The gurus at SuperCoach HQ have introduced The Flex into the game in BBL|14. Now that we’ve had a week to digest the concept, we thought we’d ask a few experts how to exploit it best.
Long story short, you can now pick an additional player in your starting line-up, who can be selected from ANY position, aka The Flex. Each round, your team will score from your “Best 11” players (plus any emergencies required), dropping your 12th, lowest score from your starting line-up.
Back-to-back SC BBL winner Andrew Langley @DiabolicalAngle
“I am going to try and use the Flex position to ensure flexibility for my team as I negotiate the round.
“It is not the position itself that will ensure more flexibility, due to not being able to have a back-up player. So we don’t want to catch ourselves out if the player is an unexpected out late in the round. So, I think we will need to lock a player into that position early in the round.
“It almost feels like the position that I will sit my VC in. Given a VC is often a dual position player, it means we don’t need to choose what position to lock that player into on field too early in the round.
“That should give us more flexibility to move our players and emergencies around in the other on field positions if taking the VC score, and therefore increase our options, particularly with looping. Sometimes we accidentally lock ourselves into having to take a poor bench score to accommodate a good VC score. Other times we can lock too many players in one position out early and lose flexibility to bring on an unexpected good bench score.
“It is that VC and E looping part of the game that I think the Flex position should help with.”
Tim Michell, SuperCoach HQ, Herald Sun Digital Sport Producer @Tim_Michell
“Of course I am biased, but I genuinely believe Flex is the best change SuperCoach has made in years. And no, despite what people think it’s not just us catering for beginners to drive up registrations.
“I think it’s going to be great for novices, especially the best 11 of 12 scoring. If you don’t want to you no longer have to watch team sheets every night of the summer to avoid a selection surprise.
“But it’s also a great rule for seasoned players because it creates even more strategy. Do you load up on bowlers and play it safe? Do you take a risk and pick more batters knowing one score drops out?
“Then of course there’s the loophole implications of the position as well. It’s rare a new rule can cater for everyone but I’m confident this has and can’t wait to see the strategies people come up with to make it work for their teams and trades.”
Max Bryden, @SCPlaybook1 podcaster & writer, @Max_Smart
“I love the Flex. And similar to the Boost we have gotten recently, it’s going to take some time before we really know how best to use it.
“The biggest consideration for me right now is fitting in one extra player into the team. Which means I’ve had to really hunt value elsewhere to make sure my 18-player squad is as good as it can be.
“Most will note the Flex gives a kind of “free hit” noting your lowest scorer drops out. You can take more risks. And it’s probably the kind of risks you take which can fuel your strategy.
“Two tactics I’m excited to explore are cheapie risks and role risks. For example, the $80k opener could always score as well as the $130k opener if he finds some form, or the number 5 batter might outscore those above him if there’s a collapse or he has a good surge.
“Coupling the Flex against a draw with very little byes means risk is going to become one of the defining strategies of the summer.”
Brain, @InsightFSports podcaster, @SC_BRAIN
“My first reaction on the Flex position was that of skepticism. Purely because initially I felt like it levelled the playing field a little by giving everyone a plan B with your lowest score dropping out each round. But with a bit more thought, you can exploit the Flex to increase the level of upside in your squad and open up dual position flexibility with loops.
“Tactically, having a dual position player in your Flex seems like the best way forward. A BAT/BWL player preferable but I also don’t mind having a WKP/BAT (like a Josh Inglis) as we know the WKP position yields the most fielding points. Having Inglis in Round 1 at Optus Stadium and being able to then free up your BAT position for genuine all-rounders would be an advantage ahead of Perth’s Round 2 double.
“In addition to this, having a BAT/BWL player in your Flex could allow you to go with a high-upside batsman in your BAT like Josh Brown or Jake Fraser-McGurk, removing the risk of failure if they cop a good rock early.
“The only thing I certainly won’t be doing is playing a BAT or BWL only player in the Flex. Need to utilise it as a DPP to make the most of it.”
Reigning HB Members champ & top 10 SC BBL|13 finisher Andrew Bieniak @BGradeActor
“Initially though there appears to be two obvious methods, start a best 12 and spread your cap, or run a ‘best 11’ with a playing cash cow on field with potential to put up a decent score (think Jake Fraser-McGurk from last season).
“I’m firmly in the latter camp, with my wicketkeeper slot being where I am likely to take an early risk on a bargain so I can squeeze in Matt Short, Glenn Maxwell and the array of value bowling options on the table.
“I think it is important to note too that your Flex player isn’t covered by an emergency, so I would be looking to run a premium in an early game in that spot mitigating risk and allowing the opportunity to loop on your bat/bowl lines.
“With 12 on field and only 11 counting the opportunity to take a flyer on a POD or make a strategic trade ahead of a DGW has never been higher and will be interesting to see what teams do with this flexibility.”
Nathan Scoble, @SuperCoach_Hub podcaster, HB contributor, @Scobey_SCHub
“To be honest, at first I was sceptical but it also allows for more variety in teams which is a massive challenge at the start of a SuperCoach season, which has ultimately lead me thinking it’s a great addition!.
“It enables coaches to have different perspectives, do you go rogue and choose a “12th man” who could pop off? Or do you choose someone who you think is stable and should score a relatively decent score? It’s risk v reward in a nutshell.
“It allows players like a Josh Brown or JFM to come far much more into calculations and allow again more flexibility. Do you go an all-rounder that you could possibly use as a loop via a bench player playing early? I think that’s what I’ll be doing looking at lineups and form as we get closer.”
Nathan from SuperCoach Guns @SuperCoachGuns
“The flex position I believe, will radically change how you pick a squad for multiple reasons. For starters, it spreads out how much cash you have to spend per spot, which will immediately have an impact on how strong your Round 1 team can be.
“Then you have the infinite VC loop opportunities that the position brings. Since your round is set up with your best 11 scoring players out of 12, this means you could potentially VC loop without having to cop one of your emergencies in the event they do poorly. A fantastic addition which has added a completely new strategy to initial team selection.”
Big thanks to all the contributors to his column, make sure you follow their channels!
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