Big Bash 2015/16 team guide: Melbourne Stars, Perth, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder rated
Watch the entire Big Bash live on Sky Sports this winter...
Tuesday 15 December 2015 14:46, UK
Stars, Thunder, Sixers and Scorchers... here's part two of our Big Bash League preview...
MELBOURNE STARS (2014/15: Third, semi-finalists)
They can win it because…
They have oodles of power hitting with the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb and James Faulkner. Also, Stephen Fleming - two-time winner of the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings - joins as coach to try and get the four-time losing semi-finalists to fulfil their title-winning potential.
Big Bash team guide #1 | Big Bash fixtures/results
They can't win it because…
See above. Four-time losing semi-finalists, the Stars are consistent performers in the group stage, but choke come the knockout phase. They will hope not to play the Scorchers if they make it there again, with their defeat to last year's winners their third in three of their four semi-finals.
Six-hitter
Peter Handscomb. Ignoring Wright, Maxwell, and Pietersen (we'll get to him later), Hansdcomb smashed five sixes in a sensational 64-ball hundred to best the Scorchers in the group stage last year. He disappointed as Gloucestershire's overseas star in the 2015 T20 Blast - averaging only 14.20 - but back on home soil, look for him to fire.
Wicket-taker
John Hastings. The leading wicket-taker in the competition last year with 16 wickets across nine matches, at an average of 15.37. Forms a potent partnership with Faulkner - the third-highest wicket-taker since the start of the BBL.
Overseas influence
Kevin Pietersen. He is fresh from a stint in the South African Ram Slam T20 where he scored two hundreds, and two fifties. He didn't too badly in his first stint with the Stars last year either, with an average of 41.85 across his eight games.
PERTH SCORCHERS (2014/15: Champions)
They can win it because…
They did so last year and have never not made the final. Plus they have incredible bowling reserves, with Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye among the top wicket-takers in 2014/15. Add to that 44-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, who had the best economy rate of 5.33, and new addition, England's David Willey, and they are poised for another title push.
They can't win it because…
Something has to give. The Scorchers were underestimated in the early years of the BBL, but that is far from the case now. The other seven sides are all gunning for them - can they handle the pressure? Scorchers will also miss the canny seam of Yasir Arafat.
Six-hitter
Michael Klinger. In the form of his life at 35-years-old, here are a fair few stats to sum it up. Klinger was BBL top-scorer last year, the highlight being his 105 from 60 balls in a win over the Renegades. He carried that form into the county summer with Gloucestershire, finishing as top-scorer in the Royal London One-Day Cup and second-highest in the T20 Blast, with three hundreds in each format.
Wicket-taker
Jason Behrendorff. In a bowling attack which features much bigger T20 names like Hogg and Willey, you may well ask who? But left-armer Behrendorff was named 'Young Gun of the Tournament' for his 15 wickets last year and is a big favourite of coach Justin Langer.
Overseas influence
David Willey. Joins fellow - but former - England international Michael Carberry out in Perth. Carberry impressed last year with three fifties in nine innings, and while Willey is expected to contribute more with ball in hand, we've also seen how destructive he can be with the bat, with his 40-ball hundred that decimated Sussex in the T20 Blast quarter-finals this summer.
SYDNEY SIXERS (2014/15: Fourth, runners-up)
They can win it because…
They won the very first BBL, and after a blip the following year when finishing seventh, have since returned to the semi-final stage, and then the final last year. Another slight improvement one year on and they'll be two-time champs.
They can't win it because…
They have lost their influential coach, a certain Trevor Bayliss, to England. And they're also likely to lose a large chunk of their playing squad to the Australian team - key men like Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
Six-hitter
Nic Maddinson. The left-handed opening bat struck the most sixes last year with 16 across his 10 innings, five more than the next best, Adelaide's Tim Ludeman. Brad Haddin further bolsters the power-hitting reserves after his international retirement earlier this year.
Wicket-taker
Sean Abbott. Endured a traumatic and emotional year after the tragic passing of Philip Hughes - struck by a bouncer bowled by Abbott in the Sheffield Shield. Although unanimously backed by his bowling peers to continue playing, Abbott understandably struggled in 2014/15, taking nine wickets in his 10 games. But the 23-year-old is highly regarded by Australian selectors and there is hope he'll replace the wickets Brett Lee - who retired after last year's BBL - provided.
Overseas influence
Michael Lumb. Has become part of the furniture at the SCG, having played all four seasons of the BBL with the Sixers. Struck a team-leading 26 fours last year.
SYDNEY THUNDER (2014/15: Seventh)
They can win it because…
They are heading in the right direction. After three last-placed finishes in the first three years of the BBL, they finished second-bottom last year.
They can't win it because…
A jump from eighth to seventh in the table is hardly stratospheric, even if they did almost double their historic win tally of three with their two triumphs last year.
Six-hitter
Shane Watson. An absent figure over the first few years of the BBL due to international duty, Watson - now retired - is set to feature in the full tournament this time round. His bludgeoning batting, added to further Australian internationals past and present, Mike Hussey and Usman Khawaja, is set to fire the Thunder up the table.
Wicket-taker
Fawad Ahmed. The form Pat Cummins was showing for Australia in the ODI series against England in the summer - 12 wickets in five matches at an average of 19.66 - was set to see him be star man. But another injury in the 22-year-old's sorry start to his cricket career means leg-spinner Ahmed - who arrives from the Renegades - becomes the Thunder's biggest threat. Ahmed took only five wickets in seven games last year, but had the second-best economy rate of a run-a-ball six an over.
Overseas influence
Jacques Kallis. The 40-year-old still oozes class, as we saw first-hand when giving a batting masterclass in the Sky Sports studios during the World Cup earlier in the year. His class was clear to see in the BBL last year too, as his 235 runs and six wickets saw him named 'Player of the Tournament'.
Watch the whole of the 2015-16 Big Bash live on Sky Sports, starting with Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers from 8.30am, Thursday, Sky Sports 1.
