Paine's big call on Strikers' Caribbean recruit

Newly appointed Adelaide Strikers coach Tim Paine believes his club's West Indian recruit Fabian Allen will establish himself as the BBL's best fielder in addition to adding vital depth with his power-hitting and left-arm spin.

Allen is one of three overseas signings made by the Strikers, along with England duo Ollie Pope and Jamie Overton, as they aim to go one step further than BBL|13 where they fell to eventual champions Brisbane Heat in the penultimate match.

Having staged a late-season rally that lifted them from bottom place to the cusp of the decider last summer, the Strikers' brainstrust wanted overseas players who would be available for the entirety of BBL|14.

They also identified middle-order hitting in the final overs as potentially a missing piece of a line-up blessed with dominant top-order batters, pace stocks and the dual leg spin threat of Cameron Boyce and Lloyd Pope.

So the Strikers were delighted to swoop on Allen at the recent BBL draft.

The 29-year-old Jamaican's catching prowess was a highlight of the T20I series against Australia at St Lucia in 2021, and Paine is expecting him to light up BBL|14 with similar shows of brilliance.

"We identified that last year we excelled in the first 10 or 15 overs of the batting with Matthew Short, Chris Lynn and D'Arcy Short (but) one thing we wanted to improve on was that last four or five overs and having some power-hitting," Paine said today.

"Fabian Allen certainly does that.

"He also bowls really good left-arm orthodox spin and can bowl in any phase of the game, and I think what the people of Adelaide will see is he's also probably the best fielder in the Big Bash.

"So to have a guy so dynamic, who can impact the game from limited balls with both bat and ball, he's a really exciting way for us to add to our squad."

Paine confirmed that incumbent England Test captain Ollie Pope would also keep wickets when Australia gloveman Alex Carey is on national duties, and that the new international recruit would also provide "glue" for the Strikers' middle-order batting.

Carey and his Australia teammate Travis Head, who carried Australia to a thumping seven-wicket win over England at Trent Bridge this week with a blazing 154no off 129 balls, might be available for the final rounds of BBL|14 before the Test team heads to Sri Lanka.

But while the world's number-one ranked T20I batter would be a huge inclusion for the Strikers as they chase their first BBL crown since 2017-18, Paine doesn't wasn’t Head to feel obligated should a rare opening appear in his crammed schedule.

"He's on an absolute heater at the moment, no doubt about that," Paine said of his former Australia Test teammate whose most recent outing for the Strikers came in January 2023.

"He always had the talent, I think anyone who's played with him or coached him has seen that from a really young age.

"He's just growing into it and he's becoming an absolute superstar of the game at the moment.

"We haven't seen him a lot in the last few years but … we don't want to pressure Trav into thinking he has to be here all the time, or that we're relying on him being here.

"He's a busy international cricketer now playing all three formats of the game, so the strain on him is enormous.

"We want to create an environment around the Strikers he wants to be part of … and if he is available, we hope that he comes down and pulls on the blue."

Paine confirmed that despite the presence of quicks Overton, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham and Henry Thornton, the Strikers would maintain their focus on spin led by last year's team-of-the-tournament member Boyce.

He also forecast a key role for Boyce's fellow leggie Lloyd Pope whose late-season addition to the Strikers' starting XI was integral to the team's finals surge with Paine adding he might yet be destined for higher honours.

"I thought he came into our squad last year and lit up the Big Bash," said Paine who was an assistant coach to Jason Gillespie in BBL|13.

"Not only was he bowling really well but he became a bit of a character around the Big Bash and we encourage him to be like that.

"He's an exciting young cricketer, who I think can push his claims even higher when someone like (incumbent Australia white-ball leg spinner) Adam Zampa comes to the end, then I think someone like Lloyd Pope can be right there.

"We want to fill (Adelaide Oval), we want young kids growing up in South Australia wanting to be Adelaide Strikers.

"Obviously we want to win but we want to do it in a certain way, we want entertain and be aggressive and bowl lots of spin."

Paine, who was formally appointed as Gillespie's successor last month, concedes he had not given great consideration to a coaching career until he took on the assistant role with the Strikers last summer.

But having gained an appreciation of the craft and seen first-hand the depth of talent available on the Strikers' list, he feels both fortunate and proud to have been granted the opportunity to take over the program as head coach.

However, he admits he has not turned his mind to potential coaching opportunities beyond his maiden stint in the BBL.

"I haven't looked too far beyond what's coming up in the next six months," he said.

"I know that's a bit boring, but I thoroughly enjoyed coaching last year.

"I wasn't sure that was something I was going to enjoy but when I got the opportunity to come here, I got to scratch that itch and continue to compete.

"Now that I can't play, the coaching is something that really excites me.

"I'm very competitive and most things I've done in my life I've tried to do to the best of my ability, and I like to do things at the highest level I possibly can.

"Where that takes me, I'm not sure at the moment.

"For me, it's more about man management and creating an environment where guys can come and play at their absolute best.

"Coaching in the Big Bash is about being there to help and support so I think it's the easiest step into coaching and I feel really fortunate to be fast-tracked into a role like this."