23, who will play for Desert Blaze, joins Wes Agar (Northern Tide), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Tide), James Bazley (Tide), Tom O’Connell (Blaze), Xavier Crone (Blaze), Josh Kann (Southern Storm), Mitch Owen (Storm), Jack Clayton (Storm) and Jake Reed (City Cyclones) as league recruits who have played at Big Bash franchises.
He told the NT News he was still a work in progress when it came to T20 cricket, and will need to step up as a leader after Lynn was not offered a new deal with the Brisbane franchise during the off season.
“I’ve played nearly 50 Big Bash games and I still haven’t really worked out the best way to go about opening the batting,” Bryant said.
“Hopefully I can go up there and learn how to start and build an innings and be a more consistent player than I have been for the last 4-5 years.
“I’ll knuckle down up in Darwin and try to learn as much as I can so I can be better for the Heat.
“It’s like a cricket holiday I guess. I’m looking forward to getting up there and getting away from the cold Brisbane at the moment.”
However, he said Lynn, the “the heart and soul of the Heat” would be difficult to replace.
“He was the one putting bums on seats at the Gabba,” he said.
“One of the younger boys is going to have to stand up and try and fill his role ... on and off the field.
“With him gone, there’s more responsibility on me ... to be that player at the top of the order firing.
“We’re pretty similar players, we try and hit every ball to the boundary.
“Opening is where I’d like to bat (in Darwin).”
The four-team competition, a mixture of 50-over and T20 games, runs from June 26 to August 7, with Heat-listed player Hugo Burdon (City Cyclones) also heading north.
Meanwhile, first class cricketers Charlie Stobo (New South Wales), Bailey Capel (South Australia), Jordan Buckingham (SA), Param Uppal (NSW), Corey Kelly (SA), Tim Ward (Tasmania), Brad Hope (WA), Jayden Goodwin (WA), Corey Rocchiccioli (WA), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (NSW) and Ash Chandrasinghe, who plays for Waratah and recently signed a contract with Victoria, will also turn out.
Also taking part are Darwin & District Cricket Competition players Antum Naqvi (Tracy Village), Dylan Brasher (Darwin), Isaac Conway (Waratah), Hamish Martin (Palmerston) and Under 19 NT representatives Sam Elder (Waratah), Tom Menzies (Darwin) and Awad Naqvi (Palmerston).
SEE THE TEAMS FOR THE STRIKE LEAGUE
City Cyclones
Coach: Brad Murphy
Manager: Chris Lai
Tim Ward
Tasmania
Liam Blackford
Geelong (Victoria), Australian Under 19s
Hugo Burdon
Brisbane Heat
Dylan Brasher
Footscray (Victoria), Darwin
Tom Vane-Tempest
ACT Under 23s, Tuggeranong Valley (ACT)
Ash Chandrasinghe
Waratah, Casey South Melbourne (Victoria), Victoria
Nic Wheeler
Nightcliff
Andrew Richards
Nightcliff
Coby Edmondstone
PINT
Jake Reed
Victoria, Footscray (Victoria), Hobart Hurricanes
Reiley Mark
Richmond (Vic)
Jordan Buckingham
South Australia, West Torrens (SA)
Finn Gray
Western Suburbs (NSW)
Southern Storm
Coach: Jason Bremner
Assistants: Dylan Slater, Jodie Purvis
Manager Coen McKinnon
Sam Fanning
Australia and NSW Under 19s, Perth
Hamish Martin
Palmerston
Brad Hope
University of Tasmania
Bailey Capel
South Australia, West Torrens (SA)
Jack Clayton
Queensland, Brisbane Heat
Param Uppal
New South Wales
Mitch Owen
Hobart Hurricanes
Toby Gray
Northern District (NSW)
Josh Kann
Hobart Hurricanes, Tracy Village
Michael Kudra
Nightcliff
Braden Taebur
Dandenong (Vic)
Desert Blaze
Coach: Marc Calkin
Assistants: Adrian Gallagher
Manager: Jamie Sekhon
Hanno Jacobs
Western Suburbs (NSW)
Jayden Goodwin
Western Australia
Max Bryant
Queensland, Brisbane Heat
Charlie Kemp
Darwin, NT Under 19s
Sam Rahaley
Kensington (SA)
Dhruv Kant
Darwin, Parramatta
Tom Kelaart
University of Queensland, NT Under 19s
Corey Kelly
South Australia
Tom O’Connell
Victoria, Geelong, Melbourne Stars
Harshtik Bimbral
Palmerston
Corey Rocchiccioli
Western Australia
Xavier Crone
Victoria, Carlton (Vic), Melbourne Stars
Caiden Eaton
Wanneroo (WA)
Northern Tide
Coach Mark Cosgrove
Assistant: Himseh Silva
Manager: Nitesh Panchal
Raveesh Srivastava
Nightcliff, Fairfield-Liverpool (NSW)
Antum Naqvi
Tracy Village, Northern Districts (SA)
Jake Fraser-McGurk
Victoria, Richmond (Victoria), Melbourne Renegades
Blake MacDonald
St George (NSW)
Isaac Conway
Waratah, Port Adelaide (SA)
Josh Brown
Northern Suburbs
James Bazley
Brisbane Heat, Redlands (QLD), Hobart Hurricanes
Nivethan Radhakrishnan
Tasmania, Australia Under 19s
Charlie Stobo
New South Wales, University (WA)
Jayllen Naganayagam
Nightcliff
Wes Agar
South Australia, Adelaide Strikers
Tom Menzies
Darwin, NT Under 19s
Sam Elder
Waratah, NT Under 19s
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