Predicting the BBL|12 lineups ahead of round one

The Big Bash is less than a week away now and while there is always plenty of off-season talk about the competition going downhill there is more talent than ever gracing the Aussie shores.

While Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt may have decided that the BBL is no longer for them there are big names like Andre Russell as well as BBL mainstays like Alex Hales, Sam Billings and Rashid Khan still making the trip to Australia.

Whether it's for Supercoach reasons or if you want to follow your team as closely as possible it's important to know who will line up for your side when round one comes around. The following goes through all the predicted first XIs for the BBL in 2022/23.

Adelaide Strikers

1. Jake Weatherland

2. Chris Lynn

3. Matt Short

4. Adam Hose

5. Thomas Kelly

6. Colin de Grandhomme

7. Harry Neilsen (wk)

8. Rashid Khan

9. Wes Agar

10. Henry Thornton

11. Peter Siddle (c)

Adelaide Strikers Full Squad: Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Ryan Gibson, Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand), Travis Head, Adam Hose (England), Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Henry Thorton, Jake Weatherald

The Strikers batting looks a little bit light on with Alex Carey and Travis Head out of the first few rounds with both Test and ODI call-ups. Henry Hunt will also be playing for the CA XI against South Africa which may affect round one. Ben Manenti may be used as a bowling all-rounder later in the tournament while Cameron Boyce likely replaces Rashid Khan after he leaves.

Brisbane Heat

1. Max Bryant

2. Colin Munro

3. Sam Billings

4. Matt Renshaw

5. Ross Whiteley

6. Jimmy Pierson (wk)(c)

7. Jack Wildermuth

8. James Bazley

9. Xavier Bartlett

10. Mark Steketee

11. Mitchell Swepson

Brisbane Heat Full Squad: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Sam Billings (England), Max Bryant, Sam Heazlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja (c), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Ross Whiteley (England), Jack Wildermuth. Replacement players: Josh Brown, Sam Hain (England)

The Heat have obviously lost Chris Lynn in the off-season meaning they will need to find a new opener, which is likely to be Colin Munro. Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschange will also miss much of the season while Michael Neser is a possibility depending on if he is let go from the Test squad after the Adelaide match.

Hobart Hurricanes

1. Ben McDermott (wk)

2. Caleb Jewell

3. Matthew Wade (c)

4. D'Arcy Short

5. Tim David

6. Asif Ali

7. Jimmy Neesham

8. Shadab Khan

9. Nathan Ellis

10. Joel Paris

11. Riley Meredith

Hobart Hurricanes Full Squad: Asif Ali (Pakistan), Faheem Ashraf (Pakistan), Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Caleb Jewell, Shadab Khan (Pakistan), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Joel Paris, Wil Parker, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Chris Tremain, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright. Replacement players: Zak Crawley (England), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand)

The Hurricanes have perhaps the strongest top order with eight international quality batters and the possibility to bring in another bowler if they want to drop Caleb Jewell. With some changes in international players around round five, it will be interesting to see where the changes come.

Melbourne Renegades

1. Aaron Finch

2. Nic Maddinson (c)

3. Shaun Marsh

4. Jon Wells

5. Andre Russell

6. Sam Harper

7. Will Sutherland

8. Tom Rogers

9. Akeal Hosein

10. Kane Richardson

11. Mujeeb ur Rahman

Melbourne Renegades Full Squad: Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Nic Maddinson (c), Shaun Marsh, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon Wells. Replacement players: Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka), Andre Russell (West Indies), Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

The Renegades were extremely unlucky to have Liam Livingstone pull out but replacing him with Russell and then Guptill is excellent recruiting. The biggest question may the keeper with the Renegades needing to choose between the full-time keeping of Sam Harper or having the stronger batter in Peter Handscomb.

Melbourne Stars

1. Joe Clarke (wk)

2. Marcus Stoinis

3. Nick Larkin

4. Hilton Cartwright

5. Joe Burns

6. Beau Webster

7. Clint Hinchliffe

8. Luke Wood

9. Nathan Coulter-Nile

10. Adam Zampa (c)

11. Trent Boult

Melbourne Stars Full Squad: Trent Boult (New Zealand), Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell (c), Cameron McClure, Tom O'Connell, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Luke Wood (England), Adam Zampa.

The loss of Glenn Maxwell is massive for the Stars who have relied on him for almost a decade at this point. It will be interesting to see how Zampa captains the side without Maxwell and how the Stars batting lineups with a lot of all-rounders but not a lot of specialist batters.

Perth Scorchers

1. Faf du Plessis

2. Josh Inglis (wk)

3. Cameron Bancroft

4. Ashton Turner (c)

5. Nick Hobson

6. Aaron Hardie

7. Ashton Agar

8. AJ Tye

9. Peter Hatzoglou

10. Tymal Mills

11. Jason Behrendorff

Perth Scorchers Full Squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Tymal Mills (England), Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner (c), Andrew Tye. Replacement player: Faf du Plessis

All of a sudden with Mitch Marsh and Laurie Evans out the side the Scorcher's batting looks very light on. The good news for Scorchers fans is that they are still searching for another top-order batter to start as soon as possible. But with some big names out it will be hard for them to go back to back.

Sydney Sixers

1. Josh Philippe (wk)

2. James Vince

3. Dan Hughes

4. Moises Henriques (c)

5. Jordan Silk

6. Hayden Kerr

7. Dan Christian

8. Sean Abbott

9. Chris Jordan

10. Ben Dwarshuis

11. Steve O'Keefe

Sydney Sixers Full Squad: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Hughes, Chris Jordan (England), Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Izharrulhaq Naveed (Afghanistan), Steve O'Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)

The Sixers are going in with a very heavy all-rounder squad but with the unveiling of Hayden Kerr last season they are well-placed and well-rounded for another good season. It will be interesting to see if Todd Murphy gets selected at some point as well as the young Afghanistan bowler Izharrulhaq Naveed. A selection that certainly feels built for the future rather than this season.

Sydney Thunder

1. Alex Hales

2. Rilee Rossouw

3. Jason Sanga (c)

4. Alex Ross

5. Oliver Davies

6. Matthew Gilkes (wk)

7. Ben Cutting

8. Daniel Sams

9. Nathan McAndrew

10. Chris Green

11. Fazalhaq Farooqi

Sydney Thunder Full Squad: Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, Sam Whiteman. Replacement players: Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Usman Qadir (Pakistan)

The Sydney Thunder will certainly be looking towards the back half of the season when David Warner and Tanveer Sanga are available for them. The number 11 position will likely depend on conditions with the options of Fazalhaq Farooqi with pace or Usman Qadir with spin at their disposal. This could also be the breakout season of Jason Sanga with him taking on the reigns full-time.

The first match of the Big Bash is set to begin on the night of the 13th of December with one match at least for 44 days except for the Christmas Day break.

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