The Cricketer looks at some of the youngsters, unsung stars and intriguing overseas players likely to feature in this year's Big Bash
This has turned into an unusually busy winter for Danny Briggs, the 29-year-old left-arm spinner. After leaving Sussex for Warwickshire in October, he has landed in Australia for what – somewhat incredibly, given his T20 record – marks his first experience of representing an overseas T20 team.
He is linking up at Adelaide Strikers with former Sussex coach Jason Gillespie, maintaining a connection with the Hove county that has previously seen Chris Jordan and Phil Salt join the franchise. In Rashid Khan, of course, Briggs will encounter a familiar face from their Sussex days; the spin twins will prove pivotal for Travis Head’s side.
Briggs features on this list because of his record: no one in the history of English domestic T20 cricket has taken more wickets than his 172. Of those immediately behind him, Samit Patel, Yasir Arafat, Azhar Mahmood and Harry Gurney are all veterans of the global T20 circuit. He has not played for England since 2014 but with a T20 World Cup on the horizon and a feeling that Eoin Morgan’s outfit could benefit from a second spinner in India, this winter takes on added significance.
“I think with T20, spinners are seen as survivors,” Briggs told The Cricketer in September. “But I think if you’re trying to survive in a positive way, you can actually hold the game and try to go at a low rate and try to pick up wickets through doing the same thing.”
Of the Big Bash’s all-time leading run-scorers, Jon Wells is sixth on the list – behind Chris Lynn, Aaron Finch, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell. Of the 18 players with the most runs, he is the only one not to have played international cricket.
His record – 1,790 runs at an average of 35.8 – represents a fine effort over a substantial period of time, both at Hobart Hurricanes and latterly with Adelaide Strikers, where he forms a fundamental part of the middle order.
The 32-year-old, who has drawn comparisons to Michael Bevan for his prowess as a composed finisher, seems destined never to make the step-up to the international game, despite growing calls externally for his inclusion.
He was overlooked for Australia’s white-ball tour of England and then again when they hosted India, even after being named in ESPNcricinfo’s Big Bash team of the tournament last season. No doubt, he will be in the runs once more as this latest campaign begins.
Danny Briggs is playing in the Big Bash for the first time
Riley Meredith has some famous fans, with Shane Warne chiefly among them. The great leg-spinner has often lauded the 24-year-old Hobart Hurricanes fast bowler.
Included in Australia’s squad for their tour of England over the summer, he went unused but his maiden call-up was a sign of a growing reputation.
But for the coronavirus pandemic, it is hard to believe that Meredith wouldn’t by now have made his international bow, especially ahead of what was set up to be a home T20 World Cup in October and November.
Instead, he must settle for a leading role in his Hobart bowling attack as Hurricanes, packed full of overseas options in their squad, look to improve on last season’s defeat in the first eliminator round. By then, his campaign had long-since come to an end, after suffering a substantial side strain just six games in. By then, he had taken 10 wickets, with an economy rate of just 6.68.
For aficionados of county cricket, there will be few more popular moves this winter than the news that Benny Howell has secured himself a Big Bash deal with Melbourne Renegades.
In an announcement video with Aaron Finch’s side, he described himself as “a quick spinner” – an accurate depiction for one of the game’s most innovative operators, with a remarkable array of tricks and variations.
The Gloucestershire allrounder will only play a bit-part role for the franchise this time around; he has officially been signed up to cover for Mohammad Nabi for Renegades’ opening two games. However, this still represents an opportunity to impress ahead of future editions.
Benny Howell will replace Mohammad Nabi for the first two games of the tournament
Given the sheer outrageousness of Marcus Stoinis’ form in last year’s edition of the Big Bash, during which he scored 705 runs, observers could be forgiven for overlooking his supporting cast.
Stars finished top of the round-robin phase, before losing out in a rain-affected final, with Nick Larkin more than playing his part in the middle order.
The 30-year-old is one of the circuit’s more intriguing figures, having developed his game exponentially in the last five years. It was Larkin, of course, whose unbeaten 83 in last year’s Big Bash helped Melbourne Stars into the final.
At 30 years of age, it seems unlikely that he will force his way into the Australian reckoning, though he could also technically play for Ireland, by courtesy of the passport he has from his mother’s side of the family.
Last year’s Big Bash marked a breakout campaign for Josh Inglis, Perth Scorchers’ Yorkshire-born wicketkeeper-batsman.
The 25-year-old had only played 10 times in the tournament ahead of the start of the 2019/20 competition, during which he made hay.
A one-time academy prospect and second team player at Yorkshire alongside Jack Leaning, Andrew Hodd, Azeem Rafiq, Ben Coad, Adil Rashid, Steve Patterson and Jack Brooks, Inglis combined with Lancashire allrounder Liam Livingstone to create one of the more destructive opening partnerships seen in Big Bash history.
The pair scored 830 runs between them, striking 42 sixes. Whether they are able to reconvene in the same manner this time around is up for debate: Scorchers’ batting line-up reads as a feast of powerful stroke-makers.
Livingstone, Inglis, Jason Roy, Joe Clarke, Colin Munro, Mitch Marsh and Ashton Turner all have to be crammed – at varying points of the competition – into the same side.
Dan Christian and Tanveer Sangha: two men at different ends of their career
The signing of Dan Christian already looked as savvy a piece of domestic business as this year’s Big Bash seemed likely to see, even before Tom Curran announced that he was withdrawing from the competition due to bio-secure bubble fatigue.
But the acquisition of the veteran allrounder now looks a masterstroke; he arrives on the back of securing the eighth T20 title of his career with Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast.
On that occasion, his prophetic claim in August ahead of the tournament that “old blokes win stuff” was vindicated when he dominated Finals Day.
With Steve Smith not involved this year for the reigning champions, Christian’s addition will add further nous to a side last year somewhat reliant on the runs of Josh Philippe. Furthermore, an engine room featuring Christian, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite and Moises Henriques looks a serious strength.
“Tanveer will definitely play for us at some stage this season,” Sydney Thunder head coach told cricket.com.au. “As a coach, one thing you look for is temperament and I don't doubt his temperament, he's very confident with what he does.”
The 19-year-old leg-spinner was one of the stars of last year’s Under-19 World Cup, picking up 15 wickets in six matches, including five against Nigeria and four against Afghanistan and West Indies.
In a Thunder squad featuring off-spinners Chris Green and Arjun Nair, the teenager offers something different. Lloyd Pope, his predecessor as Australia Under-19s’ wrist-spinner, has enjoyed a solid start to his Big Bash career.
Watch out also for Melbourne Renegades pair Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk, both of whom are talented batsmen and emerged from the same Under-19 World Cup.
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