Sydney Thunder – Predicted XI for Round 1 BBL|13

The Sydney Thunder don’t have a double until Round 4, but they boast perennial SuperCoach favourite Daniel Sams along with potential value pick Tanveer Sangha who missed last season to injury.

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Ins/Outs

Ins: Cameron Bancroft (Perth Scorchers), Zaman Khan (Pak), Liam Hatcher (Melbourne Stars)

Outs: Brendan Doggett (Adelaide Strikers), Joel Davies (Sydney Sixers), Sam Whiteman (Perth Scorchers), Rilee Rossouw, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Usman Qadir

Squad: Ollie Davies, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, Gurinder Sandhu, Blake Nikitaras, Cameron Bancroft, Alex Hales, Zaman Khan, Liam Hatcher

Uncontracted from BBL|12: Ben Cutting, Baxter Holt, Toby Gray, Ross Pawson

The Thunder have three list spots to fill, including an international signing, while David Warner can be replaced while on Test duty. Warner, however, is set to retire from red-ball cricket after the SCG Test, freeing him up for the back-end of BBL.

View our list of the top 5 speculative picks in SC BBL|13

Availability Issues

The Thunder currently have a clean bill of health except for fast bowler Liam Hatcher who is sidelined with foot soreness. That’s one to watch as he didn’t play for six weeks after initially injuring his foot on Australia A duty in early September.

Warner will be away on Test duty until after the SCG Test, which is approximately Round 7 or 8 in SC BBL. New recruit Cameron Bancroft is also in the Test mix, as a back-up batsman along with Matt Renshaw and/or Marcus Harris. Given his strong Sheffield Shield form, Bancroft does seem likely to get a call-up.

Alex Hales, Daniel Sams and Zaman Khan are all contracted to the Abu Dhabi T10 League which runs from November 28 to December 9, although the Thunder’s first game isn’t until December 12, despite the season opener being on December 7, so they should be unaffected. Zaman (Pakistan) and Hales (ILT20) will likely exit late in the season for other commitments. Warner and Sams also have ILT20 deals but will likely wait until after BBL|13 to exit.

View our list of the top 10 value picks in SC BBL|13

Predicted Round 1 XI Rationale

The availability of Bancroft and Warner will dictate Alex Hales’ opening partner. Bancroft may be available early, pending a Test call-up. If he’s not, Matt Gilkes plays as their opening batsman and wicketkeeper. If Bancroft is available, Gilkes could miss out altogether, with Bancroft able to take the gloves.

The rest of the Thunder line-up appears straight forward, based on previous seasons, with Sams assuming his normal role, batting at six (or higher depending on the situation) and likely bowling four overs, including death overs. He has been restricted to batting only at club level this season, but returned to bowling in the Kingsgrove T20 Cup final earlier this month, taking a 4fa so he should be fully fit and firing prior to BBL|13.

Nathan McAndrew seems to have taken his batting to another level in recent times so he’ll come in at seven, which is arguably too high. Chris Green will skipper the side, so he’ll likely work in tandem with fit-again spinner Tanveer Sangha. It’s hard to know who’ll be preferred out of Gurinder Sandhu and Hatcher, when fit, while Pakistani right-arm quick Zaman Khan should be a regular.

Predicted Round 1 XI

1 M.Gilkes (wk, if C.Bancroft unavailable)
2 A.Hales
3 J.Sangha
4 O.Davies
5 A.Ross
6 D.Sams
7 N.McAndrew
8 C.Green (c)
9 G.Sandhu
10 Zaman Khan
11 T.Sangha

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Hobart Hurricanes

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Brisbane Heat

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Sydney Sixers

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Adelaide Strikers

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Perth Scorchers

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