BBL|13 preview: Strikers quicks in focus after Rashid withdraws

Adelaide Strikers' hopes of returning to the top rungs of the KFC BBL ladder suffered a significant setback before a ball was bowled when Rashid Khan was ruled out of this summer's campaign after undergoing back surgery.

Rashid, the competition's number one draft selection and Strikers' all-time leading wicket-taker with 98 from 69 appearances since 2017, confirmed barely a fortnight before the Strikers' opening game against Brisbane Heat the "minor operation" would keep him out of BBL|13 for its entirety.

An integral part of coach Jason Gillespie's plans to lift the BBL|07 champions from their second-bottom finish last season, Rashid's absence not only forced the Strikers to radically revamp their game-day strategies but address the yawning gap created in their bowling stocks.

With wrist spinners of Rashid's calibre a scarcity, even if rival clubs and imminent T20 franchise competitions in the UAE and South Africa hadn't swooped on potential replacement talent, the Strikers' hierarchy opted for a markedly different option in English left-arm seamer David Payne.

"When we were weighing up possible replacements, you look at who's available and for how long and the decision we came to was, from a spin bowling perspective, the availability of someone closely resembling Rashid Khan is just not there," Gillespie told cricket.com.au.

"So we had to think what would be next opportunity, and we looked at left-arm seamers which is a point of difference for our bowling attack because we're all right-arm and quite similar with (Brendan) Doggett, (Wes) Agar and (Henry) Thornton.

"And the important thing with David Payne is he's available for the whole tournament, including finals, and there's not many international players who are available for finals with most leaving part-way through.

"He's got an excellent record for Gloucestershire and has played for England, so we're delighted he's agreed to join us and we're excited for what he can bring."

Payne played six games for Perth Scorchers in their BBL|12 title win, claiming 10 wickets at a strike rate of 13.80 and conceding runs at less than 7.5 per over.

The 32-year-old, who made his England ODI debut last year against the Netherlands in Holland, might also be deployed as a possible death-overs bowler now that Peter Siddle – who regularly filled that role with the Strikers for the past six years – has returned to Melbourne.

With Rashid's unexpected absence, it is the bowling that perhaps poses the greatest challenge for Gillespie and his assistant coaches given the club has recruited big-hitting opener D'Arcy Short to join fellow power hitters Matt Short and Chris Lynn at the top of a daunting batting order.

The Strikers are likely to have Australia World Cup hero Travis Head and Test 'keeper Alex Carey available for a solitary game of their campaign (potentially against Hobart Hurricanes on January 9) due to international commitments, with Short expected to take over the captaincy from Head.

But while allrounders Jamie Overton (England) and James Bazley (recruited from Brisbane Heat) can also provide seam options during the middle overs, it seems the job or front-line spinner will fall to either off-spinner Ben Manenti or veteran leggie Cameron Boyce.

Adelaide can certainly point to some fast-bowling firepower, with Thornton and Doggett (recruited from Sydney Thunder) among the quickest white-ball bowlers in the country.

The Strikers will also be seeking greater consistency of performance having completed a couple of record-breaking wins last season – bowling out Sydney Thunder for the lowest BBL total (15), then mounting the highest successful run chase (230) against Hobart Hurricanes – amid a string of disappointing losses.

And although they have secured Payne for the entirety of BBL|13, should they win through to the play-off games they will likely be without the services of key recruits Lynn, Hose and Overton whose conflicting commitments are expected to see them depart Australia before season's end.

BBL|12 result: Seventh (five wins, nine losses)

 

BBL|13 Draft picks: Rashid Khan* (1st, retention – Platinum), Jamie Overton (10th – Gold), Adam Hose (26th – Bronze). * – withdrawn

 

Squad: Wes Agar, James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, D'Arcy Short, Matt Short, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald. Overseas players: Jamie Overton (England), Adam Hose (England) David Payne (England)

 

Ins: D'Arcy Short (Hurricanes), Brendan Doggett (Thunder), James Bazley (Heat), Jamie Overton, David Payne

 

Outs: Peter Siddle (Renegades), Rashid Khan (back surgery), Harry Conway, Ryan Gibson, Colin de Grandhomme

Possible best XI: Matt Short, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D'Arcy Short, Alex Carey, Adam Hose, Jamie Overton, Ben Manenti, Cameron Boyce, Wes Agar, Brendan Doggett

Possible best XI for first game: Matt Short, D'Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Jake Weatherald, Adam Hose, Jamie Overton, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Cameron Boyce, Wes Agar, Brendan Doggett

Inside word with Strikers coach Jason Gillespie

Loss of Rashid Khan

"Rash (Rashid) is a pretty important player and it's disappointing, but his health is paramount to make sure he gets right and gets back to bowling. I've already got messages from him saying 'see you next year coach', so he wants to come back, but he's had this back issue for a little while and he needs to get it sorted."

Draft picks

"Jamie Overton is a big-hitting middle-order player who can bowl quick and is good in the field. He was player of the tournament in The Hundred this year, so he really complements our list.

"And we're delighted to be able to bring 'Hosie' (Adam Hose) back. We felt he learned a lot from his time here last year, coming from England where the grounds are a bit smaller and adjusting.

"He noted that playing against spin out here provides its own challenges in terms of the size of the grounds but having been in our system previously he knows the environment and knows the lads, so it's great to have him on board."

Bowling balance

"We feel we've got plenty of spin choices – we've got Cam Boyce's leg-spin, Ben Manenti and Matt Short bowling off-spin and D'Arcy Short bowls left-arm wrist spin. And then with seam we've got Agar, Doggett and Thornton, with Jamie Overton and Bazley as the allrounders.

"We're going to miss 'Sidds' (Siddle) who has been unbelievable in that (death overs) role for us over many years, but it gives someone else the opportunity and responsibility to step up.

"We signed Doggett so he would step up, Thornton and Agar have played a bit of T20 cricket for us, and then we've got Payne in the mix, plus Bazley bowls some seam and Jamie Overton bowls a quick ball. So we feel we've got lots of options, which is great."

BBL|13 team previews: Strikers | Heat | Hurricanes | Scorchers| Renegades | Stars | Sixers | Thunder

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