The Brisbane Heat go into BBL09 as the favourites to land the title after a close season of expensive signings and former Australia coach Darren Lehmann taking charge in Queensland. The Heat have only ever won the title once in the past but there is a lot of expectation on them to do it again this time round. A star studded squad is loaded with talent but whether they can carry the burden on them remains to be seen.
Stats
Last Season: 5th
Captain: Chris Lynn
Overseas Players: Tom Banton, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, AB de Villiers, Zahir khan
Key Player: Ben Laughlin
Best Odds: 9/2 BetVictor, Betway
Predicted Finishing Position: 2nd
Fixtures
Tuesday December 17 – Sydney Thunder (h)
Friday December 20 – Melbourne Stars (h)
Sunday December 22 – Sydney Sixers (a)
Wednesday January 1 – Perth Scorchers (h)
Friday January 3 – Hobart Hurricanes (a)
Monday January 6 – Sydney Thunder (a)
Thursday January 9 – Hobart Hurricanes (h)
Saturday January 11 – Perth Scorchers (a)
Tuesday January 14 – Adelaide Strikers (h)
Friday January 17 – Adelaide Strikers (a)
Sunday January 19 – Melbourne Renegades (h)
Thursday January 22 – Sydney Sixers (h)
Saturday January 25 – Melbourne Stars (a)
Monday January 27 – Melbourne Renegades (a)
Squad
Chris Lynn (c), Tom Banton, Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, AB de Villiers, Sam Heazlett, Zahir Khan, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Lalor, Ben Laughlin, James Pattinson, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Jack Prestwidge, Matt Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Mujeeb ur Rahman
Preview
There is little doubt that the Brisbane Heat will be the most exciting team to watch in this tournament. They have put together a power packed batting line up on a ground which is made for big hitting and plenty of runs so it would be a surprise if they are not among the leading scorers in the competition even with AB de Villiers only around for half of the time.
There remains question marks over them with the ball, not necessarily because they aren’t good enough with it, but simply because their ground is so hard to defend. Ben Laughlin coming home from Adelaide should help them in that quest but they will still need the likes of Mujeeb and Kahir Khan when they are around to do more than just contain sides. Chris Lynn is gaining experience as a captain which is no bad thing but I expect them to find one too good.
Betting
I think the favourites here are pretty good things if I’m honest. I accept that injuries can happen and Chris Lynn more than anyone is prone to them but when you consider his most dangerous rivals are likely to be Tom Banton and AB de Villiers, neither of whom are here for the whole tournament, it is understandable how he is odds on to top score for the Heat. I’m in absolutely no rush to be backing an eight-week long odds on shot though.
The top bowler market is slightly more competitive, not least because it is open to debate how many wickets the Heat bowlers will take at home. The other reason why it is competitive is because once again both overseas bowlers are not around for the entirety of the competition. Josh Lalor had a good campaign last term while Ben Laughlin is top quality. You would expect one of them to win this but neither are an attractive enough price to merit a bet.
Tips
No Bet
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