BBL|13 preview: Individuals in form satisfies Thunder skipper

They've recruited the most in-form domestic player of the past two seasons in Cameron Bancroft, and fortunately for Sydney Thunder he's not player on their list making waves in the first half of the summer.

Nathan McAndrew, another recruit Liam Hatcher and Gurinder Sandhu have all represented Australia A over the past few months, while rising leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha recently made his ODI and T20I debuts for Australia, and new full-time captain Chris Green his T20I debut earlier this month just days after getting married.

Add in Ollie Davies who has been NSW's best performed batter to start the domestic summer, capped with a maiden first-class century last month, and you've got a squad in seriously good touch.

Alex Hales returns for another season at the top of the order with the Thunder, and skipper Green has promised highlights aplenty from their slinging Pakistan pace sensation Zaman Khan in his maiden Big Bash season.

"A lot of our fast bowlers – Nathan McAndrew, Liam Hatcher, Gurinder Sandhu – are probably having one of their better starts to a season, if not their best starts, (with their) form in Shield and one-day cricket domestically," Green told cricket.com.au ahead of the Thunder's first match against the Heat in Canberra.

"So the bowlers are in good form; Ollie Davies is in tremendous form as well, plus you throw in our international players and I'm really excited about where we're at leading into the season from an individual perspective.

"And I've probably forgotten Cameron Bancroft as well, a new addition who's in great form. So I'm excited about seeing those guys play and us coming together as a group."

Young NSW talent Liam Doddrell, Will Salzmann and Sam Konstas have also signed their first BBL deals to provide squad depth.

The Thunder have also added Australian captain Pat Cummins to their marquee supplementary list, a new mechanism for this season that allow clubs to sign Cricket Australia contracted players with limited availability without using up one of their 15 domestic list spots.

Cummins is the second played signed through this mechanism for BBL|13, joining fellow Australia quick Mitchell Starc who signed with the Sixers.

Although both are unlikely to play this season due to Australia's home summer schedule that includes three Tests against Pakistan and two against the West Indies, followed by a two-Test tour of New Zealand in February-March.

BBL|12 result: Fifth, lost Eliminator to the Heat

 

BBL|13 Draft picks: Alex Hales (5th – Platinum), Zaman Khan (13th – Gold)

 

Squad: Cameron Bancroft, Oliver Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green (c), Liam Hatcher, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Will Salzmann, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha, Jason Sangha, David Warner. Marquee supplementary player: Pat Cummins. Overseas players: Alex Hales (England), Zaman Khan (Pakistan)

 

Ins: Cameron Bancroft (Scorchers), Liam Doddrell, Liam Hatcher (Stars), Zaman Khan, Will Salzmann, Sam Konstas

 

Outs: Ben Cutting, Brendan Doggett (Strikers), Joel Davies (Sixers), Baxter Holt, Sam Whiteman (Scorchers)

Possible best XI: Alex Hales, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes (wk), Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Zaman Khan, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha

Possible best XI for first game: Cameron Bancroft, Alex Hales, Matt Gilkes (wk), Ollie Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Zaman Khan, Gurinder Sandhu, Tanveer Sangha

Inside word with Thunder captain Chris Green

The captaincy

"I'm really proud to get the honour to captain this team. Having stood in the last couple of years, it's something I've really enjoyed doing, we've got a great group of guys that I feel like we all get on really well and I've got a lot of senior players that I can turn to, to help me guide this team forward through the tournament. So I'm really looking forward to it and I'm excited about where I think we can go in BBL|13."

International experience

"Personally, getting my taste of it has given me a hunger for so much more. I know it's going to be bloody tough to get back there. Those guys are playing really good cricket, nailing down their stuff. We saw how good (Adam) Zampa was, Tanveer (Sangha), obviously (Ashton) Agar's injured, (Glenn) Maxwell went home as well – he bowls off-spin – so there's some tough competition and that's developed hunger for me personally and that starts with me performing for the Sydney Thunder from Tuesday night.

"Tanveer, I'm really excited about him this season. Unfortunately, he was injured all of last season, so we didn't get to use him. But he comes in full of confidence having got a good run at playing a number of games for Australia now and he's going to be a huge addition to our squad for me as a captain to be able to turn to an Australian leg-spinner is a huge, huge advantage."

Recruiting Cameron Bancroft

"What impressed me, and I think all of us, is he's a guy that is incredibly hungry for runs in any format, in any game and any team he plays for. He's had a lot of success doing it for Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers over the years.

"I really like his temperament and his experience at the top of the order … was something that we really wanted and was going to be valuable for a lot of our young guys coming through having played 20, 30, 40, 50 games now – the likes of (Matt) Gilkes, (Jason) Sangha, (Ollie) Davies – for them to bat around him and learn a different way to go about it. He fields well, he has the option to keep if needs be and he's a great guy from getting to know him so far."

The imports

"'Halesy' (Alex Hales) has been part of this group, I think this is his fifth year now, and he's been really successful, not just for us, but all around the world at the top of the order. He brings a heap of knowledge and experience and I think he's a feared batter at the top of the order.

"Talk to bowlers in other teams and I'm sure he's one on the list that they talk about not wanting to bowl to for too long, or hoping he doesn't get set and take the game on. So to have that calibre of player in our team again is going to be awesome and he's one guy, given his experience, is great for me to turn to on the field as well when I need it.

"Zaman (Khan) is such a cool character. I played against him in Canada this year and trying to face him at the death was really, really tough. He's got some great skills, he's so different, he's not your conventional fast bowler, he's similar to – fortunately and unfortunately, I never got to face (Lasith) Malinga – but he's similar to that style of bowler.

"He's got great changes of pace, good bouncers and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he goes. And hopefully he can create some memorable wickets because he has done so all around the world with a few comical dismissals so hopefully provides some good highlights to show through the summer."

Will we see David Warner in BBL|13?

"I hope so. If all goes well body wise and health wise, he comes in straight after the Sydney Test. He was great around our group last year when he came in after that Test series. He was full of energy and willing to give as much time as possible to anyone who wanted it. So we're very hopeful we see a lot of Davey, and by a lot, meaning we've got him for finals as well."

Player to watch

"Tanveer Sangha. If he stays fit, I think he'll be back to his best that we saw two or three years ago when he had his breakout year. The thing that impresses me about Tanveer is that whatever stage he's on, whatever circumstances he faces, he's got that cool, calm and collected nature.

"He's got wisdom beyond his years and that helps in the art of leg-spin and spin bowling in short-form cricket. He likes bowling the hard overs, he likes having the ball in his hands and he's hungry for success so hopefully that's the perfect remedy for him to do well."

Team to beat

"Hobart Hurricanes. We play them twice and if they get going and have their day, they've got a dangerous batting line up – the likes of (Matthew) Wade, (Ben) McDermott, (Tim) David, (Caleb) Jewell and Sam Hain is going to be a huge addition for them. If you catch them on their day, they can be very, very dangerous."

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

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