Cricket: Big Bash League Preview

The fourth stanza of the Big Bash League gets underway tonight. We review all the teams; their best players; and their chances of winning the T20 showpiece, with odds from Bet365.

Adelaide Strikers

The squad: Johan Botha, Jonathon Dean, Travis Head, Brad Hodge, Jon Holland, Michael Neser, Craig Simmons, Ben Laughlin, Trent Lawford, Tim Ludeman, Kieron Pollard, Gary Putland, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Shaun Tait, Adam Zampa.

The player to watch: Kieron Pollard is easily the most destructive batsman in the Strikers squad if not the entire tournament. He’s warmed up nicely by smashing six 6’s in a recent warm up game and is set to torment opposing bowlers in the coming weeks. The hugely experienced T20 traveller is also a handy medium paced bowler as well as possessing bucket like catching mitts.

The odds: $8.00

The history: sixth, fifth, seventh

The 2014 chances: The Strikers don’t have the best record in the Big Bash League, but they may surprise if Pollard, Hodge and Simmons can come off. regularly. In Laughlin and Richardson they have two high quality T20 bowlers but we can’t see them making it into the finals this year.

Brisbane Heat

The squad: Joe Burns, Daniel Christian, Ben Cutting, Ryan Duffield, Jason Floros, Peter Forrest, Cameron Gannon, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Simon Milenko, James Peirson, Nathan Reardon, Mark Steketee, Dan Vettori, Shane Watson, Andrew Flintoff.

The player to watch: Andrew Flintoff. The Heat’s recruitment policy is clearly to opt for older overseas players. The ageing Daniel Vettori has been joined by English import Andrew Flintoff for the 2014 edition of the BBL. Once a fearsome fast bowler also capable of giving it a decent whack, Flintoff is now 37 and played just three of Lancashire’s T20 matches last season back home. Flintoff is expected to have a heavy workload especially after Samuel Badree’s recent injury – that makes him our player to watch.

The odds: $7.00

The history: fifth, fourth (winners), fifth

The 2014 chances: Much like the other sides in the competition the test for the Heat will be whether their fringe players and domestic warriors can cover the loss of Watson and Johnson on Australia duty. Cutting, Lynn and Christian are now vastly experienced players at this level and will need to perform exceedingly well to match their efforts in 2012/13.

Hobart Hurricanes

The squad: George Bailey, Travis Birt, Tim Bresnan, Cameron Boyce, Xavier Doherty, Ben Dunk, Evan Gulbis, Alex Hales, Ben Hilfenhaus, Joe Mennie, Dominic Michael, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird, Jake Reed, Darren Sammy, Timm van der Gugten, Jonathan Wells, Beau Webster, Michael Hill.

The player to watch: Alex Hales. The Englishmen is no stranger to the attention of the Big Bash League. He marked his arrival to the competition by smashing 89 in BBL2 and has since gone on to become the third ranked T20 batsman in the World. He’s nit in the best form but this format suits him to a tee as he showed during the World T20 earlier in the year, becoming the first Englishman to score a century in the format.

The odds: $6.00

The history: second, sixth, fourth

The 2014 chances: The Hurricanes have recruited four overseas players to fill the gaps in their squad but we are of the view that none of them are of the quality needed to win the competition. They still have power don’t get us wrong, Dunk, Bailey and Birt are all proven at this level, but we can’t see them being a factor at the end of the tournament.

Melbourne Renegades

The squad: Fawad Ahmed, Thomas Beaton, Dwayne Bravo, Tom Cooper, Alex Doolan, Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Jayde Herrick, Peter Nevill, Aaron O’Brien, James Pattinson, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Rohrer, Andre Russell, Matthew Short, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade, Nicholas Winter. Overseas replacement player: Jesse Ryder

The player to watch: Aaron Finch is one of Australia’s most important limited overs players. He captains the T20 side and is also a mainstay of the ODI team. His excellent performances against South Africa in the recent series outlined his importance to the Renegades. Expect big things from Finch.

The odds: $7.50

The history: seventh, first, sixth

The 2014 chances: Pretty good. Perhaps a little light in bowling which may come back to haunt them throughout the Big Bash League. However, they have recruited well, all of their overseas players are capable of match winning innings. Worth a punt to take it out.

Melbourne Stars

The squad: Michael Beer, Jackson Bird, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, Luke Feldman, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, David Hussey, Alexander Keath, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Kevin Pietersen, Rob Quiney, Clive Rose, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron White, Daniel Worrall, Luke Wright

The player to watch: Glenn Maxwell. Anyone in the side really but we’ve earmarked Glenn Maxwell for greatness this time around. The “Big Show” is an innovative strokemaker with an impressive strike rate wherever he bats. Even his off spin has the x-factor required to win games so he is quite obviously the player to watch.

The odds: $4.33

The history: fourth, third, first

The 2014 chances: If their fellow city goers the Renegades are a pretty good chance, then the Stars are an excellent chance. They have a formidable line-up and have performed well in all previous BBL’s. Wright and Pietersen should be available for much of the tournament to help deliver the much needed trophy for the glamour franchise.

Perth Scorchers

The squad: Ashton Agar, Yasir Arafat, Jason Behrendorff, Michael Carberry, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Brad Hogg, Michael Klinger, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, James Muirhead, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman.

The player to watch: If injuries and Australia commitments don’t prevent Marsh form turning out for the Scorchers then expect him to clear the boundary on more occasions than anyone else in the competition. Marsh is one of the biggest hitters of a cricket ball in the country and has also been one of the main reasons for their success in the Big Bash League thus far.

The odds: $6.50

The history: first, third, third (winners)

The 2014 chances: It would be stupid to write off a side that has hosted each of the three Big Bash League finals. The Scorchers get tremendous support at the WACA and will again go close this year. One thing they have always done well is their slow bowling, and this year should be no different with Agar and Hogg supporting the death bowling nous of Yasir Arafat.

Sydney Sixers

The squad: Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Trent Copeland, Ed Cowan, Benjamin Dwarshuis, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazelwood, Moises Henriques, Brett Lee, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Stephen O’Keefe, Jordan Silk, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc.

The player to watch: Jordan Silk is no that well known in Australia cricket but he should be. In fact he’s probably best known for his catching and fielding more than his batting. But on his day he is a talented player and an exciting prospect for the future. Could the BBL4 be the time for Silk to shine.

The odds: $8.00

The history: third (winners), seventh, second

The 2014 chances: If you won the toss and had Abbot, Bollinger, Copeland, Halewood, Henriques, Lee and Starc in your team what would you do? Exactly, bowling is the strength of the Sixers and they’ll need to knock over teams cheaply to get anywhere near qualification for the Champions League T20.

Sydney Thunder

The squad: Ahillen Beadle, Aiden Blizzard, Patrick Cummins, Jake Doran, Christopher Green, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, Daniel Hughes, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Usman Khawaja, Josh Lalor, Andrew McDonald, Eoin Morgan, Dirk Nannes, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu, Christopher Tremain.

The player to watch: Jacques Kallis never actually had the best T20 career for South Africa or for Kolkata in the IPL. Nevertheless, the soon to be 40-year old still brings an element of quality that the Thunder have always been lacking. News yesterday is that Khawaja is out for nine months increasing the pressure on Kallis to perform.

The odds: $13.00

The history: eighth, eighth, eighth

The 2014 chances: Excellent chance….of registering a fourth consecutive eighth placed finish. Not enough quality; too much pressure on Hussey, Kallis, Morgan and Cummins; and a lack of confidence in the Big Bash League.

Featured Bookmaker: Unibet