Predicting each BBL team’s best XI

This article will attempt to help you guys put together your BBL Fantasy squads by giving you an idea as to how each team might line up this season. For this article I’ve used previous BBL’s as a reference point and taken form into account where possible.

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Adelaide Strikers

1. Ben Dunk
2. Tim Ludeman (WK)
3. Travis Head
4. Brad Hodge
5. Kieron Pollard
6. Jonathon Dean
7. Michael Neser*
8. Kane Richardson
9. Adil Rashid
10. Ben Laughlin*
11. Billy Stanlake
12. Jon Holland

Biggest loss from BBL|05: Mahela Jayawardene (replaced by Pollard)

Depth: Jake Lehmann, Gary Putland*, Craig Simmons, Kelvin Smith, Alex Carey and Jake Weatherald.

Key points: An important note here is that you should always be looking for wicketkeepers who bat near the top of the order and Tim Ludeman, despite a poor BBL05, fits that description. Watch out for Ben Laughlin who is technically out of contract with the Strikers, along with Michael Neser and Gary Putland so whether they’re actually playing is up in the air.

Ladder prediction: 3^rd

Brisbane Heat

1. James Pierson (WK)
2. Brendon McCullum
3. Joe Burns
4. Chris Lynn
5. Marnus Labuschagne
6. Nathan Reardon
7. Ben Cutting
8. Josh Lalor
9. Luke Feldman
10. Samuel Badree
11. Andrew Feketee
12. Jason Floros

Biggest loss from BBL|05: James Hopes (retired)

Depth: Alex Doolan, Alex Ross, Sam Heazlett, Mitchell Swepson and Jake Wildermuth

Key points: Joe Burns being freed up from international duties certainly helps the Heat out, but their bowling stocks are razor thin. Badree is world-class, but beneath him is nobody. Chris Lynn’s availability for round one is unknown as he recovers from injury.

Ladder prediction: 6^th

Hobart Hurricanes

1. Tim Paine (WK)
2. Kumar Sangakkara
3. Jonathan Wells
4. George Bailey
5. Dan Christian
6. Ben McDermott
7. Simon Milenko
8. Stuart Broad
9. Cameron Boyce
10. Jake Reed
11. Shaun Tait
12. Dom Michael

Biggest loss from BBL|05: Darren Sammy (replaced by Stuart Broad)

Depth: Ben McDermott, Sam Rainbird, Hamish Kingston and Clive Rose.

Key points: The Hurricanes still have three list spots to fill which is why they have minimal depth. They recently traded Ben Dunk to the Strikers in return for Hamish Kingston and they’ll be hoping to get more from legendary batsman Kumar Sangakkara who failed to deliver last season.

Ladder prediction: 7^th

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Melbourne Renegades

1. Aaron Finch
2. Marcus Harris
3. Cameron White
4. Dwayne Bravo
5. Callum Ferguson
6. Tom Cooper
7. Peter Nevill (WK)
8. James Pattinson
9. Nathan Rimmington
10. Brad Hogg
11. Sunil Narine
12. Peter Siddle

Biggest loss from BBL|05: Chris Gayle (replaced by Narine)

Depth: Chris Tremain, Xavier Doherty, Matthew Wade (test), Tom Beaton, Nick Winter and Guy Walker

Key points:  Why the Renegades would opt for two big name spinners when Etihad Stadium proved a spinners’ nightmare last season is odd, but they’ve put together a strong team and have some solid depth. Cameron White is in great form right now and should be considered for your team.

Ladder prediction: 5^th

Melbourne Stars

1. Luke Wright
2. Marcus Stoinis
3. Kevin Pietersen
4. Glenn Maxwell
5. David Hussey
6. James Faulkner
7. Tom Triffitt (WK)
8. John Hastings
9. Adam Zampa
10. Scott Boland
11. Michael Beer
12. Ben Hilfenhaus

Biggest loss from BBL|05: None

Depth: Peter Handscomb (test), Evan Gulbis, Sam Harper, Dan Worrall, Robert Quiney and Sebastian Gotch.

Key points: The Melbourne Stars come into BBL|06 with an unchanged list which is a feat in itself. They’ve lost Handscomb to the test side, but have a plethora of keeping options behind him including Tom Triffitt, Sam Harper and even Robert Quiney if it comes to that. Their batting depth may be the only query.

Ladder prediction: 2^nd

Perth Scorchers

1. Michael Klinger
2. Shaun Marsh
3. Adam Voges
4. Mitchell Marsh
5. Ian Bell
6. David Willey
7. Ashton Agar
8. Sam Whiteman (WK)
9. Mitchell Johnson
10. Nathan Coulter-Nile*
11. Andrew Tye
12. Hilton Cartwright

Biggest loss from BBL|05: Brad Hogg (Renegades)

Depth: Jason Behrendorff (injured), James Muirhead, Ashton Turner, Joel Paris, Cameron Bancroft and Jhye Richardson

Key points: If the Scorchers get their best XI together, nobody will be able to stop them. Thankfully for everyone else, it’s unlikely Coulter-Nile will be fit in time for the start of the season and Shaun Marsh could be called back into the test squad. However, they have strong enough depth to cover both without much issue.

Ladder prediction: 1^st

Sydney Sixers

1. Jason Roy
2. Brad Haddin (WK)
3. Daniel Hughes
4. Moises Henriques
5. Sam Billings
6. Jordan Silk
7. Johan Botha
8. Stephen O’Keefe
9. Sean Abbott
10. Joe Mennie
11. Doug Bollinger
12. Ben Dwarshuis

Biggest loss from BBL|05: Michael Lumb (replaced by Roy)

Depth: Jackson Bird (test), Nic Maddinson (test), Nathan Lyon (test), Mitchell Starc (test), Josh Hazlewood (test), Ryan Carters and Henry Thornton

Key points: Where do we start with this rabble of a squad? The Sixers have had a team made up of test players for many years now and have done nothing about it as the problem grows. They have no depth available and their XI isn’t a great starting point.

Ladder prediction: 8^th

Sydney Thunder

1. Shane Watson
2. Kurtis Patterson
3. Aiden Blizzard
4. Eoin Morgan
5. Andre Russell*
6. Ben Rohrer
7. Jake Doran (WK)
8. Pat Cummins
9. Clint McKay
10. Gurinder Sandhu
11. Fawad Ahmed
12. Chris Green

Biggest loss from BBL|05: Michael Hussey (retired)

Depth: Usman Khawaja (test), Alister McDermott, Ryan Gibson, Nathan McAndrew, Jason Sangha and Arjun Nair

Key points: The Thunder lost Hussey and Jaques Kallis from their tournament winning team and haven’t really replaced them. Morgan comes into the side, but there’s still a clear hole at the top of the order with Khawaja also out. They still have list spots to fill and the Thunder are awaiting the results of Andre Russell’s hearing before confirming him as their second international signing.

Ladder prediction: 4^th

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