BBL|16 isn’t far away and squads are getting firmed up, so Honeyball is going club by club to analyse ins/outs, key intel and predicted line-ups for the season start.
Contracted squad (15)
Batsmen: Sam Konstas, Nic Maddinson, David Warner
All-rounders: Aidan O’Connor, Will Salzmann, Daniel Sams
Wicketkeepers: Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings (ENG), Matthew Gilkes
Bowlers: Trent Boult (NZ), Lockie Ferguson (NZ), Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Harry Hoekstra, Tanveer Sangha
Changes
Ins: Trent Boult (New Zealand), Will Salzmann (Renegades), Harry Hoesktra (Victoria)
Out: Ollie Davies (Sixers), Nathan McAndrew (Strikers) Reece Topley, David Willey, Shadab Khan
TBC: Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Blake Nikitaras
Key Intel
The Thunder have a new head coach with Andrew Flintoff on board, which will bring a different approach. There is continuity with their imports, with Lockie Ferguson and Sam Billings returning, although the Kiwi quick missed last season with injury.
Thunder GM Trent Copeland said: “We really missed Lockie last season. He played a key role in us being able to make it to the Final in BBL|14. Having him back, importantly for the full season start-to-finish including finals, immediately shifts our bowling group to one that will be feared, and puts us up there as a real title contender.
“He is a world-class fast bowler who can take wickets in all phases and adds an incredible layer of calmness and insight for the whole bowling group. Lockie’s said no to multiple competitions in our tournament window and over half of the other BBL clubs because of his desire to come back to the Thunder this year.”
Fellow NZ fast bowler Trent Boult is another coup for Flintoff’s side. Flintoff said: “Having a couple Kiwis in the team who have played a lot of cricket together over the years brings a level of familiarity and I think they complement each other really well as a right-arm and left-arm pairing. One of the things we haven’t been able to do in recent times is take wickets with the new ball, so hopefully these two can remedy that.”
On the addition of local all-rounder Will Salzmann, Copeland said: “He’s been right in the mix of a Big Bash debut for some time now, and we believe he’s never been better placed to take that next step. He’s an exciting allrounder who brings plenty of firepower with the bat and genuine pace with the ball.”
On Hoekstra, Copeland said: “How awesome is it that he can come in to a squad with Trent Boult and Dan Sams, two other incredible left-armers to learn from… We can’t wait to see him in lime green and hopefully get the opportunity to make his Big Bash debut this summer.”
Further Info
Sam Konstas’ availability will hinge on whether he’s called into the Test squad this summer, so keep an eye on that. You’d assume Nic Maddinson won’t be recalled to the Test squad after the South Africa episode.
Trent Boult has an SA20 contract for that tournament commencing January 17, but the Thunder have stated he’s around for the full season including finals. New Zealand has an ODI series against Sri Lanka from January 16-22 and Lockie Ferguson has recently been selected but all the word is he’ll be prioritising BBL.
Predicted Line-up
Sam Konstas’ availability will impact the top three, which shuffled around a lot last season, finishing with Matthew Gilkes opening with David Warner. Cameron Bancroft lost his spot at times, while Nic Maddinson was given a run at 5. Warner and Sam Billings are the locks in the top 5.
Chris Green was used at 6 at times last season, and he’ll likely be 1 of 3 middle-order all-rounders with Daniel Sams and possibly Will Salzmann moving around based on situational needs. Salzmann could be omitted for Ryan Hadley if they want more genuine bowling quality.
However, the Thunder do have quality bowling options with the Kiwis plus cheapie Tanveer Sangha, which has me leaning towards Salzmann as their sixth bowler who can add some batting power.
1 Matthew Gilkes
2 David Warner (c)
3 Sam Konstas
4 Cameron Bancroft
5 Sam Billings (wk)
6 Chris Green
7 Daniel Sams
8 Will Salzmann
9 Lockie Ferguson
10 Tanveer Sangha
11 Trent Boult
