*Official* Big Bash League 2012/13

[vic_orthdox]

May as well get it started, probably should have earlier when all the signings were going in, but CBF then.



Stuart MacGill puts on the charm

Adelaide Strikers

Johan Botha, Theo Doropoulos, Callum Ferguson, Jon Holland, Phillip Hughes, Michael Klinger, Nathan Lyon, Andrew McDonald, Michael Neser, Kieron Pollard, Gary Putland, Nathan Reardon, Kane Richardson, Ajmal Saeed, James Smith, Shaun Tait

Brisbane Heat
Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Daniel Christian, Peter Forrest, Cameron Gannon, Ryan Harris, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Luke Pomersbach, Kemar Roach, Dale Steyn, Shane Watson, Daniel Vettori

Hobart Hurricanes
George Bailey, Travis Birt, Aiden Blizzard, Doug Bollinger, Xavier Doherty, Ben Dunk, Michael Hogan, Jason Krejza, Ben Laughlin, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting, Owais Shah, Timm van der Gugten, Jonathan Wells

Melbourne Renegades
Meyrick Buchanan, Tom Cooper, Brendan Drew, Aaron Finch, Daniel Harris, Jayde Herrick, Michael Hill, James Muirhead, Muttiah Muralitharan, Peter Nevill, Aaron O'Brien, Darren Pattinson, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Rohrer, Will Sheridan, Marlon Samuels

Melbourne Stars
Shane Warne, Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Pete Handscomb, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Matthew Wade, Cameron White, Luke Wright, Lasith Malinga

Perth Scorchers
Ashton Agar, Tim Armstrong, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Ben Edmondson, Herschelle Gibbs, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Albie Morkel, Marcus North, Tom Triffitt, Adam Voges

Sydney Sixers
Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Josh Lalor, Brett Lee, Michael Lumb, Nic Maddinson, Ian Moran, Sunil Narine, Stephen O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Daniel Smith, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Dominic Thornely, David Warner

Sydney Thunder
Sean Abbott, Cameron Borgas, Ryan Carters, Michael Clarke, Mark Cosgrove, Adam Coyte, Scott Coyte, Luke Doran, Jason Floros, Chris Gayle, Rhett Lockyear, Dirk Nannes, Gurinder Sandhu, Chris Tremain, Usman Khawaja, Chris Rogers, Martin Guptill, Matt Prior

Fri Dec 7
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Renegades v Melbourne Stars, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne

Sat Dec 8
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder, Sydney Cricket Ground

Sun Dec 9
07:00 GMT | 17:00 local
Brisbane Heat v Hobart Hurricanes, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Sun Dec 9
10:00 GMT | 18:00 local
Perth Scorchers v Adelaide Strikers, Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

Wed Dec 12
09:00 GMT | 17:00 local
Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars, Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

Thu Dec 13
08:30 GMT | 19:00 local
Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Oval

Fri Dec 14
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades, Stadium Australia, Sydney

Sat Dec 15
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Stars v Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Cricket Ground

Sun Dec 16
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers,Sydney Cricket Ground

Tue Dec 18
08:30 GMT | 18:30 local
Brisbane Heat v Perth Scorchers, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Wed Dec 19
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Renegades v Hobart Hurricanes, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne

Thu Dec 20
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers, Stadium Australia, Sydney

Fri Dec 21
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers, Melbourne Cricket Ground

Sat Dec 22
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
16:00 WST | 18:30 CST | 19:00 EST Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne

Sun Dec 23
05:30 GMT | 16:30 local
Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder, Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Sun Dec 23
08:30 GMT | 19:00 local
Adelaide Strikers v Sydney Sixers, Adelaide Oval

Wed Dec 26
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Sixers v Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Cricket Ground

Thu Dec 27
08:00 GMT | 18:30 local
Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Stars, Adelaide Oval

Fri Dec 28
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat, Stadium Australia, Sydney

Sat Dec 29
10:00 GMT | 18:00 local
Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Renegades
Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

Sun Dec 30
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers, Stadium Australia, Sydney

Tue Jan 1
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Hobart Hurricanes v Perth Scorchers, Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Wed Jan 2
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Renegades v Adelaide Strikers, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne

Thu Jan 3
08:00 GMT | 18:00 local
Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Stars, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Fri Jan 4
10:00 GMT | 18:00 local
Perth Scorchers v Sydney Thunder, Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth

Sat Jan 5
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Hobart Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers, Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Sun Jan 6
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Cricket Ground

Mon Jan 7
08:00 GMT | 18:00 local
Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

Tue Jan 8
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder (1 v 4), Melbourne Cricket Ground

Wed Jan 9
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Renegades (2 v 3), Sydney Cricket Ground

Thu Jan 10
08:30 GMT | 19:00 local
Adelaide Strikers v Perth Scorchers, Adelaide Oval

Sat Jan 12
08:00 GMT | 19:00 local
Hobart Hurricanes v Brisbane Heat, Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Tue Jan 15 1st semi-final - TBC v TBC
Venue TBC

Wed Jan 16 2nd semi-final - TBC v TBC
Venue TBC

Sat Jan 19 Final - TBC v TBC
Venue TBC

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters

1. M. Klinger
2. P. Hughes
3. A. McDonald
4. C. Ferguson
5.
6. K. Pollard
7. J. Botha
8.
9. K. Richardson
10. N. Lyon
11. S. Tait

Other Players
N. Reardon
M. Neser
J. Smith
T. Doropolous
J. Holland
G. Putland

So you have a wicketkeeper still to fill in, with Crosthwaite being the back-up option (AFAIK he's still staying in South Australia), they'll probably be having a bit of a shootout up till then, unless another option pops up out of nowhere.

When Lyon is missing for Tests, Holland comes in. Whether or not Tait is in their best team, you'd think he'd start off there. Have six bowling options, with three of the options for the extra batting spot also providing some sort of bowling. Ronnie needs to bat high in this stuff, and is a better T20 player than Ferguson from what he's shown so far, so should slide in at three.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters

1. A. Finch
2. D. Harris
3.
4. T. Cooper
5. B. Rohrer
6.
7. P. Nevill+
8. N. Rimmington
9.
10.
11. M. Muralitharan

Other Players
D. Pattinson
M. Buchanan
M. Hill
W. Sheridan
J. Muirhead
J. Herrick
A. O'Brien

They look like a skeleton of a team at the moment; they'd take a third overseas if they could get it. I guess that O'Brien will slide in as another bowler, which would leave a shoot-out between Pattinson and Herrick for another quick bowling spot, and would force Sheridan to take up a batsman's spot.

They really do need some form of an all-rounder; I wouldn't be surprised looking at the make-up of the side if they were trying to get Afridi again and missed out. Having him at six would let them then use a Hill or Sheridan at 3, giving them an opportunity to establish themselves.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters

1. C. Gayle
2. R. Lockyear
3. M. Cosgrove
4. S. Afridi
5. C. Borgas
6.
7. R. Carters+
8. S. Coyte
9.
10. L. Doran
11. D. Nannes

Other Players
J. Floros
C. Tremain
G. Sandhu
A. Coyte
S. Abbott

They seem to have a little more back-up in the batting than what they had last year, and Afridi will bolster the bowling attack as well - can almost refer to him as a straight swap for Fidel Edwards. It really hurt them last year losing Bollinger, and I guess Nannes takes his spot.

Lockyear has been used as an opener by the Taswegians in the past, so wouldn't be surprised to see him open, or maybe Carters, who has won the Baby Bash's Player of the Carnival as an opener. Abbott, Floros fighting it out for the extra batting spot, and Abbott probably competing with Tremain for the bowling spot as well.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters

1. N. Maddinson
2. B. Haddin+
3. S. Smith
4.
5. M. Henriques
6. D. Thornely
7.
8. S. O'Keefe
9. B. Lee
10. M. Starc
11. S. Narine

Other Players
I. Moran
D. Smith
J. Hazlewood
J. Lalor
K. Patterson

Plenty of bowling in that line-up, and decent batting depth; Lee wouldn't be getting nosebleeds at 8, which may suck them into playing another bowler (just for you, Spikeh). You'd imagine that their second overseas signing would be a batsman. Pretty similar spine to what appeared for the Sixers last year.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters
1. T. Paine+
2. A. Blizzard
3. R. Ponting
4. T. Birt
5. O. Shah
6. G. Bailey
7.
8. J. Krezja
9. B. Laughlin
10. X. Doherty
11. D. Bollinger

Other Players
E. Cowan
T. Van Der Gugten
J. Wells
M. Hogan
B. Dunk

Likely that Cowan and Ponting won't be available for a heap of time; would imagine that the team just shuffle up one position each and a Wells or Dunk slide in at 6. Similar to last year, they are struggling for someone to slide into 7; they need a fifth bowling option, but Krezja isn't good enough with the bat to be at 7.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters
1. H. Gibbs
2. S. Marsh
3. A. Voges
4. M. North
5. M. Marsh
6. A. Morkel
7. T. Triffitt+
8. N. Coulter-Nile
9. B. Hogg
10. P. Cummins
11. M. Beer

Other Players
B. Edmondson
T. Armstrong
J. Mennie
J. Behrendorff
A. Agar
S. Katich
M. Hussey

The tough thing for the Scorchers to do is work out how to fit Hussey in there when he's available! I guess by this stage of the season, there will be injuries involved, so you can anticipate Edmondson coming in for Cummins when he is injured. Mitch Marsh has spent his fair amount of time on the physio table too - maybe that's how the pair became such good mates.

The Katman might be only playing BBL this year, yet might struggle to get a game in this team. Agar as a substitute for Beer, Mennie is reportedly out of the fast and straight book, a la Edmondson, and a meal ticket for Armstrong to come over to.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters

1. S. Watson
2. J. Hopes
3. P. Forrest
4. C. Lynn
5.
6. D. Christian
7. C. Hartley+
8. D. Vettori
9. R. Harris
10. A. McDermott
11. K. Roach

Other Players
C. Gannon
J. Burns
B. Cutting
L. Pomersbach
N. Hauritz

Watson will be unlikely to play many games, opening up a spot for Pomersbach - how they would have like him last year. Burns will likely get his chances too during the tournament.

Unsure at the moment whether Vettori has limited availability, as per last year, for the tournament, and I've heard that Roach may not be available the whole time either. Therefore chances will come for Cutting and Hauritz. Interesting to see no Buchanan at this point, who got a spot on the Heat's list last year ahead of Gannon, nor any Khawaja on any BBL contract thus far.

[vic_orthdox]

Likely Starters

1. R. Quiney
2. B. Hodge
3. L. Wright
4. C. White
5. D. Hussey
6. G. Maxwell
7. M. Wade+
8. J. Faulkner
9. C. McKay
10. J. Hastings
11.

Other Players
C. Rose
J. Pattinson
J. Bird
P. Handscomb

Lets be honest, we all know there's a fair chance SKW will be sliding into 11. The marketers might insist otherwise, but I don't think that Pattinson is in the best three quicks for this team in this form of the game. Be interesting to see if they look outside of Handscomb as back-up keeper to Wade, as he might not be available for all the games.

The batting order might be played around with a fair bit, but in Hussey, Hodge, Maxwell and Wright they do have guys who can chip in overs as the fifth bowler - expect Duss and Maxwell to do most of it.

[Spikey]

Afridi's a much better signing than Edwards, but jesus christ they need batsmen

[BoyBrumby]

Re the Sixers/Thunder and Renegades/Stars; how are NSWelshmen and Victorians deciding who to pledge their troths to?

Bit surprised the ACB didn't take franchies outside of the respect state capitals, say one in Newcastle or Wollongong and one in Geelong.

[Spikey]

NSW cricket barred the current NSW state coach and his assistants from coaching in the BBL and I think that was in part to try to promote a 50/50 divide between the two teams, but this really hasn't worked out 'cause the Sydney Sixers, who play at the SCG, hired Stuart Clark, the captain of NSW in the previous season, as the GM and Clark hired former NSW coach Trevor Bayliss as coach. So last season pretty much all the regular NSW team joined the Sydney Sixers. Bar the overseas players, Ed Cowan was the closest thing to a ring-in for them. The Thunder have generally been left with the scraps both in terms of coaches (Shane Duff who is he) and players (The only contracted NSW players they get are rookies and australian players who won't be there eg players the Sixers passed on). David Warner last season was probably the only player they stole from the Sixers, and even then, that was mostly because Warner had a sponsorship deal with the ground the Thunder play at

Victorian teams are a bit different because their coaches can coach in the BBL. So last season that led to more of a 50/50 spilt, but that's changing this season, most of them have flocked to the Stars (MCG), probably in part because of the G v Docklands factor. I'm sure Vic_Ox can add more, but the Dome hardly impressed as a home base iirc.

I think the second Sydney team is fine, they just need to add 'Western' to their name. The two Melbourne teams are trickier. Geelong should have got the Renegades once they arranged for lights. No surprise the Renegades were the worst performed team in terms of financial performance.

[vic_orthdox]

Victoria split their coaches - Shippherd to the Stars, Helmot (who coaches in the One Day matches, bit of a succession plan happening) to the Renegades.

The Docklands is literally two train stations away from the MCG. Can't think of an actual reason why you'd go for the Renegades, with how much better the Stars have been organised and run.

[benchmark00]

If you're a bogan you go for the Thunder. Otherwise you go for the 6ers.

[benchmark00]

And I definitely prefer the Renegades to the Stars. Stars full of bell ends.