The first ball of the new BBL season will be sent down just after 7.15pm (AEDT) in Canberra on Tuesday night.
And the Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars clash also marks the start of the chase for $25,000 in KFC SuperCoach BBL.
Australia’s biggest fantasy cricket game is free and easy to play – and if you haven’t entered a team yet, we’re here to help.
Scroll down for everything you need to know to become the coach of your own killer BBL team, and the players you need for round 1.
THE BASICS
A KFC SuperCoach BBL squad is made up of 16 players – a starting XI and five back-ups on the bench: One wicketkeeper (plus one on the bench), five batters (and two on the bench) and five bowlers (and two on the bench) – who must fit under your $2 million salary cap.
Every round they will score points based on their real performances in BBL matches. The scoring system is simple – every run is worth one point, wickets are 20 points, catches are worth 10 and there are bonuses for high strike-rates and low economy rates. Nominate a captain who scores double points.
At the end each round the top-scoring coach wins $500 (doubled to $1000 for SuperCoach Plus subscribers), and at the end of the summer the coach with the highest total wins $25,000 cash. Simple!
You have three trades every round to change your team – and three opportunities to use a new Trade Boost to add a bonus trade for one round.
Create a league or join one to take on friends, family, work colleagues and other cricket fans in the race for league glory and ultimate bragging rights.
TEAM TIPS
Keep the fixture in mind when selecting a team – in KFC SuperCoach BBL rounds are short and some teams can play twice, or not at all, during a round. In round 1 Melbourne Stars, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers all play twice, so you will want plenty of players from those sides. Perth Scorchers have a bye so steer clear – but they play twice in round 2, so some coaches who think ahead will pick a Scorcher or two on the bench to be prepared.
You also want a good representation of dual-position players – BAT-BWL or WKP-BAT – who can be picked and moved between different positions.
EASY TEAM PICKER
OK, now for the fun part. Follow the quick guide below and you’ll have a team ready for round 1.
WICKETKEEPERS
Pick one of these guys
Ben McDermott (Hurricanes) $211,800 WKP-BAT
Josh Philippe (Sixers) $168,300 WKP-BAT
Joe Clarke (Stars) $153,800 WKP-BAT
Matthew Gilkes (Thunder) $97,400 WKP-BAT
And one of these guys on the bench
Josh Inglis (Scorchers) $87,000 WKP-BAT
Jimmy Peirson (Heat) $73,600 WKP-BAT
Harry Neilsen (Strikers) $62,500 WKP-BAT
BATTERS
Pick this guy
Marcus Stoinis (Stars) $83,400 BAT-BWL
Pick two of these guys
Matt Short (Strikers) $197,500 BAT-BWL
Daniel Sams (Thunder) $179,300 BAT-BWL
Moises Henriques (Sixers) $149,200 BAT
D’Arcy Short (Hurricanes) $148,200 BAT-BWL
Alex Hales (Thunder) $130,300 BAT
Pick two of these guys
Colin de Grandhomme (Strikers) $125,000 BAT-BWL
Chris Lynn (Strikers) $112,200 BAT
Rilee Rossouw (Thunder) $105,000 BAT
Tim David (Hurricanes) $89,700 BAT
Ben Cutting (Thunder) $86,000 BAT-BWL
And two of these guys for the bench
Oliver Davies (Thunder) $62,500 BAT
Beau Webster (Stars) $62,500 BAT
Nick Larkin (Stars) $62,500 BAT
Harry Nielsen (Strikers) $62,500 BAT-WKP
Josh Brown (Heat) $42,000 BAT
BOWLERS
Pick this guy
Rashid Khan (Strikers) $193,600 BWL
Pick two of these guys
Sean Abbott (Sixers) $205,400 BWL
Trent Boult (Stars) $180,000 BWL
Nathan Ellis (Hurricanes) $156,300 BWL
Peter Siddle (Strikers) $151,300 BWL
Dan Christian (Sixers) $142,200 BAT-BWL
Pick two of these guys
Shadab Khan (Hurricanes) $125,000 BAT-BWL
Luke Wood (Stars) $105,000 BAT-BWL
Fazalhaq Farooqi (Thunder) $105,000 BWL
Adam Zampa (Stars) $103,600 BWL
And pick two of these guys for your bench
Billy Stanlake (Hurricanes) $68,500 BWL
Will Sutherland (Renegades) $62,500 BAT-BWL
Lance Morris (Scorchers) $62,500 BWL
Todd Murphy (Sixers) $69,600 BWL
Cooper Connolly (Scorchers) $42,500 BAT-BWL
WARNING: DON’T PICK THSE GUYS
Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, Liam Livingstone, David Willey, any members of the Australian Test team (at least until later in the tournament)
* These players are unavailable due to injury or other commitments
You might need to do a bit of juggling to fit the team under the $2 million salary cap. Once you have a full squad, hit save! Then nominate a captain and vice-captain and three emergencies on the bench and you’re ready to join the action.
MORE EXPERT TIPS
BEGINNER’S GUIDE: HOW TO WIN $25K IN KFC SUPERCOACH BBL
REVEALED: SEE TEAMS FROM SUPERCOACH BBL EXPERTS
SUPERCOACH PLUS: TOP 30 MOST POPULAR PLAYERS REVEALED
CHEAPIE BIBLE: BEST SUPERCOACH PICKS FOR UNDER $100K
KEY INTEL: EVERY BBL TEAM’S PREDICTED STARTING XI
PLANNING: EASY GUIDE TO THE SUPERCOACH BBL FIXTURE
TOP 50: THE PLAYERS WHO WILL SHAPE BBL12
Easy guide to making trades in early SuperCoach rounds
The best KFC SuperCoach BBL coaches plan weeks in advance.
That’s because having one eye on the next double game round – or even the double after that – should help guide your overall trade plans.
Long-term planning might sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
To show you how easily you can adapt to KFC SuperCoach BBL, we’ve devised a trade plan for the first half of BBL12 (to the end of round 7).
Of course, price changes, injuries and selection will dictate how many of these trades can be accomplished.
What’s more important is to show you how achievable this planning can be and set out a template for how every coach could approach KFC SuperCoach BBL this summer.
Hopefully this helps your planning – good luck!
BEFORE ROUND 1
You have unlimited trades and can make as many changes as you want/need to.
AFTER ROUND 1
Trade three Melbourne Stars to three Perth Scorchers or use a Trade Boost and trade four Melbourne Stars to four Perth Scorchers.
Why? The Stars have a bye in round 2 and the Scorchers play twice. And you might need four trades to get Mitch Marsh.
Examples: Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Joe Clarke to Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Phil Salt, Or Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Joe Clarke and Marcus Stoinis to Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Jason Behrendorff and any cheapie with a low break even.
MORE: SIMPLE GUIDE TO THE KFC SUPERCOACH BBL FIXTURE
AFTER ROUND 2
Trade three Sydney Thunder players to three from Brisbane Heat or two Brisbane Heat players and a cash cow you have missed. Or trade four Thunder players to three Heat players and a cash cow using a Trade Boost.
Why? Sydney Thunder has a bye in round 3 and Brisbane Heat has a double. Most teams will have lots of Thunder players after their round 1 and 2 doubles.
Example: Jason Sangha, Daniel Sams, Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw to Mark Steketee, James Bazley, Sam Billings and Mitch Swepson.
AFTER ROUND 3
Take your pick of the best available players within your trade budget as there are no teams with a double in round 4. Alternatively, you can start planning for round 5 when the Sixers and Renegades both play twice.
Why? Targeting all-rounders is the best way to boost your score in a KFC SuperCoach BBL round when there are no teams playing twice. But as this guide tells you, planning ahead by bringing in Sixers and Scorchers will boost your score significantly in round 5.
The Sixers also have a double in round 8, so you can’t really have too many of them in the middle of the season. Just don’t trade in Andre Russell as he leaves before the round 5 double.
Example: Trade two premiums with high break evens (who will lose value) and a cheapie who looks to have maximised their cash generation. Trading Heat players off the double will be a popular move. For example, Michael Neser, Sam Billings and Mitch Swepson to Josh Philippe, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Akael Hosein.
AFTER ROUND 4
Trade any Strikers or Hobart players you have as they both have the bye in round 5. Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers play twice.
Why? The Sixers are Renegades play in round 6 and 7 after their round 5 double, so it is safe to trade Strikers and Hobart players to players from either of them. Hobart doesn’t have a double until round 8, so you will have time to bring any players you want for that double back. Ditto the Strikers, who have their next double in round 9.
Example: Rashid Khan, Matt Short and D’Arcy Short to Kane Richardson, Sean Abbott and Tom Rogers.
AFTER ROUND 5
No teams have the double in round 6 or round 7, which also means no byes. Try to hold onto your Sixers stars with the round 8 double in mind. Most teams will want to have an 11 which is practically all Hurricanes and Sixers players by round 8. Whether you trade for Sixers or Hurricanes ahead of round 6, round 7 or round 8 should be dictated by break evens and price changes. Round 6 shapes as the perfect round to target 2-3 fallen premiums (players who started with a high price but have dropped in value).
Why? Assuming you already had 3-4 Sixers in your team for round 5, you won’t need to go too hard on trades to prepare for the round 8 double they share with the Hurricanes. You would only need to use 6-7 of your trades between the end of round 5 and start of round 8 to end up with a full team on the double. Round 6 should be about bringing in at least two stars whose values have bottomed out.
Example: We’re guessing who fallen premiums will be here – but to give you an idea of the sort of trade you should be thinking of…
Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott and Tim David to Shadab Khan, Nathan Ellis and Dan Christian*
* Break even and price dependent.
AFTER ROUND 6
Now is the time to start ramping up your preparations for what could be a bumper round 8 double for the Hurricanes and Sixers. Every team features in round 7, so tailor your trades around cash cows who have peaked in price (where their break even is similar to their average) or premiums with high break evens (break even is significantly higher than points average).
Why? You won’t get a full team of Sixers/Hurricanes in for round 8 unless you start preparing a few rounds in advance. There’s no shortage of players from those two teams who can score well in rounds where they only feature once, like round 7.
Example: Josh Inglis, Chris Lynn and Mitch Marsh to Matthew Wade, Riley Meredith and Ben Dwarshuis.
AFTER ROUND 7
If round 8 seemed to be weeks away and you haven’t done any trades, start panicking. No, that’s bad advice. You don’t need to panic in KFC SuperCoach. This year we have three Trade Boosts available and this would be a great round to use one (if you haven’t exhausted them already). The Strikers and Perth play twice in round 9, so you would ideally hold any players from those teams. All eight teams feature in a bumper round 8 so your trades should be dictated by which of the Sixers and Hurricanes stars you don’t have. The Sixers have a bye in round 9, so don’t go too heavy or you could leave yourself short.
Why? The Hurricanes and Sixers boast some of the best scorers in KFC SuperCoach and most KFC SuperCoach teams will aim for a minimum of nine players from those two sides. You risk being left behind if you aren’t prepared.
Example (using a Trade Boost): It’s not really worth listing any players here as it’s so deep into the season we couldn’t accurately guess your teams. But you should be aiming to trade four players with only one skill (who only score from batting or bowling) to four Sixers/Hurricanes players. Or three if you were prepared for round 8 already. This might be the round you have to sacrifice Daniel Sams to bring in a top-liner such as Sean Abbott, too.
AFTER ROUND 8
You’re on your own. Use all the trade lessons you’ve learned, tap into SuperCoach Plus stats and chase KFC SuperCoach BBL glory. OK, one last tip – make sure you’ve got Rashid Khan back by round 9, pending his availability!
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach BBL: Easy guide to picking a team and planning your trades for early rounds
