Speaking of the BBL #1
Ladder news, rescheduling, and more ... 4th January, 2022
You could split the current BBL11 ladder into three.
Certainties to play finals are the Scorchers, Sixers and the Thunder; they sit in the top third and are likely to stay there.
In what order is a question for later - too many variables are present.
I have the Sixers and Scorchers on the top line, with the Thunder just below. Thunder nation will be hoping for Englishman Alex Hales to get back to his BBL10 form.
The middle is a melting pot that has the Hurricanes, Stars and the Heat all bubbling away, each intermittently popping up for air. Two teams rely heavily on their main players, the other looks better balanced across all skill-sets.
Lastly, the Strikers and Renegades seem to be in development mode - or in the Strikers’ case, toward the end of their competitive cycle.
The Renegades could yet spring a surprise. Last night's win certainly helped their chances, and the return of Sean Marsh will be a much-needed boost.
Looking a little deeper, a sharp-eyed tipster is likely to have the Hurricanes climbing out of the melting pot to finish top four. I would agree, although some attention needs to be given to their batting order, in particular, where best to play D’Arcy Short - he might find himself facing a few less balls in the middle-order, a necessary change to ready him for finals action. Short remains a three-pronged talent. Avoid sitting him on the pine.
At every turn it looks like a back-and-forth scrap for fifth spot.
The elimination game resembles a graveyard shift, extremely challenging to back up and make a charge to the final.
The Stars are currently challenged with Covid exposure and its protocols, while the Heat will continue to battle their own self-contradiction. Both franchises are heavily dependent on their marquee players; Glenn Maxwell and Chris Lynn are equally unpredictable, both adept at changing any given game in the space of overs, and then, equally capable of bursting their team’s confidence balloon with one false shot. Such is the fickle nature of T20 cricket.
Both franchises are heavily dependent on their marquee players; Glenn Maxwell and Chris Lynn
Amid all the uncertainty of the fixture integrity, and possible rescheduling, Cricket Australia, the custodians of the league, continue to debate how best to keep the competition moving forward.
Their modus operandi is to play through to a finish where possible (presumably this is commercially driven?).
As mentioned earlier, kudos to the Stars who moved quickly, countering their exposure to positive tests by topping up their list with several Premier Cricket players. Speculation on if, and when, other teams are affected by the current situation is best left as conjecture for the time being.
*Breaking news
The Scorchers replace the Heat in tonights BBL game.
It appears the Perth Scorchers — who are already on the Gold Coast — will instead face the Sydney Sixers at Metricon Stadium. It is reported that the Brisbane Heat have multiple positive rapid tests in their squad, the Scorchers were due to play the Thunder at Metricon tomorrow night, this looks like being pushed back to Thursday.
This looks like it will strengthen the talk around moving all remaining games to Victoria.
Breaking, breaking news!
Cricket Australia have now confirmed updated fixtures.
January 4, 6.15pm (AEDT): Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers (previously scheduled for January 6) - Metricon Stadium
January 5, 8.15pm (AEDT): Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers (previously scheduled for January 4) - Metricon Stadium
January 6, 8.15pm (AEDT): Perth Scorchers v Sydney Thunder (originally scheduled for January 5) - Metricon Stadium
The weekly 3:2:1 is now going to be delivered on a Wednesday. Look out for that tomorrow January 5th; featuring Ben McDermott, Sean Abbott and Chris Green.
Cheers,
Nick