SuperCoach BBL is open and the season proper is less than two months. We appreciate it’s tough to stay across all the news this early, so we’ll aggregate all the important stuff in one spot each week in the lead-up to Round 1.
SIGNING NEWS
The Melbourne Renegades added 25-year-old WA off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli (BWL) to bolster their spin bowling ranks alongside imports Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Akeal Hosein, who’ll both exit for the ILT20 in January.
Gades GM James Rosengarten said: “Corey has shown some promising signs in the early stages of his career with Western Australia and also impressed us with his performances at the Top End T20 tournament in Darwin.
“We planned to bolster our spin stocks through the overseas draft and Corey now adds to that group. We look forward to seeing what he can to our bowling group this summer.”
The Sydney Thunder confirmed the re-signing of all-rounder Ben Cutting (B/B). Cutting played a lesser bowling role last season, sending down only 10 overs in 14 games, and typically batting six or seven, so he’s becoming less attractive as a SuperCoach option.
Cutting did reveal he’s been working with respected sports psychologist Noel Blundell in the off-season to get back to his best so he may return to his best. Cutting said: “I’m aiming this summer to fuse together my batting and bowling games for Thunder. I want to get them firing.”
Check out our list of all the updated squads, with ins and outs
AVAILABILITY ISSUES
England confirmed last week that Liam Livingstone ($180k B/B) had been selected in their Test squad for a three-game series against Pakistan due to run from December 1-21, directly impacting his BBL availability. Livingstone is also signed up for the SA-20 which commences on January 10, so the Gades are weighing up replacement options, but hoping the Englishman can play in some capacity between the events. From a SC BBL point of view, if he’s available at all, it’ll be a short window from Rounds 4-7.
Rosengarten said: “We believe Liam can still have a big impact for us in BBL|12, and in our recent discussions, he’s still looking forward to being part of our team, being back in the BBL and playing as many games as he can for our club following his international commitments. We’ll continue to work with Liam over the coming weeks as to exactly how this looks.”
On a replacement, he added: “At the same time, we have already been working behind the scenes on finding the best player for our needs when Liam is unavailable. There are several world-class players who are now available to us during this period, and we will leave no stone unturned to give our team the best chance of success this season.”
One which was relatively quiet was Scorchers and Thunder imports Phil Salt ($125k BAT) and Rilee Rossouw ($105k BAT) being picked up by the Pretoria Capitals in the SA-20 Auction. That tournament starts January 10, so those two will be exiting the BBL around Round 7-8-9.
INJURIES
Scorchers wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis ($87k W/B) was ruled out of the T20 World Cup after a freak accident on the golf course, injuring his right hand. He required half-a-dozen stitches, ruling him out for two weeks at a minimum, so that doesn’t seem like it’d impact the BBL, which starts in mid-December.
Hurricanes left-armer Joel Paris ($96k BWL) limped out of WA’s Sheffield Shield game against Victoria with a hip issue and didn’t return.
FORM GUIDE
It’s hard to put much weight on Sheffield Shield form from a BBL point of view, but Matt Renshaw ($136k B/B) made 200 for Queensland which is worth recognition. Michael Neser ($107k B/B) took three wickets and made 136 as well, possibly enhancing his Test squad prospects which may impact his BBL availability.
Peter Handscomb isn’t contracted but made 281* for Victoria on a road where runs were aplenty for both sides.
In the T20 World Cup warm-ups, Renegades quick Kane Richardson ($189k BWL) took 4-30 against India and Aaron Finch ($139k BAT) blasted 76 from 54 in a return to form. Thunder import Rossouw ($105k BAT) smashed 54* from 32 for SA in a big win over NZ.
Check out our fixture analysis, listing all the doubles and byes, and players you should target
