The big names in Australian cricket are back for the Big Bash League, with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner returning to the competition.
Five of the eight BBL teams will be boosted by the inclusions of our Test stars as all clubs juggle the transition of departing internationals ahead of the finals race.
But which sides will benefit most from the Aussie stars’ return – keeping in mind the Hurricanes, Renegades and Stars will miss out?
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Sydney’s sides, the Sixers and Thunder, are sitting pretty in the top three on the BBL table and regain some explosive batting power in Smith and Warner respectively.
The Sixers will also regain Nathan Lyon – despite already boasting one of the strongest bowling attacks in the competition.
Sixers coach Greg Shipperd was thrilled with the news Smith and Lyon would be joining the squad.
“A dream come true to have Smithy back in the group and Nathan as well who has played substantially for us over the years,” he told Fox Cricket.
“The last time (Smith) was in the team with us, we won the title so hopefully he’s good omen coming back.”
Sixers captain Moises Henriques has enjoyed the luxury of resting bowlers throughout the nine games Sydney has played so far – and will now have Lyon to add to that rotation, on top of spin duo Todd Murphy and Stephen O’Keefe. That alone makes them a dangerous prospect for their last four games and then finals.
The Thunder get David Warner in the BBL for the first time in almost a decade – and he’s the perfect like-for-like replacement for departing opener Alex Hales.
The star opener has managed just three games in the Big Bash since its creation – with one of those games coming for the Sydney Sixers, despite playing more than 100 IPL games in that same time frame.
But he’s raised his bat in both innings he’s managed for the Thunder.
Despite regaining Warner for the remainder of the competition, Thunder young gun Ollie Davies concedes the side is still struggling to lock in a number three batsman.
“We’ll be tested again with Rilee (Rossouw) leaving. That was his last game for us (the win against Perth). We’ve got (Alex) Hales leaving but got David (Warner) coming in which is pretty cool,” he said last week.
“We need someone to fill that number three role for us. It will be interesting to see what happens.
“It will be a test of our squad depth.”
Davies confirmed Sam Whiteman could be the man, but a reshuffle also loomed if Joel Davies was the preferred option.
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“I think someone’s going to get an opportunity. It’s pretty exciting.”
The Heat haven’t been able to pull together a full 40-over performance so far this tournament, and with their leading run scorer Colin Munro done for the series and Sam Billings also out, there’s runs to be made.
They’ll get Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja and Matt Renshaw back for the rest of the series, but as they sit in second-last on the table the Heat are probably still a strike bowler short for a deep finals push.
“It’ll be fantastic having those guys back. Three big ins for us – it’ll be interesting at the selection table how we fit them in and who misses out,” Heat skipper Jimmy Peirson said.
“Ussy will open the batting for us and Marnus will come in and play a similar role to Billings. Our structure will stay similar in the top five.
“Then we’ve got some spin options in Marnus’ bowling and Matty Renshaw as well.”
Fox Cricket’s Michael Hussey believes the Heat could emulate the feats of their 2012-13 winning squad if they find form fast.
“I remember when the Brisbane Heat won the tournament – a very similar thing happened. They were struggling. About four games to go they were about second bottom and something just clicked and they went on a run,” he said.
“They were unstoppable by the end.”
The Strikers regain some batting options with Alex Carey and Travis Head returning.
Harry Neilson is set to be the man to make way for Carey while Head can easily slot in as a batsman.
Commentators Brendon Julian and Alyssa Healy believe the Strikers are a team to watch with those two big inclusions.
“The Strikers are in the box seat at the minute,” Healy said.
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“Those two players, in my mind, Travis Head is one of the best white ball players in the country.
“He’s such a clean hitter. They are two good ins.”
Perth captain Ashton Turner, who will regain the services of Ashton Agar and Lance Morris, said BBL teams needed to prove their depth if they were to be successful, given the sheer number of players coming in and out each week.
“I think it’s really exciting – it’s part of modern cricket, franchise cricket. It’s a fast moving environment – we see ins and outs regularly,” he said.
“In an ideal world, we would have the same playing 11 for 14 games in the home and away season and hopefully two finals; in reality we know there’s no team in the Big Bash history who has been able to do that.
“We put a lot of thought into building our squad – in particular this year getting some replacement players who we know will come in and play. We’ve had guys initially who weren’t in the 18-man squad come in and play – it happens every year and this year is no different.
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“It’s just part of the modern game.
“We don’t have a choice now. It’s forced on us to some extent.
“We know it’s difficult to get quality overseas players for the whole duration of the competition.”
BIG BASH TEAM ADDITIONS
SIXERS: Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith
HEAT: Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, Matt Renshaw*
THUNDER: David Warner
STRIKERS: Alex Carey, Travis Head
SCORCHERS: Lance Morris, Ashton Agar*, Cam Green**
*only missed BBL for Sydney Test
**returns but remains injured
EXITS
Sydney Thunder – Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw
Sydney Sixers – James Vince, Chris Jordan, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid
Adelaide Strikers – Chris Lynn, Rashid Khan
Brisbane Heat – Sam Billings, Colin Munro
Perth Scorchers – Faf du Plessis, Adam Lyth
Melbourne Stars – Trent Boult
Melbourne Renegades – Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Akeal Hosein
Hobart Hurricanes – Jimmy Neesham, Shadab Khan
