That means that your Fantasy Big Bash side should be all but finalised (with a few little tweaks accepted) by now, and a telling factor in that is who's going to play and who won't.
Here are my predicted sides, with players who regularly represent Australia ignored as it's increasingly likely that Cricket Australia will be very cautious when allowing Test players play in the Big Bash.
Adelaide Strikers 1.Michael Klinger 2.Phil Hughes 3.Callum Ferguson 4.Nathan Reardon 5.Kieron Pollard 6.Johan Botha 7.Tim Ludeman 8.Kane Richardson 9.Saeed Ajmal 10.Gary Putland 11.Shaun Tait Injured: Andrew McDonald Aus duties: Nathan Lyon Others in the squad: James Smith Cameron Boyce Theo Doropoulos Matt Johnston Michael Neser Review: An overall very strong squad. Ludeman is their only wicketkeeper but will bat low. Obvioulsy the McDonald injury hurts as he gives so much with bat and ball. Definitely consider Hughes, Ferguson & Putland. Brisbane Heat 1.Chris Hartley 2.Joe Burns 3.Peter Forrest 4.Chris Lynn 5.Andrew Robinson 6.Dan Christian 7.James Hopes 8.Dan Vettori 9.Ben Cutting 10.Nathan Hauritz 11.Kemar Roach Injured: Ryan Harris Aus duties: Shane Watson Mitch Johnson Dale Steyn (SAf) Others in the squad: Luke Pomersbach Cameron Gannon Alister McDermott Review: A darkhorse for the title. The bowling attack is the strongest there is, with Steyn & Johnson barring national duties add pace and aggression. Pomersbach is in form and will challenge Robinson and Lynn for a position. From the Heat, Christian, Cutting and Hartley all offer excellent value. Hobart Hurricanes 1.Jon Wells 2.Tim Paine 3.Ricky Ponting 4.Travis Birt 5.Owais Shah 6.George Bailey 7.Scott Styris 8.Jason Krejza 9.Ben Laughlin 10.Xavier Doherty 11.Doug Bollinger Aus duty: Ed Cowan Ben Hilfenhaus Others in the squad: Aiden Blizzard Ben Dunk Evan Gulbis Michael Hogan Timm van der Gugten Review: One name to remember here: Ricky Ponting. Due to his test retirement, he's now committed to the Hurricanes. Brilliant. Birt was last year's leading run-scorer and Krejza & Doherty are both class acts. Melbourne Renegades 1.Aaron Finch 2.Daniel Harris 3.Faf du Plessis 4.Marlon Samuels 5.Tom Cooper 6.Alex Doolan 7.Peter Nevill 8.Aaron O'Brien 9.Nathan Rimmington 10.Jayde Herrick 11.Muttiah Muralidaran Others in the squad: Ben Rohrer James Muirhead Brendan Drew Will Sheridan Meyrick Buchanan Fawad Ahmed Michael Hill Darren Pattinson Review: They've lost some key players and look weaker than last year. They'll need a big impact from Victorian locals Buchanan, Sheridan, Hill and Herrick. Finch is a star and Murali has played 129 T20 matches. | Melbourne Stars 1.Rob Quiney 2.Luke Wright 3.Brad Hodge 4.David Hussey 5.Cameron White 6.Matthew Wade 7.Glenn Maxwell 8.James Faulkner 9.Shane Warne 10.Clint McKay 11.Lasith Malinga Injured: James Pattinson Aus duty: John Hastings Matthew Wade Others in the squad: Peter Handscomb Jackson Bird Alex Keath Scott Henry Clive Rose Review: Two cross-town pick-ups in Hodge and Maxwell were two of the Renegades best players. Faulkner can do a bit of everything, and you know that Warne and Malinga are two of the best in the format. Any of the top five could easily hold down a spot in your team - and watch out for Pete Handscomb if Wade isn't given permission to play. Perth Scorchers 1.Shaun Marsh 2.Herschelle Gibbs 3.Marcus North 4.Simon Katich 5.Adam Voges 6.Tom Triffit 7.Tim Armstrong 8.Brad Hogg 9.Nathan Coulter-Nile 10.Alfonso Thomas 11.Michael Beer Injured: Pat Cummins Mitch Marsh Aus duty: Michael Hussey Others in the squad: Ashton Agar Jason Behrendorff Joe Mennie Ben Edmonson Review: The Scorchers made the final last year and have kept the bulk of their squad. Mitch Marsh and Cummins are massive loses, but it allows Coulter-Nile to become the strike bowler. Also consider Shaun Marsh and Beer, who had a terrific Champions League. Sydney 6s 1.Brad Haddin 2.Michael Lumb 3.Nic Maddinson 4.Moises Henriques 5.Steve Smith 6.Daniel Smith 7.Steve O'Keefe 8.Brett Lee 9.Luke Feldman 10.Sunil Narine 11.Josh Hazlewood Aus duty: David Warner Mitch Starc Others in the squad: Josh Lalor Daniel Hughes Dom Thornley Ian Moran Kurtis Patterson Review: Another super looking outfit for the pink Sydney side, but their depth isn't particularly strong. Therefore bank on Maddinson, Haddin and Henriques to have been series', because they're desperately needed. Sydney Thunder 1.Chris Gayle 2.Martin Guptill 3.Usman Khawaja 4.Mark Cosgrove 5.Cameron Borgas 6.Matt Prior 7.Sean Abbott 8.Luke Doran 9.Azhar Mahmood 10.Scott Coyte 11.Dirk Nannes Aus duty: Michael Clarke Others in the squad: Gurinder Sandhu Adam Zampa Chris Tremain Chris Rogers Rhett Lockyear Adam Coyte Ryan Carters Jason Floros Review: A rather weak looking Thunder team this year, especially if you ignore the top three: Gayle, Khawaja and Nannes. I'm banking on Khawaja to have a cracking series and Sean Abbott is a handy all-rounder. |