It’s Rashid Khan against Chris Lynn when the Adelaide Strikers host the Brisbane Heat in Thursday night’s $25,000 Draftstars BBL slate but there’s way more to this fixture.
LAST GAME LEARNINGS
Rashid Khan (BOW $21,700) reiterated his premium status after scoring -11 DS points in the Strikers’ third game, with a masterful bowling spell taking 3-20 against the Sixers, equating to a return of 120 DS points. He’s had a rollercoaster DS season with a score of 107.5 in his second game too.
Matt Short’s (BAT|BPW $16,600) bubble may have burst at the top of the order for the Strikers, after blazing scores of 29, 32 and 63 with the bat, before departing for 16 against the Sixers, equating to a DS score of 38 points. He also only bowled one over, but it’s all been about his batting at the top of the order. Short was owned by 45% of coaches in Adelaide’s last slate but given the quality of opposition, it’s worth keeping the faith.
Xavier Bartlett (BOW $14,400) has been a revelation this season but a large part of that has come with the bat, scoring 42 not out in his latest knock against the Sydney Thunder, but is this sustainable? Probably not. Bartlett has taken five wickets in four games but he’s benefitted from the Heat’s top-order collapses, getting ample time to make runs.
Chris Lynn (BAT $19,000) isn’t worth the risk. The premium Heat batsman attracted 39% ownership last slate but let them down with a DS score of 5. He’s only averaging 22 DS points per game this season and isn’t delivering on the price. He’ll produce something special soon but – given he relies on one discipline only – when that is seems a lottery.
INJURY NEWS
The Heat have lost English import Tom Abell (BAT $11,300) for four weeks with a knee injury which will likely open the door for cheap option Tom Cooper (BAT $9,200), who impressed as X-factor last time out.
Heat all-rounder Jack Wildermuth (BOW|BAT $12,900) will come into contention too after a back complaint and could slot into the side with Mitch Swepson (BOW $16,800) unavailable due to being part of Australia’s Ashes squad for the Boxing Day Test. Cheapie Liam Guthrie (BOW $11,700) may also come into consideration.
Chris Lynn isn’t worth the risk. He’s only averaging 22 DS points per game this season and isn’t delivering on the price. He’ll produce something special soon but when that is seems a lottery.
VALUE
Heat fast bowler Mark Steketee (BOW $15,200) returned from Australia A duty and a brief stint with the Aussie Test squad to take 2-32 and score 33 with the bat against the Thunder, equating to a DS score of 93.3. He was excellent last season and takes a key bowling role. Given the Thunder game was his first back, his price will slowly go up, so for now he represents value.
Cooper (BAT $9,200) is definitely worth consideration, especially if Heat re-jig their batting line-up after a woeful team display against the Thunder, with Cooper one of few shining lights.
Another player who played his first game last slate following Australia A was Matt Renshaw (BAT $13,600) who attracted 45% ownership but only delivered 24 DS points. He has a good top-four batting role and may occasionally be used for part-time spin, although Short was preferred against the Sixers. The jury is out but he has been in good form at state level.
Strikers spinner Fawad Ahmed (BOW $12,900) reminded everyone of his quality at BBL level with an economical 1-16 against the Sixers, equating to 68 DS points. Thunder spinner Tanveer Sangha took three wickets against the Heat last game, so Ahmed may enjoy that opposition.
Adelaide young gun Tom Kelly (BAT $9,600) is also worth a mention, attracting 35% ownership last slate and adding some handy DS points in his cameo with the bat. Kelly has DS scores of 41 and 43 in his two games, but it must be noted he has a tough batting role, down at five in the Strikers order. However, on average this season, Adelaide have lost nine wickets per game, so he’s likely to get a bat.
Garton has copped a bit of punishment when bowling but his role is juicy for cheap wickets late in the innings and he bats around 7-8 in a side regularly losing wickets.
PREMIUMS
As previously mentioned, Rashid (BOW $21,700) cannot be ignored despite the price tag and recent negative score. His ceiling is very high with two 100+ DS scores this season already. He only drew 24% ownership last slate but expect that to steeply climb, with the under-performing Lynn the only available option around his price tag.
The other ‘premo’ worth mentioning in this category is Strikers’ English import George Garton (BOW $16,500) who has been uber consistent with DS scores of 50, 76.5 and 70.5. Garton has copped a bit of punishment when bowling but his role is juicy for cheap wickets late in the innings and he bats around 7-8 in a side regularly losing wickets.
FADES
It’s always a scary decision to fade Lynn (BAT $19,000) given his ridiculously high ceiling but he’s simply not delivering with any frequency anymore.
Heat spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (BOW $16,800) might have been a popular choice previously but he’s only taken one wicket all season, which doesn’t translate to good DS scores.
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