‘Mr Cricket’ Mike Hussey unveils his KFC SuperCoach BBL team for BBL13

Mike Hussey’s first SuperCoach BBL team of the summer is in — with a few big-name omissions. See who Mr Cricket is picking and his plans for the game’s first ‘Super Round’.

Mike Hussey has revealed his first SuperCoach BBL team for BBL13.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first looked at the SuperCoach BBL fixture for this summer.

I’d gone through the prices and pinpointed several bargains, headlined by Ben McDermott at less than $90,000.

Then I looked at round 1 and completely ripped up my plans.

For the first time in the five years I’ve played SuperCoach BBL there will be a triple game week when Brisbane Heat plays three times.

Then the Renegades, Stars, Scorchers and Sixers play twice.

No wonder they’re calling it a super round.

I’m really excited because it means there will be a lot of variety in starting teams and I think it’s really going to spice up SuperCoach BBL.

If you haven’t played before, getting involved in the super round is a great reason to enter a team for BBL13.

With that bumper start to the BBL in mind, I have targeted players from the four doubles and Brisbane Heat – with D’Arcy Short the exception.

One of the greatest players in the history of the BBL at a rookie price looks too good to pass up – especially considering the Strikers play twice in round 2.

That’s one of the things I found crucial to being successful in SuperCoach BBL – planning ahead.

It’s why I am still torn on how many Brisbane Heat players to start with.

Yes, the Heat play three times in round 1 and once in round 2.

Michael Neser and the Heat are scheduled to play three times in round 1. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

But by round 3 they have a bye, so going too heavy in round 1 could come back to bite you.

Picking Michael Neser is a non-negotiable.

His price tag might look high, but he’s one of the form cricketers in Australia and scored more than 200 points during a double last season. Imagine the damage he could do playing three times in round 1.

The only knock I have on him is that he bats too low for his ability. Hopefully the Heat elevate him to No. 7 – at a minimum – this season.

The other factors to consider when choosing Heat players for round 1 are durability and selection.

You don’t want to be caught out by a Brisbane player being managed or left out when the Heat plays in six days.

I’m confident Colin Munro, Matt Renshaw and Sam Billings will feature in each game, so they’re in my side.

Sean Abbott and the Sixers have a round 1 double. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Ditto Paul Walter, although I’m torn on whether to start him on the bench and play Glenn Maxwell. That’s a call for closer to December 7 when the tournament gets underway.

I can understand coaches picking Quinton de Kock considering he has been one of the best batters of the tournament at the World Cup.

But the $60k saving and triple game week were enough for me to go with Billings instead.

The three Sixers I’ve gone with for round 1 are Tom Curran, Sean Abbott and Josh Philippe.

Curran and Abbott are two of the most consistent scorers in SuperCoach BBL history, while Philippe is a bargain at $102k.

The last call came down to Mitch Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann, who might be battling for one spot in the Heat team.

I always tend to have favoured leg spinners because wickets are where the big points are in SuperCoach.

Mike Hussey is banking on a bounce-back season from D’Arcy Short. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Swepson might leak a few more runs than Kuhnemann, but a 2-40 is likely worth more than a 0-20 in SuperCoach.

There are two players I wanted to desperately squeeze in but haven’t been able to.

The first is Matt Short, who has been the dominant player in the past two BBL campaigns.

At $244k, he’s just too expensive to start when Adelaide doesn’t play twice.

But, you’ve got to have it in the back of your mind that the Strikers have a round 2 double.

Start planning how you will get Short in then, because he scores so well with bat and ball that he could end your hopes of rankings glory in two games.

The other is McDermott, who is a crazy price at $88k after only scoring 196 runs in BBL12.

If Hobart had a double earlier than round 7 he would have been my first player picked, but the fixture is king in SuperCoach BBL.

Like all SuperCoaches, I will be studying the form closely and keeping an ear to the ground for any team and role whispers in the next month.

There will no doubt be changes to this team before the first ball of BBL13 is bowled.

But for now the Baggy Greens are locked and loaded.

Mike Hussey's first SuperCoach BBL team for BBL13.