In less than a month BBL 06 will get underway, the annual tournament attracts cricket’s biggest stars of young and old.
BBL 06 looks set to be the biggest and best with a host of international players and up and coming locals for fans to familiarise themselves with.
I have picked out some players who will be interesting to watch this year and how they are able to help their teams achieve success.
My list as follows
Adelaide Strikers: Travis Head
The state captain hands over the reins to Brad Hodge in the BBL and is the most important player in the strikers line-up, his hitting power is now a known commodity after scintillating knocks in all forms of the game.
Recent Australian ODI form indicates that Head is in a good place for the rest of the summer, he will continue to push his name forward in all forms of Australian cricket. A must watch player for anyone interested in the future of the national team. Expect big scores and games won off his own bat.
Brisbane Heat: Alex Ross
Apart of a batting line-up that boasts the likes of Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn the ‘sweepologist’ will be looking to add another lethal cog to the Heat’s wheel. The recent recipient of the Bradman young cricketer of the year award, Rossy moves his way over to Brisbane from the Strikers where his middle order ball striking had him as one of the most revered batsmen in the competition for BBL 05.
Look for him to continue his outstanding T20 form in what could be a huge summer for the young man.
Hobart Hurricanes: Stuart Broad
The 30-year-old Englishman has terrorised the odd Australian with the red ball of late but his next trip down under comes with the white ball and in the city of Hobart. Broad is world class and a fantastic anchor for the Hurricanes bowling attack with their two international signings being Kumar Sangakkara and Broad, Hobart fans have a lot of exciting cricket to look forward to this Summer.
Melbourne Renegades: Cameron White
White has started off the summer in hot form, his 457 runs topped all in the Matador Cup going at an average of 76.16 it looks as if he will figure largely in the Renegades batting line-up.
His experience at T20 level cannot be discounted with over 200 games at T20 level and a former Australian captain in the format. If his start of the summer is anything to go by we could be looking at some big scores from White and he may even scoot under the radar with showstoppers Aaron Finch and Dwayne Bravo taking much of the attention for the Renegades team.
Melbourne Stars: Glenn Maxwell
No funny business here, when I say players to watch you really have to sit down and watch this guy. Good or bad Glenn Maxwell makes for great viewing and I feel that some of Maxwell’s recent frustrations may bring out the best in him for BBL 06.
His elaborate reverse sweeps, power hitting and the ability to bowl an over or two make him perhaps the most prized cricketer in T20 cricket which is well conveyed by his IPL contract of $1.24 million. Do not take your eyes off this guy because something is always happening.
Perth Scorchers: Michael Klinger
Domestic cricket’s ‘Mr Consistent’ will bring a level head again to the scorches batting line-up, his T20 batting is always measured with fantastic stroke play and continuous strike turnover.
I expect Klinger to continue his form from previous BBL seasons where he has become the anchor of the batting line-up and will win games off his own bat.
Sydney Sixers: Johan Botha
Botha made his move from Adelaide to Sydney last season and had an underwhelming campaign, look for him to bounce back this year and become a key contributor for the Sixers.
After receiving his Australian citizenship just a few days ago Botha has now become a local player which allows Sydney to bring in another overseas player.
He is often able to lock down opposing batsmen with his tight bowling and can make a solid contribution with the bat, his BBL 06 should be a huge improvement on last year.
Sydney Thunder: Andre Russell
The Thunders roster is filled with talent but much like any West Indian who comes to play in the BBL you want to watch them. Their entertaining personality, power hitting and ability to contribute with the ball makes them some of the competitions more popular players.
Andre Russell is no different, his incredible power with the bat was on full display last year with some incredible knocks, couple that with his ability to bowl 130+ and you have a truly dynamic player.
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